The essential principle of the spinning wheel is derived from the multiplication of a rotary movement: each turn of the large wheel turning the distaff many times more rapidly. It is known that in some cases the future bride owned a spinning wheel (and most of the other accessories) even before her marriage; she used it to make her trousseau herself.
In Kamouraska it was the tradition for the mother and sisters of the future bride to begin six months ahead of time to put together her trousseau. On the wedding day the bride's father would pre- sent her with a completely new spinning wheel and loom made in the Paradis Factory at Saint-Andre. Thus equipped, the young married woman could contemplate providing clothes for a large family.
