Spinning mule Rhode Island. Development over the next century and a half led to an automatic mule and to finer and stronger yarn. The ring frame, originating in New England in the 1820s, was little used in Lancashire until the 1890s. It required more energy and could not produce the finest counts. Samuel Crompton invented the spinning mule in 1779, so called because it is a hybrid of Arkwright's water frame and James Hargreaves' spinning jenny in the same way that mule is the product of crossbreeding a female horse with a male donkey (a female donkey is called a "jenny"). The
Water frame Water frame A water frame is a water-powered spinning frame designed for the production of cotton thread, first used in 1765. It was able to spin 128 threads at a time, which was an easier and faster method than ever before. It was developed by Richard Arkwright, who patented the technology in 1767. The design was partly based on a spinning machine built for Thomas Highs by clock maker John Kay, who was hired by Arkwright. Being run on water power, it produced stronger and harder yarn than the then-famous 'spinning jenny', thus, greatly ushering the factory system. The water