

Do you really need another spinning wheel?


Do you really need more yarn?

Do you really need more fiber?

We’ve all got some creative responses to those questions. But what about when the question is “Do you really need another spinning wheel?”

Remember back in September when I fell in love with the Hilltopper spinning wheel at the Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival? Well, shortly before Christmas I was finally able to place my order and Jim got right to work crafting my wheel.

The drive wheel of my Hilltopper, freshly cut and assembled

Once I placed my order I knew I was going to have to answer the inevitable question. After all, I’ve already got two spinning wheels. So when the dear spouse asked why I needed another, I had no problem answering honestly. The Hilltopper is different than either of my other two wheels and thus, spins differently.

However, to the non-spinner, all spinning wheels do the same thing. Spin the fiber into yarn. In essence, that is a correct statement, so I had to elaborate and explain the difference between my wheels and how the spinning experience (and the yarn they spin) is different with each.

My first wheel is an Edammertje, looks much like a Louet, and like most of the Louet models it is a bobbin driven wheel. This means that the drive band which circles around the drive wheel also circles around a pulley on the bobbin. The tension or take up is controlled by a brake band on the flyer, often referred to as Irish tension. Also much like many of the Louet models I’ve tried, I find that there is plenty of take up without using the brake band at all, so I usually leave it hanging off to one side.

My Edammertje

The Edammertje bobbins only have one size pulley so there is only one drive ratio available which is 5.25:1 (the bobbin turns 5.25 times for every one turn of the drive wheel). It spins beautifully, but because of the limited drive ratio, it is better suited to spinning thicker yarns. This doesn’t mean that I couldn’t spin really fine yarns on this wheel. I could, but it would require an awful lot of effort on my part. The really large bobbins on my Edammertje can hold a lot of yarn which also makes it great for plying.

The bobbin and flyer assembly on my Edammertje

My second wheel is my Lendrum. It’s a flyer driven wheel meaning that the drive band circles the drive wheel and then circles around a pulley on the flyer. The tension is controlled by a brake band that goes around the bobbin, referred to as Scotch tension. This type of tension system gives the spinner a more control of the take up from very strong to very light. This allows the spinner to produce a wide variety of yarns ranging from thick, low twist yarns to very fine, high twist lace weight yarns.

The bobbin and flyer assembly on my Lendrum

The Lendrum is also an extremely versatile wheel for other reasons. Not only does it fold up nice and neatly and pack away in bag making it easy to take travel with, which was the biggest draw for me, there are different flyers available to spin many different kinds of yarn. I have the regular flyer with ratios of 6:1, 8:1, and 10:1, and the fast flyer with ratios of 12:1, 15:1, and 17:1. There are also other flyers available with slower and faster ratios.

My Lendrum set up to spin in the llama barn at Wunsapana Farm

Considering the capabilities of the two spinning wheels I own, some of you may also be wondering why I needed another. For that you’ll have to check back next week. I’ll introduce you all to my newest addition and tell you what makes spinning on the Hilltopper so different.



Categories: General
Aaron Bush

6 Responses

  1. Ruth Rich says:

    My response is why do you only have three? Some people have half a dozen or more! People who are involved in crafting need tools and each tool does the job a little differently from a similar tool. We need a good tool set and an extensive selection of material to express our creative abilities. Go for it!

  2. Shannon says:

    I love all your wheels! If I could I’d get another! I have a Louet s 10 DT.

  3. Aaron says:

    My next acquisition might be a loom that offers a few more features and options than my rigid heddle loom. :-)

  4. Harriet says:

    You’re a tease!!!! But I’ll check back next week.

  5. Adrianne says:

    Oddly enough, “spinning” seems like a luxury — I say “oddly enough” because I suppose crocheting (or knitting) could be seen the same way. “Why are you crocheting? Can’t you just go buy a throw for the bed/a scarf/etc., etc.?!”

    Therefore, I suppose, I can understand needing more than one wheel/spinner. Just like your gauge changes by the size of your hook/needles, you *need* more than one! But do you really? I honestly thought you couldn’t crochet with a hook smaller than the one listed on the yarn package, but you actually can … but your gauge will change : )

    *Someday* I can see myself spinning! I would like to live in that kind of luxury ; )


  6. Pat says:

    Very interesting blog. I’ve always been intrigued with spinning wheels. I had no idea there were so many different kinds. As to the query as to “how many do you need?”, it seems like there will always be “just one more” . :)