The distaff is a stick or shaft around which wool, flax or some other raw material for making yarn or thread is loosely wound. Strands drawn from the larger mass of the material on the distaff are attached to a weighted drop-spindle. When the strands are fed by hand to the spinning spindle, they twist together to form a single thread. From the yarn knitted articles are made; from the thread cloth is woven.

The distaff and spindle are common to most cultures in the world.

The British Columbia Folklore Society has adopted the Distaff and Spindle to symbolically represent the many ethnic groups coming together to make up the social community of the province.

It also represents the multiplicity of traditions within our society that form a single thread we can all recognize, and of which we can all be proud.