A bobbin or spool is a spindle or cylinder, with or without , on which yarn, thread, wire, ribbon or roll film is wound.[ as well as in , , , , , within electronics and electricity equipment, and for various other applications.
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Industrial textiles
Bobbins are used in spinning, weaving, knitting, sewing, and .[ or bone.][ In the machines used in such manufacturing,]The automated weaving machines would have hundreds of spindles operating simultaneously, with each spindle holding a bobbin that either released or collected the thread. Most mills had wooden bobbins made specifically for their machinery, which accounts for the many varied shapes and sizes of these spools.
In more modern times, natural bobbin materials such as wood are no longer used in textile manufacturing,[ instead having been replaced by metal and plastic.][ with metal parts in places of high wear), thus requiring "a great deal of handwork" such that the cost of continuing to make them was unfavorable to modern textile business.][
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Since the retirement of the machinery involved, such bobbins and related parts have become items used in craft productions, given the numbers of distinct types, and the fact that "each... has its own 'battle scars' that give it unique character".[
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Sewing and lacemaking
Sewing
The lockstitch sewing machine, invented and developed in the 18th and 19th centuries,
Bobbins vary in shape and size, depending on the style of bobbin driver in the machine for which they are intended to be used. Long, narrow bobbins are used in early transverse shuttle and vibrating shuttle machines. These earlier movements were rendered obsolete by the invention of the rotary hook and the shuttle hook, which run faster and quieter with less air resistance. These shorter, wider bobbins are familiar to modern sewers, as the rotary/shuttle hook remains in use on modern machines essentially unchanged.
Lacemaking
Bobbin lace requires the winding of yarn onto a temporary storage spindle made of wood (or, in earlier times, bone) often turned on a lathe. Many lace designs require dozens of bobbins at any one time.
Both traditional and contemporary bobbins may be decorated with designs, inscriptions, or pewter or wire inlays. Often, bobbins are 'spangled' to provide additional weight to keep the thread in tension. A hole is drilled near the base to enable glass beads and other ornaments to be attached by a loop of wire. These Sequin provide a means of self-expression in the decoration of a tool of the handicraft.
Antique and unique bobbins, sometimes spangled, are highly sought after by antiques collectors.
Electrical
In electricity applications, , , , and relay coils use bobbins as permanent containers for the wire to retain shape and rigidity, and to ease assembly of the windings into or onto the magnetic core.
Bobbins in these applications may be made of thermoplastic or thermosetting materials (for example, Phenols);
Furniture
Bobbin furniture (also known as spool furniture) is a style of table or chair with lathe-turned legs.
Miscellaneous applications
Bobbins are also used for fly tying and tidy storage without tangles.
See also
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Stott Park Bobbin Mill
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Axle
External links
