Types of Spinning Wheels

• Great Wheel or Walking Wheel

• Drop Spindles

• Flier Lead or drive band driven wheels

Great Wheel or walking wheel

– (usually) turned by hand,

– very large (eg 50" diameter),

– used for long draw on things like cotton (high twist)

– unusual – spindle, not flyer

Drop Spindle

• Drop Spindles were in use before recorded history. Most historians agree that the practice of spinning fibers into yarn or thread existed over 10,000 years ago. The drop spindle could have been used for over 9,000 years before the spinning wheel was invented in India during the late Middle Ages. The drop spindle has been documented back to the 1st century A.D. In Middle Eastern archeological sites, whorls from drop spindles have been dated back to 5000 B.C. No spindles have been excavated because they were usually made from wood that biodegraded over time. Some cultures used rocks for spinning, and this process is still used today by nomadic tribes in remote parts of Asia.

Types of Drop Spindles

• There are several types of drop spindles available today.

• They very in design and weight

The drop spindle used for wool needs to have a heavier whorl than a hand spindle used for cotton because wool fibers are longer. Wool fibers are generally around four or more inches in length, whereas cotton fibers are only one to two inches long.

Low-Whorl drop spindle

Low-whorl drop spindle with the whorl near the bottom of the

spindle.

High-whorl drop spindle

High-whorl drop spindle with the whorl is near the top of the spindle.

Hooked High whorl ½ length

A hooked, high-whorl spindle with a whorl located at less than half the length of the spindle and has a hook on top

Hooked high-whorl spindle

A hooked high-whorl spindle with two whorls located near each other but with enough space to wind the yarn between them

Turkish Drop Spindle

• Turkish drop spindle, which features a double cross-arm instead of a circular whorl.

Scotch tension or flyer lead

– A single band drives the flyer

– The bobbin has an adjstable friction band to slow it

Bobbin lead

– A single band drives the bobbin

– The flyer has a friction brake

Double drive

o Both the flyer and bobbin are driven at different speeds according to the whorls fitted.

Upright wheel (also traveller or parlour)

– Flyer mounted above the wheel, making the wheel more portable.

– Will usually fit on a car passenger seat with the seat belt holding it.

Castle wheel

oWheel mounted above the flyer, a very tall wheel!

Saxony wheel

– Three-legged 'standard wheel'

– Flyer usually to left of the wheel

– May have to travel in the car boot [trunk] or take the whole of the back seat.

Charka Wheel

– Charka (means wheel) was developed in India by Ghandi in 1920 so the women of India could spin cotton thread and yarn in vast quantities. This mass production was to make Indian people less dependent upon England for cotton and he truly believed that spinning gave peace of mind.

Electric 'wheel'

– A flyer on bearings driven by a small motor.

– Very compact, can be useful for people with limited use of legs.

– Very portable, can be battery powered. (Mine has a model steam traction engine powered option for demonstrations).