Just as there are many different shapes and sizes of people with varying strengths and weaknesses, SpinOlution wheels come in a myriad of options. Finding the perfect wheel ( or wheels) for your body and desired yarn is half the fun. Our wheels gears range from straightforward ( the pollywog base model) to more complex ( the Bee family). Before deciding on your preference let’s first revisit why gears and ratios matter.
Gears- The number of band settings you can adjust on your spinning wheel
Ratios- The term to describe the amount of times the flyer head spins completely around in relationship to the drive wheel.
Why this matters- Depending on your personal spinning style, how quickly or slowly you tend to treadle your feet or hold onto the fiber you may need to adjust these gears and ratios to achieve your desired outcome in your yarn.
After familiarizing yourself with the different settings on your wheel and experimenting, you will probably find a handful of settings that will become your go to settings for when you wish to spin different types of yarn
General Guideline
For thinner yarns or finer fibers you may require more twist as you are spinning. It may be helpful to move your gears to a smaller setting meaning more rotations of the flyer head per pump of your feet.
For thicker yarns you may need less twist in your yarn to achieve the bulky or chunky look you are after. Try moving your gears to a larger setting so that there is less build up of twist.
There are also considerations of your body and spinning style. If you default to faster or slower treadling with your feet, changing your gear setting to off set this motion may also help you. Think of this as matching your wheel’s performance
