Lace Flyer

Majacraft Lace Flyer kit

So a few weeks back I finally got my lace flyer that will fit both of my Majacraft wheels. With much trepidation I finally attached the fast whorl onto my Aura and got spinning. So what are my thoughts?

I bought the full kit that includes: the flyer, a fast whorl and 2 lace bobbins. Each of these items can be purchased separately.

This kit (and all other equipment) took awhile to come as all items are handmade to order pretty much (some places keep basic stock). So if you are after one quickly you might be out of luck. At least, you know they are well made and properly balanced. I ordered mine from Ewe Give Me Knits. The transaction was fine though the process is not finalised at once. You put in the order and the owners gets back to you with a quote that includes shipping later vs having a standard shipping. The order is sent through to Majacraft who does everything from there. So packaging and shipping etc was done by Majacraft and they were well packaged and shipping prices were fairly standard.

The flyer is the newer version and slightly different from what is displayed on the sites. I had known about the possibility through Ravalary's Majacraft website. However, I think it might be time for them to update the website. The difference is that the older flyer had two hooks on the bar to allow for cross warping to help reduce the pull. The newer version only has one, and it is also more an orifice rather than a hook which requires an orifice hook to put things through. I think if I had the choice I would prefer the to open hooks at the front. I believe the change was based on minimising the weight and perfecting the balance. I hope they bring back the double hook. For now, I am crossing over the arms of the flyer.

The tiny blakc piece that when missing!

The whorl was something I was very keen to get on my wheel. While I love my Aura the original whorl is a tad limited in ratios which are 4.1-7.3. Adding this whorl gave me a range of 10-19.4. I checked out the largest whorl and it came to about 10 revolutions. I am quite interested in getting all the whorls to play with. I must admit, this is the one time I prefer Ashford for changing whorls. It isn't difficult per se, but wasn't the simple slight twist Ashford does. I think now I have done it once I will be a bit better and I don't anticipate multiple changes. As you can see by their video to change the whorl one must use the provided Allen key and insert it into the hole in the metal area. What I didn't know however was that there a tiny plastic screwy kind thing in there. I discovered it when I felt something drop on my foot. Thank god I found the insanely tiny little black piece. It took a little while for me to get it tight enough to get things sorted so I could get the Aura flyer off to change (you have to hold the whorl and give a slight twist).

So finally how does it spin?

LACE!!

While I know a good spinner can spin anything on any wheel at any setup I can really appreciate how the whorl, flyer and bobbin work together to make it effortless. I started spinning some of the thinnest spin ever on the superwash Merino I had going. For awhile I kept breaking because I was getting too thin, but by the end I was getting fairly good. I have one bobbin done and am setting up another bobbin to get ready for some plying.

I did find that getting my treadling started was a bit harder and I can't tell whether things is just me comparing my Suzie rather than an actual issue. Will have to keep an eye on it. Having these add-ons really does make the Aura able to spin a large range without difficulties. I will be interested in how it goes on the Suzie as the fast whorl give a range 9.5-18.8 compared to the standard 4.2-14.5 on the Suzie whorl.

I have done an entire bobbin and a half so far and still loving. I had this set up at spinning recently and sold my other Aura sister on this as she had been watching and we had a chat. It is lovely when the item speaks for themselves.

Now for pictures showing how tiny this set is compared to the big Aura ones!

Standard Aura whorl with lace whorl.

Aura vs Lace Flyer bobbins and flyer sizes 

Posted in: Accessories, Majacraft, spinning