We're offering a series of FREE events designed to inspire your creativity, blending the old with the new, as we explore technology and tradition in "Creative Fusion", supported by Westmeath County Council & Creative Ireland.
You might be thinking, "How do tradition and modern technology even fit together?" Well, we’re here to show you that they can work in perfect harmony! From ancient crafts to cutting-edge tech, the possibilities are endless when you start to think outside the box.
@westmeathculture Creative Fusion is our programme of events where blend technology and tradition. you can see the tradition of wool spinning here, aided by a modern 3D print, blending tech and craft. #librarytiktok #creativeireland #woolspinning ♬ Glimpse (Slowed + Reverb) - Gabriel Albuquerqüe
Take, for example, a workshop I attended in 2022 at Mullingar Library, led by Áine Dunne. It was a wool-spinning session – a hands-on dive into the traditional craft of spinning. Fast forward, and I found myself gifted with a secondhand spinning wheel, which turned out to have a fascinating backstory. It was a Sheils wheel, made in Donegal, possibly crafted by the current maker's father or even grandfather.
Now, when you're spinning wool, you need a bobbin to hold the yarn, and usually, you need three but I only had one, so I had to keep transferring the yarn back and forwards.
One day, I thought, "Why not 3D print another bobbin?" So I found a design on Thingiverse – though it needed a bit of tweaking. I made some adjustments using Tinkercad, and asked Mullingar Library to print it for me.
A few hours later, I had my custom 3D-printed bobbin. It wasn’t perfect straight away, though – I had to do a little work. A quick tip for anyone dealing with 3D prints: to remove the supports, use a cup of hot water (not too much, though – you don’t want to deform your design!). After a little superglue to keep everything secure, I attached the bobbin to my flyer and gave it a spin.
And you know what? It worked! The perfect fusion of tradition and technology. Now, I just need to print a third bobbin, and there’ll be no stopping me!
This article was published on: 1st April, 2025
Filed under: Library blog
Tags: 3D printing, Creative Fusion, Creative Ireland, technology, tradition