Spinning Yarn on a Great Wheel — The Walking Wheel

Begin with wool that has been washed, dried, and carded into rolags or a continuous roving — a loose, fluffy rope of aligned fibers approximately 3 cm thick. The wool should be clean and free of vegetable matter. A medium-crimp wool (such as Corriedale or Romney) drafts smoothly on a great wheel. Have at least 100 grams of roving prepared before starting.

Stand to the right of the great wheel with the spindle assembly at your left. The drive wheel should be at comfortable arm height for your right hand to turn it. You need clear floor space extending 2–3 meters to your left for the backward drafting walk. The great wheel is a standing instrument — there is no seat.

Tie a 60 cm length of previously spun yarn (the leader) to the base of the spindle shaft with a half-hitch knot. Spiral the leader up the spindle tip and let the free end hang. This leader gives the new fiber something to grip when you begin drafting. Without a leader, loose roving slips off the smooth spindle.

Fan out the end of your roving into a thin, wispy cloud of fiber. Overlap this wispy end with the last 10 cm of the leader yarn. Pinch them together between your left thumb and forefinger. When you begin spinning, the twist will travel into this overlap and lock the fibers together — no knot needed.

With your right hand, give the drive wheel a smooth clockwise push at the rim. The drive band transfers this rotation to the spindle, which spins much faster due to the size ratio — typically 40–60 spindle rotations per one wheel revolution. Listen for a steady hum from the spindle, which indicates sufficient speed.

Hold the roving in your left hand at a 30–45 degree angle from the spindle tip. While the wheel turns, walk slowly backward, drawing the roving away from the spindle. As you pull, the twist from the spinning spindle travels up the yarn and into the drafting zone, binding the loose fibers into yarn. Control the yarn thickness by how much fiber you allow to slide through your fingers.

Your left hand serves as the twist gate. Pinch the yarn between thumb and forefinger at the point where you want twist to stop — fibers ahead of your pinch remain untwisted roving, fibers behind become spun yarn. Open your fingers briefly to let twist advance into fresh fiber, then pinch again. This open-close rhythm is the core skill of all spinning.

Continue walking backward and drafting until the yarn extends from the spindle to your fully outstretched left arm — approximately 1.5–2 meters. Stop turning the wheel. Examine the yarn: it should be evenly twisted along its entire length with no thick lumps or thin weak spots. If sections are under-twisted (fluffy, pulling apart), give the wheel another partial turn to add twist.

Now walk forward toward the wheel while turning it slowly clockwise. Hold the yarn at an angle so it winds onto the spindle shaft in a neat cone shape. Do not let the yarn pile up in one spot — shift the angle slightly as you wind to build an even layer. The yarn should be taut but not stretched as it winds on.

This is the rhythm of the great wheel: walk backward to draft and spin, walk forward to wind on. Each cycle produces one arm's length of yarn. An experienced spinner completes 6–8 cycles per minute, producing roughly 10–15 meters of yarn per minute. Continue until the roving supply is exhausted or the spindle is full.

When the roving thins to its end, fan out the tip into a wispy tail. Take a new length of roving, fan its starting end, and overlap the two wispy ends by about 8 cm. Draft through this overlap while spinning — the twist binds the overlapping fibers together seamlessly. A good join is invisible in the finished yarn.

As yarn accumulates, shape it into a cone (called a cop) on the spindle. Wind each layer slightly overlapping the previous one, tapering from a wide base to a narrow top. A well-built cop holds 50–100 grams of yarn before it needs to be removed. If the cop becomes lopsided, the spindle vibrates and the drive band may slip.

When the cop is full, break the yarn and tuck the end under the last layer to prevent unwinding. Slide the cop off the spindle tip by gently twisting and pulling. Set it aside and begin a new cop with a fresh leader. Each cop of yarn will later be wound into a skein for washing and setting the twist.

Wind the yarn from the cop onto a niddy-noddy or the back of a chair to form a skein. Count the wraps to estimate yardage — each wrap around a 1.5 m niddy-noddy equals 3 meters of yarn. Tie the skein loosely in four places with figure-eight ties to prevent tangling during washing.

Soak the tied skein in warm water (40°C) for 20 minutes. The water relaxes the fibers and allows the twist to distribute evenly. Gently squeeze out excess water — never wring wool, which causes felting. Hang the skein with a light weight (a filled jar works) to dry under gentle tension. This sets the twist permanently and produces balanced, kink-free yarn ready for knitting or weaving.