Keeping Leaders Straight

By Amelia © January 20, 2026

If you spin on a wheel or e-spinner, you put leaders on your bobbins. I have a great post on a no-fail leader here: How do you make a leader on your bobbin?

In this image is a bobbin with its ends removed - I do enjoy flat-pack bobbins! You might notice, the red acrylic yarn used in the previous post is not present. I am happy to report that it is all used up - I now work through balls of thrifted #10 crochet cotton for making leaders. You may also notice the leader is twisting on itself due to repeated use.

I mentioned in that previous post, replacing the leader when the twist gets too annoying. But that's only one possibility. Here are things you can do when twist builds up in the leader:

• You can use the leader for plying to twist it the other way, but you will never ply as much as you spin singles, so that's not going to undo all the singles twist you added to your leaders.
• You could remove the leader and steam out the twist — since it was not curling on itself initially, this will wake up the balance in the leader and return it to balance. Just be careful not to steam your hand in the process! I've done this when a boiling kettle was handy, dangling the leader from a metal hangar or holding it with tongs.
• You could replace the leader when it gets too curly for your liking. It's going to have to be replaced anyway, so this seems reasonable and was partly how I got through all that red acrylic I used for years as my leader.
• Or, leaning into your personal level of thriftiness, you could flatten the leader around the bobbin and wind it tight around it, tucking the end under, so that it self-resets into balance again. That way you don't need to replace it until it snaps — though I have at least one leader with multiple knots in it, as my personal level of thriftiness is up there.

Here's another fun bobbin-related read, a question that comes up now and again in beginning spinning classes: How many bobbins do I need?

What's your solution to the built-up semi-permanent twist in your leaders?

p.s. you can find me teaching online through HansenCrafts - a wide variety of e-spinner topics, offered around show and holiday seasons as well as at fiber shows across the US. All makes of e-spinner are welcome!

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© January 20, 2026 by Ask The Bellwether, posted at http://askthebellwether.com/