The inhabitants of the Mediterranean in Neolithic times soon abandoned leather clothing, due to the dissemination of the art of weaving, whereby cloth is created from plant and animal fibres using a special frame. The cloth was wrapped around the body with the aid of belts and special pins, offering light covering during the summer months and heavier protection in the winter, depending on the weaving and raw material used.
Over the millennia, clothing progressed from covering the human body with strips of cloth, to the production of separate coverings for the upper and lower body, with sleeves, trousers and skirts, and also clothing covering the whole body.
RAW MATERIALS
Wool
Sheep’s wool is the basic raw material for weaving in Mediterranean countries. Shearing takes place in April and May, before the move to high-altitude summer pasturage. The wool is washed repeatedly and carefully. Once dry, it is carded with two large metal
carding-combs
that untangle the strands. Clumps of the clean, fluffy wool are attached to the
distaff
and the spinning-woman draws out the thread and winds it round the
spindle
. The thread is transferred from the spindle to the
reel
, then the
spinning wheel
and finally the
bobbins
, small canes wound with thread that are set in the
shuttle
.
This process is used for all types of thread except silk.
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