The spinning jenny was invented by
James Hargreaves. He was born in
Oswaldtwistle, near
Blackburn, around 1720. Blackburn was a town with a population of about 5,000, known for the production of "Blackburn greys," cloths of linen warp and cotton weft initially imported from India. They were usually sent to London to be printed. At the time, cotton yarn production could not keep up with demand of the textile industry, and Hargreaves spent some time considering how to improve the process. The
flying shuttle (
John Kay 1733) had increased yarn demand by the weavers by doubling their productivity, and now the spinning jenny could supply that demand by increasing the spinners' productivity even more. The machine produced coarse thread.
Components The idea was developed by Hargreaves as a metal frame with eight wooden spindles at one end. A set of eight
rovings was attached to a beam on that frame. The rovings when extended passed through two horizontal bars of wood that could be clasped together. These bars could be drawn along the top of the frame by the spinner's left hand thus extending the thread. The spinner used their right hand to rapidly turn a wheel which caused all the spindles to revolve, and the thread to be spun. When the bars were returned, the thread wound onto the spindle. A pressing wire (faller) was used to guide the threads onto the right place on the spindle.
The politics of cotton In the 17th century, England was famous for its
woollen and
worsted cloth. That industry was centred in the east and south in towns such as
Norwich which jealously protected their product. Cotton processing was tiny: in 1701 only of cotton-wool was imported into England, and by 1730 this had fallen to . This was due to commercial legislation (
Calico Acts) to protect the woollen industry. Cheap
calico prints, imported by the
East India Company from
Hindustan (as India was then called), became popular. In 1700 an Act of Parliament was passed to prevent the importation of dyed or printed
calicoes from India, China or Persia. This caused grey cloth (calico that had not been finished – dyed or printed) to be imported instead, and these were printed in southern England with popular patterns. Lancashire businessmen produced grey cloth with linen
warp and cotton
weft, which they sent to London to be finished. Another law was passed, to fine anyone caught wearing printed or stained calico; muslins, neckcloths and
fustians were exempted. It was this exemption that the Lancashire manufacturers exploited. The use of coloured cotton weft, with linen warp was permitted in the 1736 Manchester Act. There now was an artificial demand for woven cloth. In 1764, of cotton-wool was imported.
The economics of Northern England in 1750 In England, before
canals,
railways, and before the
turnpikes, the only way to transport goods such as calicos, broadcloth or cotton-wool was by
packhorse. Strings of packhorses travelled along a network of
bridle paths. A merchant would be away from home most of the year, carrying his takings in cash in his saddlebag. Later a series of
chapmen would work for the merchant, taking wares to wholesalers and clients in other towns, and with them would go
sample books. Before 1720, the handloom weaver spent part of each day visiting neighbours buying any
weft they had. Carding and spinning might be the only income for that household, or part of it. The family might farm a few acres and card, spin and weave wool and cotton. It took three carders to provide the
roving for one spinner, and up to three spinners to provide the yarn for one weaver. The process was continuous, and done by both sexes, from the youngest to the oldest. The weaver would go once a week to the market with his wares and offer them for sale. A change came about 1740 when
fustian masters gave out raw cotton and warps to the weavers and returned to collect the finished cloth (
Putting-out system). The weaver organised the carding, spinning and weaving to the master's specification. The master then dyed or printed the grey cloth, and took it to shopkeepers. Ten years later this had changed and the fustian masters were middle men, who collected the grey cloth and took it to market
in Manchester where it was sold to merchants who organised the finishing. To hand weave a piece of eighteenpenny weft took 14 days and paid 36 shillings in all. Of this nine shillings was paid for spinning, and nine for carding. Though the workers thought this was a threat to their jobs, it was adopted and the pressure was on to speed up carding and spinning. The shortage of spinning capacity to feed the more efficient looms provided the motivation to develop more productive spinning techniques such as the spinning jenny, and triggered the start of the
Industrial Revolution. ==Success==