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Thanks to wonderful friends I have been able to purchase my first ever spinning wheel. (I am so grateful I can’t find the word to express myself!) I did something I would have never thought I would, I asked for help. Not only that, but I also asked for economical support! Like two things never ever thought I would be doing, and on a social media for that matter. Look at me, working on moving out of the comfort zone with the asking thing, and with the new experiencing of creating yarn! So, so, I am quite excited to present you, without further ado, my choice as a new spinning wheel….

*drum roll* Kromski – Minstrel – Ta-Daaa

This amazing hand turned piece of craftsmanship has been my choice, and trust me, choosing a wheel has been really hard. There is only a handful of brand in the world making spinning wheel, and they are that great dedicated passionate bunch of people, that also can provide accessories for 1970’s wheels, making sure that their faithful spinners can continue enjoying creating yarn. Kromski & Son is a Polish company that has been making wheels for a long time, and this model, specifically is an up-right wheel (although some will call it a castle wheel). An upright wheel is a wheel that has the orifice right above the spinning apparatus. This means that the orifice (the space where the yarn will travel to reach the bobbin) is perpendicular to the wheel and the treadles. Let me back up a moment so I will clarify few things about the traditional spinning wheel shape:
– The wheel is on the side
– The orifice is on the opposite side of the wheel if there is a bobbin (there could be a spindle instead of the bobbin, in the same position)
– There is one or two treadle/s positioned diagonally from the center of the whole wheel towards the wheel.

So in a way, positioning in front of this would be slightly sideways. It has to be sort of sideways, so that the foot (or feet) can treadle while the hands draft and feed the yarn fed through the orifice and in the bobbin.
The main reason why I was looking at an upright wheel was for the positioning.
Adding a slight torsion to my body for long time in a day, didn’t seem like a good idea, so if you do have some concerns about your health already, I read many articles and blogs where spinners do prefer an upright wheel. Other spinners mentioned how much time they spent in comparison with the yarn created (or lack of yarn) during the learning process, and how much they would have rather be sitting straight.

Right, so upright was my choice, and along with the price, I had to focus on what would have been affordable for me… also considering I would have wanted to keep the budget as low as possible…
Wheels come in different types of wood from MDF (medium density fiberboard), MDF veneered, made of solid different types of wood, so you see, plenty of choices.

Having had the amazing Dad I had, I always feel a nervous twitch when I see something expensive made of MDF, it really kills any kind of excitement. MDF is an excellent material for many things (I use it for my sculpture bases) but… being so processed often to me it feels like extra-fine sawdust blend with glue… and honestly if I can  compare costs with something made of MDF and solid wood, I would go for solid wood! …and I cannot even consider having MDF veneered with solid wood if I can get the real deal! (Thank you Dad for making me a high maintenance woman!)

Decisions made so far: My wheel would be upright, made of solid wood… Here on the left side you see a flyer, with a bobbin. the flier is that big U shape thing, and in the curved U part there is the whorl (those different circles). The bobbin is that big wooden thingy that looks like a big spool. The magic of yarn creating happens here, with the help of the amazing big wheel. There is a string/cable that connects the whorl to the wheel, or the bobbin, or both, and if needed there is a “break” to slow down the bobbin. Why the slow down you say? I mean, all this treadling and we need to break? What is this all about? Well you see, this is how it works, in a very simplified way:

  • – A thread is knotted around the bobbin, the thread (called The Lead) is now supported by the hooks, it goes inside the orifice and comes out it on the front – A roving of wool gets knotted on the lead
  • – Your hand moves the wheel (usually on a clockwise direction)
  • – The treadle/s (the correct rhythm is hard work to find, let me warn ya) move the wheel
  • – The wheel spins the flyer
  • – The flyer gives the twist on the yarn
  • – The break (usually slows down the bobbin) helps the just spun yarn to be wound up in the bobbin.

So… without tension, you have a pile of over twisted messy yarn (like I do, after my first 4 hours self-learning LOL)… so Tension is key! To choose a spinning wheel you also need to choose which tension should have.

What tension? What dimension of the wheel? Oh my, I was really confused and overwhelmed, the internet is such a vast place when we need information, but impressively not so wide, when you search for a wheel. As there are few manufacturers the circle of spinners that have familiarity with the net, is even less wide. This is also why I have decided to write this blog, maybe a person like me, somewhere, would like to know more about spinning wheel and maybe some info here will help. Single tension: Scotch or Irish Tension or instead choose a Double Drive?

This really required a lot of thought, although it seems a bit hard to find a wheel Single Drive Irish tension, I would have like to try it, but Single drive Scotch tension were the most popular in the single drive bunch. What does Double Drive means? The Drive of a spinning wheel is what makes the spinning wheel, well, spin, and the drive referred as “Irish” or “Scotch” is what makes the bobbin pull the yarn after has received the necessary twist filling the bobbin. It’s all about where the drive band is positioned, of course one drive band needs to be on the main wheel and the whorl on the flyer and something needs to happen to the bobbin! So in the Irish tension, the bobbin is directly connected to the main wheel (so the same main wheel) and as otherwise the bobbin will spin without having traction to pull the yarn in and wound it up, so there needs to be a break to differentiate the speed of the bobbin, and this happen with a leather strap placed on top of the orifice to regulate the speed with a normal flyer screw. In the Scotch tension, the break is connected to the bobbin only, and thanks to a spring (see picture above) regulates the speed of the bobbin.

Double Drive is …honestly? I don’t know yet! I think it is something to do with “no breaks” where the wheel and flyer and bobbin use the same drive belt. Basically the drive belt is knotted and from being a O becomes a figure 8 so that wheel and flyer whorl are connected and a new loop goes on the wheel and the other goes on the bobbin. If you choose a Single Drive Wheel (Irish or Scotch tension), you cannot then decide to change to Double Drive, and only few wheels will allow you to purchase accessories to change the wheel from Single Drive to Double Drive.

Being an absolute newbie on the topic I decided to keep my options open, I still needed to learn after-all… although, pricing was really something I needed to consider, as one that I saw and I thought “that’s it!” costs more than 700£.

All of a sudden here I was with my “decisions”: Upright, Solid Wood, with the option of Double Drive… and *cough* on budget! Spinning wheels are in general expensive magical items and considering I had a small budget I needed to scout the interwebz and find the best I could get. Spinning wheels prices varies from 280£.

My Kromski Minstrel is (Single Scotch Drive, or Double Drive – Upright – Untreated Solid Wool Wheel) quoted 550£ on a website and 375£ in another one, thanks to an amazing WoolOctober offer.. exactly when a bunch of adorable friends chipped in!!! I have no words to express how amazing you all have been, thank you so so much!!

Thank you all for contributing, please know that with all you have been contributing I have also been able purchase wool and a couple of extra accessories needed.

Until next time everyone 🙂

 

 

 

 

This is a list of shops that I browsed and consulted when considering different options, I hope it helps you navigating your own thoughts a bit better

** we are not affiliated **

- C