The Loom House






Across from the commissary is the Loom House. Although stores stocked cloth and clothing, some people preferred to make their own. Many South Carolinians also used their spinning wheels and looms to create household goods like tablecloths, mats, rugs, and coverlets. Inside this building is a c1800 loom, two reproduction spinning wheels, warping boards, carding combs and other tools necessary for the processing of cotton, flax, and wool.

Fiber processing was both simple and time consuming. First, the spinner cleaned and carded the fibers which straightened them for spinning. After carding, the spinner used one foot to press the treadle of the spinning wheel in order to rotate the wheel while they guided the spinning fibers onto the bobbin to produce thread.

Next, a weaver warped the loom with the thread and then wove the thread into cloth. Warping involved tying threads onto the back apron, threading them through the reed and headles, and tying them onto the front apron. The weaver then took a spindle with the weft thread and passed the weft through the warp. Good weavers could achieve an endless variety of geometric patterns. The only limitations were the number of headles on the loom and their imaginations.
Warping the loom