Hatchel/Hackle

From the collections of PVMA • Digital image © Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Assoc. • Image use information

About this item

Linen is made from the fibers found within the stem of the flax plant. To obtain these fibers, the plant was first soaked in water to rot the tough outer skin; a process called “retting”. Then the plant was pounded and scraped using special tools to remove the outer skin. The last process before spinning was hatchelling (hetchelling, hackling, heckling), which involved pulling the fibers through a series of spiked-tooth tools, much like combs, of varying degrees of fineness, to thin out shorter pieces and remove any tangles. The setting of the spikes on this hatchel indicate that it might have been one of the first used in the hatchelling process before moving on to one with spikes set closer together.

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Details

Item typeTools & Equipment
Textile Working
TopicClothing, Textile, Fashion, Costume
EraEarly Indigenous and European contact, 1565–1619
Colonial settlement, 1620–1762
Revolutionary America, 1763–1783
The New Nation, 1784–1815
National Expansion and Reform, 1816–1860
MaterialWood; Metal
Dimension detailsLength: 24.00 in Width: 6.50 in
Catalog #2000.20.516
View this item in our curatorial database →
Hatchel/Hackle. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/2000-20-516/. Accessed on December 6, 2024.

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