The Fleece of Their Flock: Homespun & the American Identity

and since it took many spinners to produce enough thread
for one weaver, the process often bottlenecked at the local
level. Without the assistance from the spinning jenny and
the power loom, which were crucial but proprietary technologies
in British textile mills, colonists were unable to
expedite production. The details of these machines would
not reach the colonies until they were smuggled over in the
1790s and 1800s. 18 Thus, for most of the eighteenth century,
it was neither economically advantageous, nor fully possible
to become self-sufficient on a larger scale.
The colonies were also at a disadvantage because they
could not cultivate enough of the right kinds of raw materials.
Flax was time-consuming to grow and harvest, and its
refinement process was challenging. Wool was even more
of a challenge though, since the prized merino sheep was
Banned
Breeds List
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