I spread about three lines evenly spaced around the spool when I first put the thread on my spindle. If I stitch enough at one sitting to expose layers on the spool that were too deep to get it in the first pass, I may spread some more, but only if the thread is misbehaving. Usually, with my crazy schedule, I rarely get to sit and stitch for that long at a time so I will spread two or three lines the next day I use the spool.