The dried flower heads were attached to spindles, wheels, or cylinders, sometimes called teasel frames, to raise the nap on fabrics (that is, to tease the fibres).
By the 20th century, teasels were largely replaced by metal cards, which could be made uniform and do not require constant replacement as the teasel heads wear.
A recent experiment has shown that adding dead insects to these cups increases the seedset of teasels (but not their height), implying partial carnivory.