Preparing your Wether'sfield Fiber for Spinning
Wether'sfield fiber is washed and ready for you to decide what do to with it! While you can comb any type of Wether'sfield fleece, hand carding is not the best for all of them. For example, I have used both methods with the Cormo and found that I much prefer combed over carded. The Gotland and Border Leicesters are long wool and do best when combed.
Best for handcarding:
Best for combing:
Best for handcarding:
- Finnsheep (Finn, Finner, Finley, & Finnegan)
- Shetland (Emily & Dolly)
- Cormo (Prince & Perry) note: you must be careful when carding very fine fleece, such as Cormo, to prevent neps!
Best for combing:
- Gotland (Carlos, Dave, Oreo, & Marta)
- Border Leicester (Anna & Elsa)
- Cormo (Prince & Perry)
Preparing Wool for Spinning using hand cards
Hand Picking Wool
Picking, in fiber preparation terms, is a word usually associated with a big and dangerous machine. It has spikes that pull apart to open up dense fibers allowing debris to fall out. Picked fiber is usually carded next, but it can also be spun as is for an uneven textured yarn. You don't have to have an expensive machine to do this, the first pickers were fingers and these are still an effective tool. They are also far less likely to accidentally shred your clothes in the process.
Some people call the hand process teasing, but to me this sounds too gentle. You really do want to rip the fleece apart as much as possible. But to avoid breaking the actual fibers, it needs to be done a tiny bit at a time. Fingers are great for this, because the person connected to them can nearly automatically compensate for a stubborn lump or pull out a bit of Not Fiber.
Things you’ll need:
Picking, in fiber preparation terms, is a word usually associated with a big and dangerous machine. It has spikes that pull apart to open up dense fibers allowing debris to fall out. Picked fiber is usually carded next, but it can also be spun as is for an uneven textured yarn. You don't have to have an expensive machine to do this, the first pickers were fingers and these are still an effective tool. They are also far less likely to accidentally shred your clothes in the process.
Some people call the hand process teasing, but to me this sounds too gentle. You really do want to rip the fleece apart as much as possible. But to avoid breaking the actual fibers, it needs to be done a tiny bit at a time. Fingers are great for this, because the person connected to them can nearly automatically compensate for a stubborn lump or pull out a bit of Not Fiber.
Things you’ll need:
- Fleece
- Lap-sized cloth
- Large container for finished fiber (like a paper grocery bag)
- Place the cloth on your lap to catch the fallout.
- Take a small handful or the fleece and fluff the fibers apart. Be gentle and try not to tear or tangle the fibers.
- Put the handful of fluff into your container trying not to squish it down too much in the container. The more open it is, the easier it is to work with later. If you cram it all back into the original bag, you will have to fluff it up again later. If you’re doing a lot in one sitting, empty your lap cloth once in a while.
- Now your fiber is ready for carding. Opening the fiber first reduces the number of times you need to card to get a clean, even, well formed rolag or an even roving.
Hand Carding Wool
The old adage “Less is more” rings especially true when hand carding fiber. Too much fiber on the card creates more work, causes hand fatigue, and produces unsatisfactory rolags or roving. When faced with a 3 to 5 pound bag of fleece, carding small amounts may seem to be a tedious and daunting task. You will find, however, that using smaller amounts of fiber requires fewer strokes, and the fiber will glide back and forth between the cards quickly and smoothly, creating a well formed rolag in no time at all. Sitting in front of the TV one evening I carded over a half pound of Cormo fleece, filling a large wicker basket with happy little rolags in the time it took to watch “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”.Things you’ll need:
2. Take a small piece of wool and pull it onto the teeth of one of the cards. Pull it so that only about ½ of the card is covered and the fibers extend off the edge of the card.
3. Pull the second card gently over the top of the wool as if you are combing hair. Do not dig the teeth of the cards into each other because this will break the wool fibers and the teeth on the cards.
4. Some of the wool will transfer to the second card. Continue carding until the fibers of wool on both cards seem smooth and straight.5. Transfer the fibers from the left card to the right by carefully positioning the cards so that the card receiving the fiber is lying flat on one thigh while the other is held at a right angle to it. The teeth of the cards face each other. With a quick upward motion, lift the receiving card against the giving card and sweep up the fibers.
6. Continue carding and moving the fiber from card to card until the fibers are smooth and straight. Transfer all of the fiber onto one card.
7. Remove the wool from the cards by lifting one edge of the fringe of wool and rolling it over a chopstick or knitting needle. You can also remove it by flicking up the fringed edge and rolling it with the second card or you can pull the fiber off using a diz or a large button with large holes to create a roving!
Here's a wonderful Youtube Vidoe that demonstrates the process: Using handcarders with wool
The old adage “Less is more” rings especially true when hand carding fiber. Too much fiber on the card creates more work, causes hand fatigue, and produces unsatisfactory rolags or roving. When faced with a 3 to 5 pound bag of fleece, carding small amounts may seem to be a tedious and daunting task. You will find, however, that using smaller amounts of fiber requires fewer strokes, and the fiber will glide back and forth between the cards quickly and smoothly, creating a well formed rolag in no time at all. Sitting in front of the TV one evening I carded over a half pound of Cormo fleece, filling a large wicker basket with happy little rolags in the time it took to watch “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”.Things you’ll need:
- Washed and picked fleece
- Set of hand cards
- Lap-sized cloth
- Basket or other container to hold your carded rolags
- A good movie, or better yet the latest season of your favorite series you’ve been meaning to catch up on!
2. Take a small piece of wool and pull it onto the teeth of one of the cards. Pull it so that only about ½ of the card is covered and the fibers extend off the edge of the card.
3. Pull the second card gently over the top of the wool as if you are combing hair. Do not dig the teeth of the cards into each other because this will break the wool fibers and the teeth on the cards.
4. Some of the wool will transfer to the second card. Continue carding until the fibers of wool on both cards seem smooth and straight.5. Transfer the fibers from the left card to the right by carefully positioning the cards so that the card receiving the fiber is lying flat on one thigh while the other is held at a right angle to it. The teeth of the cards face each other. With a quick upward motion, lift the receiving card against the giving card and sweep up the fibers.
6. Continue carding and moving the fiber from card to card until the fibers are smooth and straight. Transfer all of the fiber onto one card.
7. Remove the wool from the cards by lifting one edge of the fringe of wool and rolling it over a chopstick or knitting needle. You can also remove it by flicking up the fringed edge and rolling it with the second card or you can pull the fiber off using a diz or a large button with large holes to create a roving!
Here's a wonderful Youtube Vidoe that demonstrates the process: Using handcarders with wool
Preparing Wool for Spinning using combs
I'm in the process of writing out how I comb wool but in the meantime here's a great resource:
Susan McFarland, author of Combs, Combs, Combs!, gives an in depth tutorial on how to correctly process clean wool (or other fiber) using wool combs with very little waste.
.Combing Wool the Right Way tutorial with Susan McFarland
Susan McFarland, author of Combs, Combs, Combs!, gives an in depth tutorial on how to correctly process clean wool (or other fiber) using wool combs with very little waste.
.Combing Wool the Right Way tutorial with Susan McFarland
Other resources for help combing or carding your wool:
Six Steps to Hand Carding Wool
Mother Earth News
Carding beautiful blends
KnittySpin
The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning
2001, Interweave Press, Loveland, CO
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Six Steps to Hand Carding Wool
Mother Earth News
Carding beautiful blends
KnittySpin
The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning
2001, Interweave Press, Loveland, CO
l