Dye House (Ground Floor)

10. Washing - The hanks are made into a chain and are moved through the water to remove the added oil and any dirt.

11. Dyeing: The hanks are hung on rods and lowered SELF CONDUCTED into the stainless steel dye vat and are boiled in the dye mixture for an hour. TOUR GUIDE

When Thomas Williams bought the Mill in 1859 it had already been functioning for at least 30 years as a mill with carding, spinning, weaving, dyeing Turbine House (Ground Floor) and finishing, and it is still owned and run by the same family. 17. Hydro-electric Turbine: Trefriw Woollen Mills was originally a “pandy” or Our Welsh “tapestry” bedspreads, throws, fulling mill to which local people brought their travelling rugs, tweeds, cushion covers, dinner hand-woven cloth to be finished. The soft water sets, ladies’ garments, hats, caps, bags and purses Welcome to Trefriw Woollen Mills. We hope you from the river Crafnant was used to wash and are exclusively available from our mill shop and enjoy your visit to our mill museum where we shrink the cloth and to drive the water wheels. website. We also buy in pure wool knitwear and manufacture traditional Welsh “tapestry” bedspreads, The water wheels were dismantled in about sheepskin goods to complement our products. travelling rugs, tapestry by the metre and tweeds from the 1900 when hydro-electric turbines were first raw wool using machinery which is over fifty years old. installed. In 1952 a new intake was built 340 Please be aware that machines operate according to metres upstream, giving a head of (37m). The production requirements. water flows down a pipe to the turbine house, Trefriw Woollen Mills Ltd , Trefriw, Conwy Valley, North Wales, LL27 0NQ where a Boving pelton wheel (1947) drives an alternator, which generates electricity to power Tel: 01492 640462 | email: [email protected] People with walking difficulties can access the weaving the machinery. In 2012 the steel pipe (badly shed and turbine house through the shop damaged in the previous winter) was lined www.t-w-m.co.uk (Please ask a member of staff). with a plastic pipe. Ground Level First Floor 7. Cop to Cone Winder: The cops from the spinning mule are wound onto cones to make larger, more stable packages. Turbines 15 Looms 17 Turbines Steps to 15 Looms 8. Doubler14 Bobbin: Two threads are twisted together. 17 Ground Winder 6 Looms 15 5 Steps to Level 14 Bobbin 11 Ground9. Hank Winder: TheSpinning yarn is6 wound from the 14 Carding 5 Winder Looms 15 Level 13 Warping Mule Engines Mill Spinning 10 11 14 Carding bobbins to hanks ready for washing and dyeing. Dye House 13 Warping Mule Engines Mill 10 Dye House 12 Tea Room Shop 10/11. 9 Dye House: SituatedHank to at12 ground level. Tea Room Shop Storage Cone Winder Steps from Bins Hank 9 Hank to Steps to1st Storage Cone Winder Introductory Steps from Bins Winder Hank & 2nd Floor 1 Steps to1st Ground Floor 12. Hank to Cone8 Winder: The dyed yarn is wound Introductory Winder Video& 2nd Floor 1 Ground Floor Doubler 8 Video Cop to Steps to from hanks to conesDoubler for useCop toon the warping mill. Steps to Cone Top Floor Checking Winder Cone Blending Top Floor Checking Winder 4 Blending 16 Table 7 Shed 4 16 Table 7 Shed 13. Warping Mill: The warp consists of the threads in the loomSteps that from runSteps the from length of the cloth. 5. Carding Engines: The rollers are covered First FloorFirst Floor Here, the colour sequence of the warp is set Weaver’s Weaver’s with small metal teeth. Every time the wool is W.C. 2W.C. 2 up on the warping frame. The yarns are then Craft Garden Craft Garden 3 transferred from one roller to another the wool is 3 Studio Studio wound onto the large drum in sections(about straightened and mixed. The resultant fine web 15 sections for a bedspread). The warp is then of wool is split into slubbings (twistless threads) wound onto a beam which fits into the back of and collected on condenser bobbins. 1. Introductory Video one of the looms.

2. The Weaver’s Garden contains plants which Top Floor 14. Bobbin Winder: (also on ground floor) The yarn provide fibres, soap, natural dyes, moth is wound from cones to bobbins for use as weft repellents and textile tools. Turbines 15 Looms in the shuttles. 17 3. Craft Studio - Rag rug making or hand spinning Steps to 14 Bobbin Ground Winder 6 15. Dobcross Looms: (also on ground floor) Every Looms 15 demonstration. Try weaving yourself5 on hand Level Spinning 11 14 Carding thread in the warp passes through a metal eye looms. Open June-September, Tuesdays, 13 Warping Mule Engines Mill which is attached to one of the shafts. As the 10 Dye House Wednesdays and Thursdays. 12 shafts are raised and lowered, the threads on Tea Room Shop 9 Hank to them are separated to form a ‘shed’ through 4. Blending Shed : Several types of rawStorage wool are Cone Winder Steps to1st Steps from Bins Hank Introductory weighed and laid in layers. Oil is added to help Winder which the shuttle travels, leaving a trail of yarn & 2nd Floor 1 Ground Floor 8 Video the wool pass through the machinery. The Doubler Cop to (weft) which is beaten into the fell of the cloth. Steps to Cone wool blend is fed first into the Shaker and thenTop Floor Checking Winder The pulleys on the wide chain control the shafts Blending 4 16 Table 7 Shed the Fearnought - large rotating drums covered (i.e. the pattern) and those on the narrow chain Steps from select the shuttle (i.e. weft colour). in coarse teeth which begin the process of First Floor opening up the fibres. The blend is blown 6. Spinning Mules: The slubbings are taken to Weaver’s 16. Checking Table: At the end of the process all W.C. 2 through a pipe to storage bins near the carding Craft Garden the mules where they are stretched and twist is products are checked. 3 Studio engines (first floor). added, thus making a thread.