Easy instructions for using a spinning wheel

Using a spinning wheel may be easier than you think! Here are some easy instructions to help get you started.

1. Have the leader extending from the bobbin, over the hooks and hanging out about 30 centimetres (12 inches) from the orifice. Sit directly in front of the orifice and hold the carded staples of wool in one hand, with one end of the staple protruding about five centimetres (two inches) from that hand.
2. With the thumb and forefinger of your other hand, pinch a small portion of the wool against the leader. Continuing to hold the carded staples loosely, overlap the fibres with the leader by approximately two centimetres (3/4 inch), enough so that they can be readily interwoven.
3. Slowly begin treadling the wheel in a clockwise direction and treadle for three or four turns of the wheel until the leader and the wool are twisted together. Continue to hold leader and wool between the thumb and forefinger of the front hand.
4. Slowly move your front hand — still pinching hard — towards the orifice, taking with it a little of the wool from the back hand. This procedure is called "drafting". Hold the wool in your back hand just firmly enough to allow it to slip gradually forward while the individual fibres remain roughly parallel.
5. When your hands are seven to ten centimetres (2 3/4 to four inches) apart, loosen the pinch and slide your front hand back down the wool, smoothing it flat and allowing the twist to follow the pinch down the yarn.Do not let the twisted yarn get through that pinch into the drafted area between your hands as this makes for hard work.
6. When your hands are about 2.5 centimetres (one inch) apart, tighten the pinch again and move your front hand forward, repeating steps fourandfive. The back hand stays still, resting on your knee if that is comfortable.

• To join a new supply of wool onto the existing amount, hold a few strands in the pinch until they begin to twist together as in step two.

Spinning wool on a spinning wheel is a unique craft that is easy to learn. Keep these instructions in mind, and you'll be spinning like a pro in no time!