Yarn Swift

PeriodCirca 1840 - 1860

Place MadePossibly United States

MediumWalrus ivory, whalebone, baleen, silk

Dimensions19.75 × 17 in. (50.2 × 43.2 cm)

ClassificationsTextile Production Equipment

Credit LineGift of Marshall P. Blankarn, 1980

Object number1980.11.2

DescriptionA collapsible yarn swift, with a turned central shaft of whalebone topped with a cupped walrus ivory finial. The base of the swift is fitted with a walrus ivory clamp and thumbscrew assembly, with finely inscribed line banding picked out in red and black. Thin strips of ivory-colored whalebone and black baleen are attached in a complex arrangement, fastened with blue and pink silk ribbon bows threaded through small holes drilled in the tops and bottoms of the bone and baleen strips. The strips are fixed to the central rings along the shaft. A base ring and clamp slide are arranged beneath the strips, allowing the base ring to push out the strips, forming an adjustable framework on which to wind thread fiber into skeins.
Curatorial RemarksThis "umbrella style" yarn swift would have been used by a knitter or crocheter in the mid 19th century. The design of the implement allowed the user to wind hanks of wool, linen, or cotton thread or yarn without tangling from hank form. It was an intermediate step in moving spun yarn from a spinning wheel bobbin to a usable ball of yarn. Once the thread was completely wound onto the swift, the yarn could then be easily pulled off and wound into a ball. Some swifts were designed with base clamps to fasten to a table, while others included a floor stand. Yarn swifts could be made from a variety of materials, but various types of bone as well as baleen (filtering bristles inside a whale's mouth) were popular because of their elastic, lightweight, and easily workable characteristics. Some yarn swifts were made by sailors away at sea for a year or more as gifts for mothers, wives, or sweethearts upon return. This swift is a particularly elegant and well-made example. The ivory has been delicately ornamented with thin inscribed bands highlighted with blue, black, and red pigments. The outer strips have been tied together with decorative pink and blue silk ribbons.

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