About the Newsletter

What is The Spinning Wheel Sleuth?

The Spinning Wheel Sleuth is a small newsletter published four times a year in January, April, July, and October. Subscriptions cost $28 for one year.

What is the Hand Looms Supplement?

The Hand Looms Supplement is published once a year. They are sold separately from the quarterly newsletter for $10 each. Subscribers receive a discount.

I don’t live in the United States. Can I still get The Spinning Wheel Sleuth?

Yes we have subscribers all over the world. The subscription rate for Canada is $32 and for international subscribers it is $40 per year.

Where do you find the spinning wheels and hand looms that you write about?

Our generous contributors share the research that they have done on spinning wheels in their own collections, or those they have seen. Sometimes they study spinning wheel makers or historical styles. The key ingredient is enthusiasm for the subject.

Can you tell me how much a spinning wheel is worth?

No. We don’t give dollar values on spinning wheels.

Can you tell me about a name or initials that I found on a spinning wheel?

Yes. If you send an overall picture of the wheel and a close-up of the name or initials, we can check our Spinning Wheel Maker List or other sources to see if anything is known about that wheel maker.

About Spinning Wheels

Where can I find plans to build a spinning wheel?

David Bryant of Knutsford, Cheshire, England, offers plans for twelve different types of wheels on his website.

Where can I learn about different types of looms?

Janet Meany maintains a library of loom manuals for many late 19th– and 20th-century looms. Her website is The Weavers Friend .

David Bryant (see above) also offers plans for looms .

Where can I find information on contemporary spinning wheels in other countries?

Mary Knox has created and maintains a website to identify 20th century New Zealand spinning wheels .

Dorothy Lumb has created and maintains a website to identify 20th century spinning wheels in the United Kingdom .

Some pages to identify 20th century Australian spinning wheels are at Australian Spinning Wheels .