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The Web Site For Handspinners & Fiber Artists
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  • Home
    • How I Started Handspinning
  • Spindles
    • Make Your Drop Spindle
    • Types of Drop Spindles
    • How to Use a Drop Spindle
  • Wheels
    • Selecting the Right Spinning Wheel
    • Spinning Wheel Styles
    • How The Spinning Wheel Works
    • Parts of the Spinning Wheel
    • Adjusting The Spinning Wheel’s Tension
    • Drive Ratios & Twist Per Inch
    • Spinning Wheel Maintenance
  • Techniques
    • Handspinning Woollen and Worsted Yarn
    • Preparing to Handspin Yarn on the Spinning Wheel
    • Basic Handpinning Techniques
    • Adding More Fiber When Handspinning Yarn
    • Plying Yarn with a Spinning Wheel
    • Navajo Plying
    • Making A Skein of Yarn With A Niddy Noddy
    • “Setting In The Twist” Of Handspun Yarn
  • Fiber Prep
    • How to Wash Your Fleece
    • Types of Fiber Preparations for Spinning
    • How to Prepare Fiber with Hand Carders
    • How to Prepare Fiber With a Drum Carder
    • How to Prepare Fiber With Dutch Combs
    • How To Prepare Fiber With a Flicker Carder
    • How to Use a Diz
  • Fiber
    • Alpaca
    • Angora
      • How to Care For Your Angora Rabbit
    • Flax
    • Llama
    • Mohair
    • Silk
    • Wool
  • Dyeing

Drive Ratios & Twist Per Inch

Twists Per Inch

The ratio between the drive wheel and the flyer determines the speed of the wheel, and how many twists per inch (tpi) goes into the yarn. For instance, if you want to spin a medium yarn with 10 tpi, place the drive band in the groove of the whorl size closest to 10:1. What this means is that one revolution of the drive wheel will put 10 twists in one inch of the yarn. Therefore, if you draft one inch of fiber, hold it for one revolution of the wheel before drafting another inch of fiber and letting the yarn wind onto the bobbin, you will consistently spin a 10 tpi yarn. If you wanted 5 tpi you would draft 2 inches of fiber to one wheel revolution. But if you treadle 2 revolutions in 2 inches, you will still be spinning a 10 tpi yarn. This is the way you control the amount of twist in the yarn.

Drive Ratios
Understanding drive ratios will help you to determine what type of yarn a wheel will spin. It is important to know the ratios when buying or selecting a wheel. A wheel with higher ratios like 21:1, is best suited for spinning a fine yarn that requires a lot of twist. Whereas, a wheel with lower ratios like 3:1 is best for spinning bulky yarns that require less twist.

TIP: If you buy a new wheel, the ratios will be included with the documentation that comes with it. If your wheel is used and you do not know the drive ratios, here is an easy way to determine them. Tie a piece of yarn onto the flyer, and position the crankshaft on the drive wheel to the highest position. Place the drive band on one of the whorls and turn the drive wheel very slowly by hand, one revolution, and count how many times the flyer turns for one revolution. This number is the ratio.


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