Spinning
Can they synthesize fabrics? Yes. Do they want to? Not generally.
T’zim-Sha gave the spindle a good twist and pulled the yarn toward the floor, drafting the fibers with his other hand and careful to avoid catching anything on his cracked claws. The pup anchored on his chest watched in rapt attention as the twist traveled up the yarn to where T’zim-Sha had pinched off the fibers. He gave the yarn another pull and turned to face Testho, doing much as he was with pups following her around and waiting for the spindle to reach the ground, and Ta’zhen. Testho pulled up the spindle to wrap the yarn before the pups could get their wish.
Spinning is the process by which all that fur lying around after getting scraped off the hide for Takhasar making is converted into thread. A very ancient process involving simple tools, spinning rivals Hunting Season or the alehouse as a cornerstone of Stenza social life. As often performed by men as by women, and frequently taught to children as young as six years old, spinning provides a perfect excuse to tell stories to one another.Utility
Spinning is exclusively used to turn fibers into usable thread, and what that thread becomes falls under such arts as Weaving, braiding, or so on.
Manufacturing
Bundles of fiber are held either in the free hand or tied to a distaff, to keep it all in one place while spinning. Fiber is then drafted and passed through a spinning hand (often newly formed threads are held between the first two fingers and guided by the thumb, although this is not an enforced rule), while it is twisted by a suspended (or semi-suspended) drop spindle. Thread gathers on the spindle stick and is periodically transferred to a bobbin for weaving or sewing.
Access & Availability
The process of spinning is ubiquitous among the Stenza, and many know how to do it even if they do not engage in it routinely. (This is useful if there is a larger than usual pile of fur to spin and more hands are needed.)
Complexity
Discovery
The exact date of discovery is unknown, although it is recognized that spinning has been practiced since at least the time of the earliest settlements, based on the tools and fragments thereof, as well as the thread and fabric, found among the ruins.
Related Species
I love that spinning is such an integral part of Stenza culture, and that they prefer to do it by hand than synthesise the process. I also love that it's something most Stenza know how to do, even if it is just to help out when needed. :)
Explore Etrea
It's been one of those things I've been playing with generally, that this spacefaring society is otherwise not "industrial", they still do a ton of things by hand the way they have since time immemorial.