Twenty-First Century Spinning

摘要

Mankind, though more usually womankind, has been spinning fibres for thousands of years. Until relatively recently (in human developmental terms), spinning was restricted to the fibres available locally: cotton in India, silk in China, alpaca in South America, etc. As global exploration, industrial development and consequent consumer demand produced a market for 'new' fibres we in the west began to use imported cotton, silk, mohair and alpaca. And we liked these new fabrics and yarns! The self-sufficiency movement that begun in the 1960s saw a revival in handspinning and, throughout the next three decades, increased awareness of the range of fibres that can be spun.