I made a dozen spinning sticks for my spinning class by cutting hardwood dowels, sanding them, then adding a small cup hook and finishing them with butcher block conditioner.
These are useful starting tools for teaching spinning wool. There is more connection for the student with the twist from turning the stick going into the fibers to lock them together and learning to control a long draw. They are also much less expensive than a purchased spindle or spinning wheel and very easy to make.
I used scrap pegboard to make a display for all my twine cards for the Pioneer Festival at the Doss Heritage and Culture Center. To make the two pieces of pegboard into a sandwich board I cut and punched a strip of leather and riveted it to the top of the boards.
My rivets were just the right size to lock together through the leather and the pegboard. I used a dead blow hammer to secure them as the board laid flat on the floor. The second board was a little tricky to set the bottom rivet, so I flipped the board over, put in the rivets, and secured them with tape so they wouldn’t fall out. I used screw rivets to secure side straps to keep the boards at the same angle when open.
The twining went over well. I took raffia and taught two wonderful volunteers to twine and they taught hundreds of people coming through the event to twine bracelets while I demonstrated spinning on a great wheel and a treadle wheel (not at the same time, but as a comparison). Of course I didn’t take a single picture of my period outfit, but I did take one of the wheels I worked with in the 1850s cabin I was in.
The treadle wheel was meant to only be decoration, but it just needed a new string on the footman at the bottom, and a bit of wire at the top to keep it on. I cleaned it and oiled it and had it spinning wool again. On the Great Wheel I was spinning Texas grown cotton.
I have been using Texas grown cotton sliver, a combed preparation, to spin on a Great Wheel at the Doss Heritage center. The sliver is very smooth and all the fibers are aligned, but it has been fighting me when I spin. So I took it back a step and carded it. This mixes the alignment of the fibers, especially when I roll it up into a rolag.
This woolen preparation (fibers not aligned is “woolen”, fibers aligned is “worsted”) actually spins much easier with fewer clumps and bumps. The draft zone flows better and the wheel and I happily spun for an hour (three rolags) with very few issues. The wheel did pick up a squeak, which I remedied with spinning wheel oil.
I will be demonstrating at the Pioneer Festival at the Doss Heritage Center in Weatherford, Texas on October 3rd, 2026!
I have finished my first cop of yarn on my fempto spindle which was 3D printed by Turtle Made on Etsy. The cop of yarn from a Turkish spindle is typically called a turtle, I assume because it looks like a turtle in its shell.
This is a particularly slow turtle, as it is in my car as an emergency craft, so the 9 months from start to finish does not reflect at all the actual time spent spinning.
The new bearing that I made for an antique great wheel works! It is slightly longer than the original, but since the maidens adjust separately, the fraction of an inch difference doesn’t affect functionality.
The shaft of the bearing ended up being a little thick. It was a tight fit, but needed to be able to rotate to hold the accelerator wheel as the maiden post was twisted up or down. I used my pocket knife to shave off some of the wood so the bearing could rotate.
I spun for about an hour, working on my yarn width consistency and testing out my new part. It worked just fine! And rotated in the socket when it came time to stop and release the tension on the drive bands. I always lighten the tension between spinning sessions so the bands don’t stretch. I don’t loosen them enough to come off when stationary, which is standard practice for spinners. I can see though, how someone coming along and turning the wheel might be startled by the drive bands coming off or the parts not moving. The bands just need to be tightened before use.
