La fouleuse à maillets

Manufactured by: Ateliers Valençon père & fils, Hodimont, in the 1880sOrigin: a donation from the Higher Industrial Institute in VerviersVerviers Museum Collection: No. A37Machine used for fulling the woollen cloth whose warp and weft threads are tightened thanks to the hammering action. The fulling serves to provide solidity and elasticity to the fabric. It also causes shrinkage of the piece as well as an increase in its thickness. The piece is placed in a tray filled with a mixture of water, urine and fuller's earth. It is then struck by hammers or pestles. The mechanism is driven by a water wheel, hence the need to be near to a waterway.