Working in Cottages

In the eighteenth century factories as we know them did not exist. All manufacturing was done in the home and not in mass production. Work was slow, strenuous and time consuming. The production process usually took place at home, therefore the title “domestic”. Everybody in the family did their part. For example manufacturing wool first, you would clean the wool after being cut from the sheep, then you would brush the wool into separate fibers, this term is called carding. Carded wool would be spun by a spinster, usually a young girl who was not married. When it’s done being spun it is known as yarn. In its final step it would be woven by a trained weaver, generally the man, on an heirloom so it can be sold to a clothier. The manufacturing most likely was done under different roofs/cottages. If work was not done in your own home it might be done in a work shop, still production was on a small scale and did not pay well. Yet, it was still a good domestic system. Working at home allowed for the workers to produce at their own pace, could overlook their children, prepare meals and could take breaks when they felt one was needed. Families worked together as a team to manufacturing a product there very little tension and a sense of pride. The population was becoming greater, meaning more mouths to feed and more clothing needing to be produced. An efficient system was in demand; a system that could produce at a greater speed and was just plain old better. This lead to new factories, ports being built and the industries with all their problems. (Source: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/domestic_system.htm)