Learning to Treadle the Spinning Wheel

The treadle is the foot pedal that, when pushed, causes the spinning wheel to spin. It is a very simple process, but it is best practiced BEFORE trying to learn to spin on a spinning wheel.

Anyone can push on a treadle and by really pumping...get that wheel humming. It serves no purpose, though...no one can spin that fast, and that sort of action may break something.

I am not sure how many children have broken my wheel by stepping very hard on the treadle. Its an easy enough fix... just the reattachment of a small leather piece, though it is a bit of a nuisance. That is the main reason I carry a screwdriver with me when I do spinning demos...sometimes when I turn my back, a child comes up and stomps my treadle, which breaks the leather at the connecting screw. On my Traditional Ashford wheel, this piece was originally a round piece of flexible, clear plastic. Over the years, the plastic deteriorated and finally broke That is when I replaced it with a small piece of leather, and I have been very happy with this very effective, inexpensive fix!

So...pushing the treadle. Make sure there is nothing fiber-wise on the wheel before you begin to push on the pedal. Not fast, not hard...just slow and easy gets the job done nicely. You want to treadle just fast enough to keep the wheel from stopping, and keep the pace consistent...without even thinking about it. It takes a little practice, but when you sit down to spin, you will be thankful that you won't have to think about the treadle part of the process, as you will have your hands full...literally!