Simply put, a Lazy Kate is a spool rack that holds spinning wheel bobbins for plying. While most wheels come with built in kates, some do not and those that do have built in kates may not have them placed in the best position for use. For example, a left hand forward spinner may not be comfortable plying from a kate placed on the right side of the wheel. Also, a spinner may want to use a different placement of the kate in relationship to the wheel for different types of plying or may wish to have a greater distance between the wheel and the kate when plying. Another consideration is that built in kates are seldom tensioned. For these reasons, a free standing kate can be a nice addition to a spinner’s equipment stash.

Freestanding kates come in both vertical and horizontal models, in many different sizes and shapes and are built to hold differing numbers of bobbins. Some come with tension devices, some do not. There is a wide variety of choice available from the very plain to the very fancy.

Tension devices on kates work in the exact same manner as Scotch tension devices on wheels. A brake band goes around the bobbin whorl, tensioning the bobbin and controlling it’s spin on the shaft of the kate. This braking action stops the singles yarns being plied from feeding off the bobbin too rapidly and self plying back on themselves on their way to the ply drafting zone. It also keeps the bobbins from backspinning and feeding off in a “hurky-jurky” manner. The singles yarns are kept under control and that leads to smoother, easier plying which results in nicer more evenly plied yarns.

If a kate does not have a tension device, one can usually be rigged quite easily. How to do this depends entirely on how the kate is designed. Each bobbin whorl must have a brake band running over the whorl, just as a Scotch tension band runs over the bobbin whorl on a wheel.
If the kate is the shape of an upside down U, this is easy - Drill a hole on one arm of the U, in line with the bobbin groove and place a cup hook on the opposite arm of the U. Place a wooden peg into the hole - it should turn in the hole but still fit snuggly - and tie a bit of string to the peg. The string should be long enough to wrap around the peg a few times and go over all of the bobbin whorl grooves. At the cup hook end of the string, tie a rubber band or a small spring. Hook this over the cup hook and turn the peg to tension the brake band.

A horizontal kate presents a different challenge for tensioning because it holds the bobbins in such a way that one tension band can not pass over all of the bobbins. The solution is to sue rubber bands or, if they will fit, tail docking rings (available at farmer’s co-ops). Wrap the rubber bands around the shafts of the kate so they are just touching the bobbins. This puts just enough friction on the bobbins to keep them lightly tensioned and controlled. When wrapping the rubber bands, build the wraps up in layers so the bobbin does not slip over the bands.

Freestanding kates may be placed in any position or at any distance in relation to the wheel. Try different placements and distances and find what works best for you.