Belgian Rouet bobbin winder

21.5" (54.61cm) tall
Very good condition, just old with expected wear. The drive band fits in a slot in the backward-slanted bobbin upright. The band is stretched, I had to pin up some of the excess to get it to fit for the photo.
Illustrated in "Bobbinlace Bobbin Winders", The Spinning Wheel Sleuth, 2022.

Belgian friction wheel winder. This is a small piece, the larger ones are extremely hard to find and are sometimes mistaken for spinning wheels. This is why I've named it a 'rouet', but a more proper term is probably "bobbinoir'. On this one both the wheel and bobbin supports have to be rotated in the base to align them properly. I didn't have much luck winding two bobbins at the same time, but it probably just needs practice. Note the fluted marks on the upper short edges of both platforms - you see something similar on Vermeer's portrait of the lacemaker on the her pillow base. See swift_2 which came from the same seller and looks to be a close match.

purchased 10/20/2009
first posted 12/8/2009