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Wheel diameter: Flyer Pulley diameter in a double drive or scotch tension system

Wheel diameter: Bobbin Pulley diameter in a single drive bobbin-lead system

What the ratio means:

Example- at a ratio of 7:1, the flyer will make 7 revolutions for every 1 revolution of the wheel (one stroke of the treadle).

• A higher ratio means that you can add more twist faster, and with less treadling.
• Lower ratios are more suitable for bulkier yarns, and for people who draft slowly (ie. Beginners)

• The flyer holds the bobbin,
• imparts twist to the wool that is passing through it, and
• winds the twisted wool onto the bobbin.

• The bobbin sits on an axle between the flyer arms.
• The fiber you will be spinning is attached to the bobbin via a leader yarn that is threaded out through the orifice of the flyer.
• When the flyer spins (because you are treadling), it imparts twist to the fiber between you and the orifice.
• The pull on the fiber that you feel is called “take up”, and is a function of the difference in speeds of the bobbin and flyer.
• When you permit the fiber to move towards the orifice, it begins to wind on the bobbin.

• Thicker yarn requires less twist to hold together.
• Thinner yarn requires more twist to hold together.
• Longer fibers require less twist to hold together
• Shorter fibers require more twist to hold together.