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The article focuses on the Coast Salish wool workers and the evolution of the Cowichan sweater as a wearable art form in British Columbia. Topics discussed include the use of wooden spindles and two-bar looms in weaving, the impact of colonization on the weavers and the modification of the standard spinning wheels. Also mentioned is the spinning process for Cowichan sweaters.

The article discusses developments that took place in the field of spinning. In the early 1700s, cloth was still made in the same way it had been made for centuries. Using a spinning wheel, women called spinsters turned cotton or wool fiber into thread. The first important change came in 1733, when an Englishman named John Kay invented something called a flying shuttle for the weaving loom. This invention allowed weavers to weave twice as fast as before. In 1764, James Hargreaves invented a device that could spin eight threads at a time, instead of one. Then, in the late 1700s, an Englishman named Richard Arkwright put his own special spinning machines.

Information about several papers presented at a meeting of the Medieval Dress and Textile Society (MEDATS), held on March 5, 2011, is provided. Topics include the use of drop spindles and spinning wheels in the production of medieval yarn, the creation of medieval broadcloth, and developments in loom technology. Speakers included textile experts such as Kathrine Brandstrup, Anton Reurink, and Ruth Gilbert.