A wooden hand tool with a central bar and a crossbar at each end, the two crossbars set at right angles to one another, turned by hand to wind spun yarn off a bobbin or spindle into a skein of a fixed, known length. Counting the turns as the yarn goes round converts directly into yardage, which is why handspinners still reach for one before washing or dyeing a skein. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Open Questions
Introduced When (Circa)Not established by the sources consulted
The niddy-noddy is a simple wooden tool with no attested point of invention; a traditional counting rhyme and its long use among handspinners are documented, but no source consulted fixes a first-use date. OriginTraditionally made of wood, though budget-minded spinners sometimes substitute PVC pipe; a traditional counting rhyme, 'Niddy-noddy, niddy-noddy, two heads and one body,' describes its shape and is the likely source of its name. 1 FAQs
Where does the name niddy-noddy come from?
A traditional counting rhyme describing the tool's two crossbars and one shaft.
No source gives a formal etymology, but spinners have long used a counting rhyme while winding a skein: "Niddy-noddy, niddy-noddy, two heads and one body," describing the tool's central bar and its two crossbars, set at right angles to each other. The rhyme is the most likely source of the name, and it is still taught the same way today.
Connections
Used In
Catalogued beside knitting for lack of a dedicated spinning entry in this atlas; the niddy-noddy skeins hand-spun yarn used across the fiber crafts, not knitting specifically.
Source Niddy-Noddy (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Niddy-Noddy (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead section
a tool used to make skeins from yarn
Description section
the opening line of which ran, 'Niddy-noddy, niddy-noddy, two heads and one body'
- Used In: Knitting
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