Definitions for "Spindle whorl"
A device for twisting fibres together into one continuous strand or thread. The Salish spindle consist of two parts: a slender shaft of oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor) wood about a meter long, and a disc-shaped weight or whorl of wood, bone, or stone with a central hole through which the shaft is inserted. Most of the weavers at Musqueam now use a spinning wheel to spin. They control the spinning through their hands and a foot pedal.
a small flywheel used in spinning thread
a weight with a hole in the middle, which were used to hold the thread fixed