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Friday, June 24, 2016

Fulling Mills

Fulling Mill
In the beginning of the American Colonies, all cloth was imported from England. England already had a thriving textile industry by the mid-1600s. Some estimates are that 65% of the English economy was derived from its textiles. 

Although the importation of sheep was prohibited - to protect England's textile monopoly - resourceful colonists smuggled them. The hard-working Puritans were producing their own cloth almost as soon as they arrived.

Spinning and weaving is only part of the process of making cloth. Another important step in the process is called "fulling." Cloth straight off the loom is loose and sloppy. The fulling process washed out all the dirt and lanolin, then beat the fabric with wooden mallets (powered by a water wheel) until it shrunk and tightened into a usable bolt of cloth.

Wooden Mallets inside the Fulling Mill
After the cloth was pounded, it was brushed with a teasel head. Teasels are a dried flower head with hook-tipped spines that when brushed across wool fabric, will raise the nap of the fabric. The nap was then cut off with long, narrow shears. Next, the cloth was stretched over a long frame to dry.
Before fulling mills, this process was done by hand, or rather by feet. Stomping on the wet, soapy cloth took hours of labor to produce what the fulling mill could do in half the time with better results.

By the time King William III issued the Wool Act in 1699, our colonial ancestors were already providing cloth for themselves and were exporting the excess to other colonies and ports.



PeggThomas.com

7 comments:

  1. Very timely article since I am researching a Mennonite man who worked at such a mill and may have donated cloth for Revolutionary War uniforms and blankets: very difficult to find any records.
    Thank you!

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  2. Very interesting! Thanks for sharing.

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    Replies
    1. It fascinates me how people had to work to do the simple things ... like clothe their families. Nothing like a Good Will store back then. :)

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  3. Pegg, I know this is an older post but it is very timely that Carrie re-posted it today. I need this info for a WIP! Thank you!! I love your expertise in this industry. :)

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  4. Daniel Mathews (Rufus Putnams Brother-In-Law) Had a mill near New Braintree Mass. Dr Increase Mathews (Daniels Son) and Putnam eventually ended up in Zanesville, Ohio and helped found a couple towns. I am proud of my hometown!

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