wrap reel

{{Short description|A device for measuring yarn and making it into hanks of a standard size}}

File:Wrap_reel_Helmshore_6077cc.JPG, made by Goodbrand of Manchester to measure cotton.]]

A wrap reel or skein winder is a device for measuring yarn and making it into hanks of a standard size. The reel is of a standard size and its revolutions are counted as the yarn is wrapped around it. Typically, a set number of revolutions will be used so that the hank is of a standard size—skein or lea. For example, a skein of cotton would be 80 turns on a reel of {{convert|54|in|cm}} circumference, making {{convert|120|yard}}, while the standard length for wool worsted would be {{convert|80|yard}}.

The tension of the yarn as it was wound onto the reel was important because it would be elastic and so a standard tension was required to ensure uniformity. For a given reel, this would be determined by the friction of the setup and so the test hanks would be made and measured in other ways to calibrate the device.{{citation |page=81 |title=Physical Testing of Textiles |author=B P Saville |year=1999 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-1845690151}}

The Science Museum in London has an 18th-century wrap reel in its collection which was made for Richard Arkwright's first cotton mill in Derbyshire. It is kept in their storage archive at Blythe House.{{citation|title=Arkwright's Wrap-reel Winding Wheel, English, 1769-1775|url=https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co44938/arkwrights-wrap-reel-winding-wheel-english-1769-1775-winding-machines-textile-machines|publisher=Science Museum, London|access-date=2020-05-11}}