Draft:Yarn Thwacking
Yarn finishing practice used by spinners
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Yarn Thwacking
Yarn thwacking is a traditional practice used by yarn spinners to finish handspun yarn by whacking it against a hard surface. This opens up the fibers, allowing them to relax and "bloom".
In order to properly thwack the yarn, it must be freshly washed, still damp, and wound into a hank. Holding the wet skein by one end and thwacking it against the edge of the counter, shift your hold along the skein and continue around. The yarn is thoroughly thwacked when it has relaxed and become drapey.
History
Yarn thwacking was first introduced in Medieval Bosnia[1], by a spinner's guild searching for a method of softening handspun wool.[2] Verbal tradition states that it was first developed by a medieval knitter taking out his anger at King Tvrtko I on the freshly dyed yarn. This technique spread from Bosnia all over Europe, and into the American colonies by the late 1650s.
Yarn thwacking was recommended in the Corticelli Yarn Book No. 12, 1913, and the The Diamond Dye Annual Direction Book, 1914-1915.
With the advent of the Internet, yarn thwacking has become a widely used practice, with proponents claiming that "the overall feel and handle of woolen spun yarns improve with thwacking" [3] and that it "strengthens the yarn and provides elasticity" [4]