Popping mechanismKnott's Berry Farm spinner Charlene Parker demonstrates how to transfer thread or yard from a spinning wheel (on left) to a spinner's weasel (on right).Spinner's weasel (left) and spinning wheel (right)
Spinner's weasel or clock reel is a mechanical yarn-measuring device consisting of a spoked wheel with gears attached to a pointer on a marked face (which resembles a clock) and an internal mechanism that makes a "pop" sound after the desired length of yarn is measured (usually a skein). The pointer allows the spinner to see how close they are to reaching a skein. The weasel's gear ratio is typically 40 to 1, and the circumference of the reel is usually two yards, thus producing an 80-yard skein when the weasel pops (after 40 revolutions).[1][2][3]
Some reels or skein winders are made without the gear mechanism (see swift (textiles)). They perform the same function, but without the "clock" or pop to aid the spinner in keeping track of the length of thread or yarn produced. A niddy noddy is an even simpler version.[4][5] The wrap reel, on the other hand, is even more complex, with a mechanism for standardizing the tension.
