Spinning
The spinning wheel at which Silvia Omlin is working on this Sunday afternoon gives off a gentle and regular whirring sound. She is sitting in the living room of the Vintner’s House from Richterswil, Zurich (611) and is spinning wool which comes from the sheep at Ballenberg. Thousands of women in bygone centuries did just what she is doing now. The wheel does not turn very fast; the fibres are short and the spinner must concentrate and work slowly. She carefully plucks at the fibres and rubs them between her thumb and forefinger. The spinning wheel picks up momentum and twists the fibres into a thread. When Silvia Omlin has finished spinning she will twist two threads into a thicker, stronger yarn. There are also women spinning in the Farmhouse from Wila ZH (641) where linen is spun into a fine yarn.
An important sector of the economy
Families often used to spin to cover their own needs. In Switzerland spinning was also a common cottage industry which provided many families with a small source of income in addition to farming. In some cases families lived entirely from their spinning. In eastern Switzerland in particular, in the cantons of Zurich, Glarus and parts of Argovia, spinning was often the main source of income. In the 16th and 17th centuries the rural population spun huge quantities of flax fibre for the flourishing linen industry in St. Gallen. Later the cotton industry required thousands of spinning hands. In 1787 there were in total 540 spinners in Wila in the Zurich Oberland. When the first spinning machines were introduced around 1810, this activity was replaced by cottage weaving.
Naturally dyed wool
The wool spun by Silvia Omlin and her colleagues can be purchased from the spinners themselves or in the shops. The wool is dyed with natural dyes obtained for instance from marigolds, elder, tree bark or nutshells. Various knitted products such as muffs, hats and scarves are also available for purchase.
Ballenberg
Swiss Open-Air Museum
Museumsstrasse 100
CH-3858 Hofstetten bei Brienz
Opening hours
10 April to 2 November 2025
10 am to 5 pm daily
