Gàidhlig / English
Croidhleag

Croidhleag

Posted by Katie on 28th June 2018
Continuing on from my previous blog post relating to the parts of the spinning wheel, this week I would like to go into more detail about the process of spinning and some of the tools necessary to create a yarn.

Whilst recently working on the archive at DASG I was delighted to discover a treasure trove of terminology relating to ‘Women’s Work’ in the 1908 edition of the An Comunn Gàidhealach periodical, Deo-Grèine. Amidst the hundreds of collected words relating to wool-work I was introduced to the croidhle – also known as craidhleag, mùdag, muirlag and coileach-gaoitheadh – which is an egg or rugby-ball shaped basket used to hold the wool prior to carding:

‘The mouth of the receptacle was a square opening in the side. Sometimes a child would thrust its head into the opening, and would extricate it again only with difficulty and pain, whence the proverb – “Chuir e a cheann ann an croidhle – he put his head in a ‘creel’, he got himself into a tight place.”’


After a fleece has been sorted, cleaned and teased to loosen the fibres and remove debris (seòrsachadh, nigheadh and cìreadh respectively) the wool is carded using a pair of hand cards or càrd* or combed on a clàd or hackle. The amount of wool stretched onto the teeth of the card was known as the pearda clomh and once carded the wool was removed in the form of a rolag, a term which is also used by modern English speaking spinners.

From here the wool would be spun on either spindle or wheel and once a bobbin has been filled it is stored on a Ceitidh-suibhreag** (Lazy-Kate) whilst the next yarn is spun. The finished yarn is then wound into a skein or hank using a Crois-iarna (Niddy-Noddy) or a Liùrag or Cuibhle-iarna (Swift/skein winder) ready to be dyed and woven.

Given the huge plethora of terms relating to wool work it is clear how much hard labour and different skills went into the process of turning raw fibre into a useable yarn. Likewise, it is a valid indication of how important this ‘woman’s work’ was to the entire community as without the yarn there can be no cloth to weave...


My next blog topic is up to you! Would you prefer to learn more about spindles in the Gàidhealtachd, a little about Waulking Songs, or words relating to dyeing and/or weaving? Let us know by either Facebook or Twitter!
 
 
 
 
 
* All examples found use the singular term: ‘Cha chuala mi a riamh “na càrdan”’ – Faclan bhon t-Sluaigh, DASG
** I also came across the direct translation Ceit-leisg but with an alternate definition relating to winding hanks into balls of yarn, which I personally believe to be a misclassification.
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