The bobbin brake, which is known by various other names, including the Scotch tension brake, is usually a simple band of string or leather that loops around a groove in the bobbin and creates friction on the bobbin to slow it down.
The tighter you make the band, the more friction you create on the bobbin and the slower it goes, relative to the flyer. Reduce the tension on the brake and the bobbin will speed up, thereby reducing the rate at which the yarn winds on. It requires very little tension to slow the bobbin, so we are only making tiny adjustments to the brake!
This is where regular practicing comes in. If you are used to spinning the same type of yarn all the time, it is easy to forget what else the wheel can produce. The skill of the spinner is in determining exactly how much tension is required on the brake to achieve the desired yarn size and twist. Modern wheels have wonderful little knobs that can be tweaked to adjust the bobbin brake as well as the belt tension of the wheel.
You will also find several different variations on the braking system, but they all work according to the same principle. Firstly, if your wheel has several different sized pulleys on the flyer, place the drive belt on the largest pulley to begin this lesson. The belt tension is the next thing you should set. Next, slacken the bobbin brake all the way off.
What should happen now? Correct, the flyer and the bobbin will turn at about the same rate, giving plenty of spin, but the yarn will be very reluctant to wind on to the bobbin. This should provide you with a thin yarn, depending on the amount of fibre you are letting into the yarn. Break off that piece of spun yarn, fold it in half, stretch it and then release it, allowing it to twist back on itself.
This in effect, plies the yarn and thereby, retains the spin; then place it on the table. Now add a tiny bit of tension to your bobbin brake. Neither of my wheels comes equipped with a built-in tensioner. This is not a good example when trying to show how the modern wheels work! With that little bit of added tension on the brake, you should find that the yarn takes up a bit faster, with less spin and should therefore, be fractionally thicker than number one yarn.
Now, tweak the brake to add just a little more tension and spin again. Again, you should have a slightly increased take-in rate, slightly less twist and an even thicker yarn.
Repeat this process until either the brake runs out of adjustment unlikely or the yarn becomes too fat and fluffy, with barely any twist. The spindle whorl is either on the flyer or attached to the spindle. It has different pulley sizes which controls the speed of the flyer. The flyer has a row of hooks on one or both sides of the U-shaped arms to guide the yarn onto the bobbin evenly.
On double drive wheels, the bobbin is rotated by its own pulley. On single drive wheels the bobbin has a separate brake to control its speed. The fiber is twisted as the flyer rotates and the spinner holds the yarn. One revolution of the flyer puts one twist into the yarn. The longer the yarn is held before letting it wind onto the bobbin, the more twist it will receive.
This type of wheel has one drive band around the flyer wheel and the flyer whorl. There is usually a separate brake on the bobbin using an adjustable brake band or a tension wire The Scotch Tension brake system , for the purpose of regulating the speed by which the yarn winds onto the bobbin.
When spinning, a brake is used to hold the bobbin still while the flyer continues to rotate. Removing too much of the natural oils can make it as difficult to spin which is why some handspinners spin with the oils and wash later. You also want to make sure that you aren't using so much detergent that you have to wash the fleece ten times to get all the suds out.
Washing too much and too vigorously can turn the fleece into felt, which you want to avoid. Soak fleece for 45 minutes.
You will want to soak the fleece in the water to get rid of dirt, oils, and other unclean undesirables. Leaving it to soak means that you won't accidentally turn it into felt. Push the fleece gently into the water. You will need to stir the fleece around gently, with your hands or a wooden spoon handle. Remember, too much agitating will turn your fleece into felt. Rinse and repeat. Each time you rinse the wool, make sure that the temperature is the same as the times before.
Soak the fleece in hot water with about one-half cup of white vinegar for 30 minutes, for the last rinse. Mohair, merino, rambouillet, and other finer wools tend to need multiple washes. Let dry. Gently squeeze the wet wool. Spread on a towel or drying rack, or hang over your porch railing. If you can put them outside to dry, do that.
The best weather for drying wool is sunny and windy. Card the fleece using the method of your choose. Carding aligns all the fibers in the one direction.
It fluffs them to make the drafting easier. You can send it to a factory, use a drum card, or a hand comb. Consider using a metal dog comb, which is the most inexpensive choice. With the other paddle, you'll gently swipe across the fibers, aligning them in the same direction. When the fleece is fluffy and aligned, put the piece aside. No matter what type of carding you're doing, the same basic principle is the same.
You are trying to align the fibers one way, whether you're doing it with a metal dog comb, with paddles, or with a drum card. One of things people tend to do wrong is over-card their fleece. Your goal is to make the fleece look presentable, fluffy, and aligned. You don't need to beat the fibers into submission. Make sure that the wool is completely dry. Fleece is amazing in its ability to retain water, and wet fleece isn't going to card properly. Part 3.
Collect your tools to make a drop spindle. One of the best things about a drop spindle is that it is relatively easy to make and to use. If you decide to go this route, then you can make your own drop spindle without much cost. Gather the materials listed below.
A one-foot long wooden dowel. This will act as the main shaft for the spindle. A hook, or wire that can be bent into a hook. You'll make sure to hook your yarn through here. Two heavy CDs to act as the whorl. Rubber grommets that match the diameter of your dowel. You can get these at any farm store or auto part store. Get a serrated knife, or small saw and scissors to cut the dowel. Insert cup hook into the top of the dowel. To do this you'll need to make a hole in the center of the dowel with a pushpin.
Screw the cup hook into the hole so that it will stay in place. Insert the grommet into the hole between two CDs. You want the grommet to fit snugly in the center of the CDs.
This can be a little frustrating since it's a tight fit, but once you've pulled the edges of the grommet up, it should be good to go. Slide the dowel into the center of the grommet. As long as you've judged the sizes correctly you should be finished making your drop spindle.
If it doesn't quite fit, wrap the dowel with electrical tape until the dowel and CDs slip on and fit tightly. Prepare your roving. For a beginning spinner, one piece of roving is going to be too big.
Break that piece down into sections that are about 12 inches Carefully split your roving down the middle to form two strips instead of one.
This will make spinning easier if you're just beginning. Tie on your leader. Your leader is a piece of yarn about 18 inches Put the yarn over the whorl and loop it around the shaft underneath. Put it back over the whorl and secure the end to the hook. Spin the fibers. Letting the spindle hang beneath your hand, suspended by the leader, take the spindle in your right hand and the leader in your left hand. Spin the drop spindle from the dowel or shaft in a clockwise direction. Repeat this process in the same direction until the leader begins to take in the twist.
You'll leave a fluff of fiber at the end so you can join on more fiber. It's a good idea to practice making the spindle rotate, so that you get a feel for the direction you'll be spinning the drop spindle to make the yarn. Wind on new fiber. Keeping tension on your spun yarn, allow the twist to run into the newly drafted fiber. Keep repeating this process and check that there is enough twist before you move on.
When the yarn is long enough that the spindle almost touches the ground, unhook it and wrap it around the base of the spindle next to the whorl.
This is called a single. You'll want to leave enough yarn unwound so that you can slip it back on the book with a couple of inches to spare.
If you find that the yarn is pulling apart or too slack, spin your spindle again to store more of the twist. Join more fiber. Overlap the wool a few inches of the fluff of drafted fibers, so that you can catch and twist more onto the leader. Allow the twist to run into the joined fibers, adding more twist by spinning the spindle, because you want to make sure that your join is secure. To test the join, give the spindle another twist and bring your right hand back to where the left hand holds the yarn.
Move your left hand back about three inches, as you pull and draft out more fibers of wool and allow the spindle to turn a few times. Release the yarn with your right hand and left the twist move up into the fibers as you did previously.
Now, gently pull more fibers from the fiber mass by pulling back with your left hand, and allowing the twist to run into the drafted fibers. Part 4. Draft the wool. This is when you pull fibers from material to be spun and thin them down to form the size of the yarn you want to spin. If you draft more fibers, your yarn will be thicker; less fibers and it will be thinner.
If your fiber is in a long, continuous narrow strip, this is the form of fiber processing called roving. If it's in a wide, rolled-up bundle that unrolls into a wide rectangle, that is the form of fiber processing called a batt.
Pick a strip about 12 inches Hold the strip of fiber in one hand doesn't matter which. Pull a few fibers from one end of your strip with your other hand. Drafting things the fiber down the the desired thickness for your spun yarn.
The spinning process will twist the fibers, which also thin them down. As you get better at drafting and spinning, you'll find it easier to judge the size of your drafts. Set up the leader on your spinning wheel. The leader is a piece of yarn that has previously been spun and can be attached to the shaft of your bobbin.
Cut a piece of yarn about 36 inches Make sure that you tie it snugly. Pull the leader through the orifice on your spinning wheel. Once you do this you're ready to begin the actual spinning!
If you're just starting to spin, it's a good idea to practice spinning just with the leader so you get a feel for how the spinning wheel works, how to start spinning the wheel just with the treadles. Place your fiber alongside the leader.
You will want to overlap them for about four to six inches. You'll hold the bundle of fiber in one hand the fiber hand , and the leader and fiber in the other hand this is the drafting hand. Begin treadling. You want to make sure that the wheel is going in a clockwise motion. This will create the "Z" twist in your single strand of spun yarn.
Allow the leader and the fiber to twist together, holding them for a moment while they twist, so that they are secure. Make sure you let the wheel take up the fiber as you draft more fiber.
Begin to spin. Overlap un-spun and spun fiber, holding it with your non-dominant hand and turn the wheel clockwise.
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