Carding Fiber

How to Card Fiber Using:
    Hand Carders
    Flick Carder
    Drum Carder
    Mini Combs
    Dutch Combs

Hand Carders

You can use hand cards in pairs to make soft and airy rolags for spinning. You can also use them for blending colors or different types of fiber.

Hand Carders come in various sizes and types. The type of fiber you can successfully prepare using hand carders depends on the carding cloth. The carding cloth contains metal teeth (points) which are slightly bent toward the handle of the carders. The number of teeth in the carding cloth can vary anywhere from 40 - 108 point depending on the manufacturer. Point refers to how many teeth there are per square inch. Generally, the higher the point (number of teeth), the finer the fiber the carders with prepare. 108 point cards would be good for fine, exotic fibers or cotton. 40 point cards would be good for coarse wool. To view our line of carders, click here.

Hold one card, palm up, in the left hand and wisp on staples of wool by drawing the lock lightly onto the teeth with the cut end of the lock near the handle edge of the card - as shown in the picture.
Hold the second card in your right hand (with a bicycle grip) with the teeth pointing down. Gently brush this card across the other card, transferring the fiber from one card to the other. Repeat this process until the fibers are soft, airy and free from debris.
Remove the wool from the cards by stripping one card against the other to form a rolag. Stripping is accomplished by holding both cards with the handles pointing down, holding one card stationary and drawing the other card down the stationary card. To make the rolag, lay the carded fibers on your lap and roll lengthwise to form a long tube. Spin from the end of the tube/rolag. With practice, you will be able to create the rolag right on your carders during the stripping process!

Flick Carder

The Flick Carder is the ideal companion. Take a spinning wheel, a fleece and a flick carder and you have the perfect set for turning fleece into yarn. Good fleeces only need to have the tips freed for spinning. There is often no need to fully card quality staples. Sold singly, a flick carder is economical and a tool every spinner will be glad they have! To view our line of flick carders, click here.

Flick carders have metal teeth set into a carding cloth. The teeth are slightly bent toward the handle of the wood batt. Flick carders are smaller than hand carders and are used singly. They are simple, efficient to use and prepare wool for spinning worsted yarn.

Hold the cut end of the staple of wool in your left hand. Place a piece of leather on your knee and flick the carder at the tips of the wool. This is a hitting, not combing action. If necessary, turn the staple over and flick the other side.

Drum Carders

Drum Carders are ideal for preparing large quantities of wool for spinning and felting as well as mixing fibers and blending colors. Most are operated manually by clamping to a table turning a hand crank. Electric models are available and allow for 2-handed feeding of fiber! If you have a lot of fiber to card, drum carders are easy, fast and less physically tiring than using hand carders.

Drum carders have two drums - small and large - whose teeth intermesh to comb the fiber. The type of fiber you can successfully prepare using a drum carder depends on the carding cloth and the width of the drums. The carding cloth contains metal teeth (points) which are slightly bent. The number of teeth in the carding cloth can vary anywhere from 23 - 72 point depending on the manufacturer. Point refers to how many teeth there are per square inch. Generally, the higher the point (number of teeth), will allow you to prepare finer fibers and blend different colors and types of fibers together. Coarse cloths (low point #) are good for longer, coarser fibers and for removing unwanted vegetable matter. Some drum carders allow you to move the drums closer or further apart to suit your project (Ashford Drum Carder). Others, like Louët's Roving Carder Junior, can produce 4" batts that weigh as much as the batts produced on a traditional full size carder! Great for felters and spinners alike. To view our line of drum carders, click here.

Feed in the wool with your left hand while turning the hand crank with your right hand in a clockwise manner. Be careful not to catch your fingers. The fiber will transfer from the small to large drum when carding takes place.
When the large drum is filled to the tope of the teeth, use the doffer pin/awl (provided with the drum carder) to break apart the fibers across the metal strip of the large drum.
Remove the batt (carded wool) by turn the handle in the opposite direction and easing it from the teeth. Split the batt into lengthwise strips for worsted spinning. For woolen spinning, break the batt into small sections and roll into rolags.

Mini Combs

An old, traditional way of preparing wool is combing. To view our line of combs, click here.

These instructions are for the Louët Mini Combs but are applicable for all combs:

1. Fill the comb
Lash locks of wool onto the tines of one comb. Flip the locks so that the butt ends catch the tines. Fill the whole width of the comb with two rows of locks.

2. Combing
Comb gently, by entering the tips of the locks with the tines of the empty comb. Swing the moving comb from the left to the right, so that the wool flips back over the head of the comb, where it won't tangle on subsequent strokes. No preliminary teasing is required, unless the wool is badly matted.

Notice that all the wool is being transferred to the moving comb. Most of it will fluff out, but some will still be clumped together at this stage. When you have finished the first pass, the stationary comb only holds cuts and trash, which should be removed.

3. Second Pass
Now switch the combs. The filled comb becomes the stationary and the empty comb becomes the moving one in your right hand.

Before proceeding, use the tips of the empty comb's tines to pull the wool away from the head of the loaded comb. When the wool is partway up the tines, you won't jam against the head and combing goes easier.

As before, the shorter fibers will remain on the stationary comb, while the longer fibers transfer to the moving comb. Make some more combing passes till the wool is smooth and aligned to make a sliver.

4. Making a Sliver
Gently stroke the wool to a point. Pinch the end and pull the wool from the comb. You also can spin straight off the comb by drawing the fibers from the loaded comb. Tie the comb with a string to your waist band.

Dutch Combs

An old, traditional way of preparing wool is combing. The double row wool combs introduced by Louët are most efficient on medium fibers. One comb is clamped to a table and the other is used in a combing motion to straighten the fibers. The tines are specially designed for your safety. They are not sharp, and still comb efficiently. They are made of nickel plated steel. The combs are made of lacquered beech and come with the following instructions (which are applicable to combs in general). To view our line of combs, click here.

1. Clamp the stationary comb onto a table top. Take a lock of wool and lash it onto the tines. Flip the locks so that the butt ends catch the tines. Fill the whole width of the comb. Bring two or three more rows of locks till about halfway up the tines.
2. Combing. Comb with the hand comb in horizontal position from the right to the left. Enter the tips of the wool with the times of the hand comb, so that the wool flips over thye head of the comb where it won't tangle on subsequent strokes.
3. You will notice that almost all wool is being transferred to the hand comb. Most of it will fluff out but some will still be clumped together at this stage. After completing the first pass, the stationary comb will hold only second cuts and trash, which should be removed.
4. Comb the wool back onto the stationary comb by moving the filled hand comb in horizontal position from the top to the bottom along thee pointing up tines of the stationary comb. Repeat this move till all the wool comes back on the stationary comb. Make two or more combing passes, till the wool is smooth and aligned. As before, the shorter fibers will remain in the comb, while the longer fibers will transfer.
5. Making a sliver. All the wool has to be on the stationary comb, when you start to pull a sliver. Gently stroke all the wool to a point, pinch the end and pull the wool from the comb. You also can spin straight off the comb by drawing the fibers from the loaded comb.

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