Yarns form the basis of most textiles, making spinning the cornerstone technique for almost all other textile techniques. Historical spinning, though, is still not fully understood – nor is the influence of yarn on how textiles will behave.

This presentation looks at the differences between modern and medieval spinning. Based on images and ethnographical sources, the technique used for spinning with a hand-spindle in the European Middle Ages can be reconstructed. Hand-spindles, consisting of a spindle whorl and a spindle stick, are used together with a distaff to hold the fibres. With this technique, it is easy and efficient to spin highly twisted yarns, which conform well with the type of surviving yarns used in medieval fabrics.

These high-twist yarns behave differently from the typical modern yarns which have much lower twist. They are strong enough to be used unplied when weaving, saving a lot of work time. However, the twist will affect the finished fabric and its looks.

For knitting, yarn strength is not the main issue, as it would be for weaving – knitting can be done with relatively weak yarns too. But what happens if a strongly twisted yarn is used to knit? The high amount of twist will affect the fabric here as well, resulting in more or less distortion of the finished object. The solution to this is plying the yarns, and plied yarn is used in the majority of knitted objects.