Spinning jenny is a machine for spinning yarn. This machine played an important role in the mechanization of textile production. Like the spinning wheel, it may be operated by a treadle or by hand. But, unlike the spinning wheel, it can spin more than one yarn at a time. The idea for multiple-yarn spinning was conceived about 1764 by James Hargreaves, an English weaver. In 1770, he patented a machine that could spin 16 yarns at a time.
