Making spindle whorls
Background: Fibers become thread when a spinner or splicer twists them so that they lock together. Twist can be created by simply rolling a length of fibers down one's thigh or between one's fingers. The invention of a stick to wrap up the spun thread, to keep it from un-twisting, is a logical next step--and then twirling that stick to generate the needed twist comes naturally out of that invention, thus giving us the spindle. A distaff and three spindles. Left: a spindle with bone whorl. Center: a spindle with the whorl removed once the cop of thread was heavy enough. Right: a spindle design that does not need a whorl. A spindle can be as simple as a straight stick, often shaved down to a point where the spinner's fingers will twirl it (a stick with a narrower diameter = more rotations per flick with the fingers). However, a weighted stick has more momentum and will twirl longer, so adding a weight (like a small rock, with a hole in it for the stick to fit through)...