Teasels were chiefly useful for brushing woven fabrics to raise the nap - making the cloth feel thicker and softer.
That use is well known to industrial archaeology and related technical studies. I see that the wiki article's author thought to add a note about it too.
Just for the record, I didn't conclude that the maker's intention was to evoke the teasel, but Koen's ms is well worth knowing. Thanks Koen.
That use is well known to industrial archaeology and related technical studies. I see that the wiki article's author thought to add a note about it too.
Quote:Fuller's teasel (the cultivar group Dipsacus fullonum Sativus Group; syn. D. sativus) was formerly widely used in textile processing, providing a natural comb for cleaning, aligning and raising the nap on fabrics, particularly wool.
It differs from the wild type in having stouter, somewhat recurved spines on the seed heads. The dried flower heads were attached to spindles, wheels, or cylinders, sometimes called teasel frames, to raise the nap on fabrics (that is, to tease the fibres).
By the 20th century, teasels had been largely replaced by metal cards, ...[but] some people who weave wool still prefer to use teasels for raising the nap...
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Just for the record, I didn't conclude that the maker's intention was to evoke the teasel, but Koen's ms is well worth knowing. Thanks Koen.