Silk reeling machine, ca. 1830
Item 31534 info
Individual Partner
Silk provided supplemental income. Seasonally, rural women reeled thousands of cocoons. Some used improved reeling machines.
Placed in hot water, cocoon sericin (gum) softens and releases filament ends so that reeling (unwinding) can begin. One filament is too thin to be useful. Groups are reeled at the same time.
Naturally gummy, the filaments stick together forming one strand -- still thinner than a hair.
In the 1830s annual reeled silk production ranged from less than one pound to over 100 pounds per household. It took about 10,000 cocoons to make one-pound weight of reeled silk.
Item 4 of 19
