The Loom Room

Bedroom to Loom Room

This room now houses an 8' X 6' wooden loom and other items used in making fabric, but when the Colby families lived here it was a bedroom.

Assembly Required

Each piece of the handmade loom is marked with roman numerals so it can be assembled or disassembled.

Barn Loom

The loom pictured on the left is called a barn loom because of its size.

Yarn Winders

There were a variety of yarn winders (three shown below), all of which held skeins of yard for weaving. With the 'weasel' or clock reel winder, the yarn was wound around the spoke wheel and the internal ratcheting mechanism clicked with each rotation. The weight of the yarn would cause the internal mechanism to "pop." This nickname weasel comes from the popping sound, as in the old English nursery rhyme, Pop Goes the Weasel.

Spinner's 'Weasel'

Swift Yarn Winder

Knitty-Knotty Yarn Winders

Pop Goes the Weasel
Half a pound of tuppenny rice, Half a pound of treacle. Mix it up and make it nice, Pop goes the weasel.	A penny for a ball of thread, Another for a needle, That's the way the money goes, Pop goes the weasel.	All around the mulberry bush, The monkey chased the weasel. The donkey thought 'twas all in fun, Pop goes the weasel.