Merino sheep wool being spun on a traditional spinning wheel. A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from natural or synthetic fibres. This particular type of wheel is powered by the spinner's foot and is called a treadle wheel. The spinner sits and pumps a foot treadle that turns the drive wheel via a crankshaft and a connecting rod. This leaves both hands free for drafting the fibres, which is necessary in the short draw spinning technique, which is often used on this type of wheel. Most modern wheels employ a flyer-and-bobbin system which twists the yarn and winds it onto a spool simultaneously. Photographed in Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape, South Africa.