Pioneer Clothing

Read the story “Pioneer Clothing”.

Making cloth for clothing and quilts was a long and tedious task for a pioneer woman.  Many steps were taken.

Number the steps in the correct order in the sentences below.

From Fleece to Cloth

___  The slivers of wool were stored in a basket.

___  The pioneer women spent days, during the summer, searching for flowers, leaves, berries and bark to use for dyes to colour their wool.

___  The sheep were gathered in the barn to have their fleece washed.

___  The thread on the bobbins was later wound on a device called a “niddy noddy” or a “winder” by a family member.

___  A few days later the sheep were taken to the barn to be sheared.

___  The plants were boiled in a large kettle until the liquid was the right colour.

___  The wool was woven into cloth on a loom by the pioneer woman or the wool was taken to a weaver in town.

___  The skeins of wool were dipped into kettles of dye and simmered for a while.

___  The slivers were spun into a fine thread using a walking wheel or a Scottish wheel and wound onto bobbins.

___  The wool was then brushed with carders to untangle the matted and tangled fibres. 

___  The skeins were next simmered in a “mordant” to set the colour so it would not fade or wash out.

___  The dirty edges on the fleece were cut away.