a simple yarn

Last time our neophyte was surrounded by a pile of fleece…no longer poo-infested, but clean and fluffy…

Carding is not a particularly difficult concept to grasp…we’re getting all the fibres heading in the same direction before we spin ‘em up. It’s not like brain surgery or rocket science or warping a loom (which I categorise with the first two skills!) But even as I say that, it’s not a particularly easy skill to acquire. It takes finesse…and coordination…and stamina!

Step 1: Fluffify

The drum carder can only handle so much fibre at a time (I feel the same sometimes!), so it needs to be spread out, or fluffified as shown here by Fleece-Processing-Friend-Holly.

Step 2: Feeding the Carder

Simple, really…in goes the fleece and out come the batts (how is that spelled by the way? Bat? Batt? Batte? Or as it would be in Irish…baoiuemhbht…um yes, that’s just a joke….)

Step 3: Round and Round She Goes

This is the tricky and tiring bit. Endless turning, turning, turning with one hand. Feeding, feeding, feeding with the other. Stopping for periodic fluffing. But after this, Husband-Will won’t want to arm wrestle me!

Step 4: Hazard Warning

See all those pointy spikes on the drum carder? Gotta stay clear of them or off for an unscheduled detour to Casualty! There’s a handy-dandy pick to pull out the little stray pieces of fleece. But even with all that, it’s a lot quicker than hand carding!

Step 5: To the Wheel, Battman!

The beginning of a lovely stack of batts waiting for their turn at the wheel!

Well, there you have it…pretty straight forward really…no cliff-hanger episode here. But another step of progress taken in making yarn of my very own!