Already a question.

[VickiIL]

My wheel is finally together and I started trying to spin but I have a problem. I can't get the yarn to draw in. The bobbin is spinning with the flyer. I have adjusted the brake band tension and it doesn't seem to be helping. Any other advice? What the heck am I doing wrong?

[ChroniclesofYarnia]

You should be able to tighten the brake band and get it to draw. If not, I am not sure what is going on other than you may be holding the yarn too long and not drafting fast enough.


I would definitely suggest playing with some "scrap" roving and the brake band though. I've been trying with mine, and am geting close to the perfect twist. As my friend Nell tells me, "it just takes time and experimentation."

[Vendie]

the brake band is the same thing as the scotch tension right? The little spring? That's the first thing I go to when I need to adjust the take up. The thing that drew me to the Traditional was its take up, it just grabbed the yarn out of my hands. So keep playing with that and also check how you're holding the fiber. I sometimes find myself having a death grip on the fibre b/c I'm afraid of it flying out of my hands and then it over twists on me. That's another thing, if it's over twisting on you, just break those bits off and start over b/c that stuff is hard to get onto the wheel and hard to untwist.

[VickiIL]

the brake band is the same thing as the scotch tension right? The little spring? That's the first thing I go to when I need to adjust the take up. The thing that drew me to the Traditional was its take up, it just grabbed the yarn out of my hands. So keep playing with that and also check how you're holding the fiber. I sometimes find myself having a death grip on the fibre b/c I'm afraid of it flying out of my hands and then it over twists on me. That's another thing, if it's over twisting on you, just break those bits off and start over b/c that stuff is hard to get onto the wheel and hard to untwist.

I think you may be right on. I noticed last time I tried that it would take the yarn easily until I would get a twist...then the twist would get caught up on the hooks on the flyer. I need to work on keeping a lighter touch so I don't over twist the yarn.