<<1. "was wool spun on the flax wheel?" I have seen "flax" wheels in
museums with old wool on them....so we can guess wool was spun on the
smaller wheels?>>
As several people have pointed out, more accurate names are great
wheel and flyer wheel. However, the fact that a wheel in a museum
has one sort or another fiber on it is not necessarily an indication
of how the wheel was used. I've seen a bobbin full of rayon on an
18c spinner.
<<2. "did spinners ply flax and wool or did they use singles mostly? ">>
Both were plied (as was cotton), and again, as was pointed out, it
depends on the end use. I've never seen singles used for knitting in
the 18 or early 19c. On the other hand, most woven fabrics lighter
than blankets utilized singles.
<<From the reading I've done, most flax was spun for weaving, >>
Flax was used extensively for knitting stockings, always two-ply.
Thousands were imported from Europe to the colonies, but no doubt
some were made here as well.
<<3. "Did every household have a great wheel as well as a flax wheel?"
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's Homespun book indicates the answer was mostly "no".>>
Every household didn't necessarily own a wheel at all. Time period
and specific area are very important in determing what they were
doing.
<<4. "Did everyone spin their own fiber ?">>
No - for many of the reasons cited. In the 17 and early 18c in
particular, there was much less textile work going on in the colonies
than is usually assumed. Most ships brought bolts and bolts of cloth,
plenty of thread, and even stockings. Many people had more pressing
work to do in the colonies.
<<I got the impression that spinning was beneath them, it was ok to
make clothes, but not to make the yarn or fabric. >>
I think this is a bit of a stretch - it was not a social stigma, it
was a matter of making the best use of time and resources.
<<5. "Was knitting a common skill in Colonial period?"
I have seen patterns for hats and gloves but not for larger items
like sweaters.>>
Yes, it was a common skill, greatly overlooked in history, even
textile history. There were few "larger" items - sweaters as we know
them being developed in the mid 19c.
<< It's hard to find a book on the history of handknitting without
also seeing a picture of the handknit shirt worn by Charles I of
England at his execution.
Those kinds of items were primarily made by guild knitters in England. >>
There has never been a handknitting guild in England.
Having examined Charles' shirt a couple of times, I have no doubt
that it was the work of a professional knitter. I also believe it was
imported from the continent (as was much of his clothing.)
<<I'm sure poorer people had to turn to spinning/weaving sooner than
richer, because they had fewer articles of clothing to start with. >>
This doesn't necessarily follow - people from lower income families
couldn't necessarily turn to spinning/weaving because of lack of
skill, equipment and raw materials. One thing usually overlooked is
that the second hand clothing market was flourishing throughout the
colonial period. The poorer you were, certainly, the less clothing
you had, but also, it may not have been made for you in the first
place, and you mended and remade it until it disappeared.
An article you might look for:
Shammas, Carole. "How Self-Sufficient Was Early America?" Journal of
Interdisciplinary History, Volume XIII: 2, 1982: 247 - 272.
She also wrote an excellent book:
Shammas, Carole, The Pre-industrial Consumer in England and America.
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990.
