This digital workshop is a download that includes a 14 page PDF workbook and a link to a recorded video workshop where Evie will take you through different hand carding techniques including methods of carding, and fiber blending with hand cards.
Follow along in the workbook and gain the understanding and confidence to card lofty fluffy rolags. The workbook includes:
- Goals of Hand Carding
- Vocabulary
- Activity 1: Mechanics
- Folk Wisdom or Myth?
- Activity 2: Comfort
- Safety Note: Tetanus
- Activity 3: Technique #1
- Activity 4: Technique #2
- Activity 5: Technique #3
- Activity 6: Blending Color
- Activity 7: Self Striping Rolags
- Activity 8: A Hack for Worsted Carding
- Activity 9: Blending Fibers
- Notes and Discoveries
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A note from Evie
When I started spinning, I had a romantic idea of hand carding piles and piles of wool to be spun. I think I got the idea from visiting living history museums as a child, and watching the history interpreters demonstrating using the hand cards. I wanted to card up baskets full of soft, wispy fluff almost as much as I wanted to spin that fluff.
My first official wool processing tool, after my spindles of course, was a set of hand cards. I scoured a basket of fleece and went to work. My first experience using hand cards was intense. I really went at that wool! While I did eventually get it carded, my rolags were uneven, lumpy, full of neps, and of various sizes. Even worse, they were difficult to spin. Could it be that there was more to carding wool than just rubbing two hand cards across each other?
Yes, there's a lot more to carding!
With over a decade of spinning and carding experience, I've made this hand carding workshop to help you avoid some of the mistakes I made early on. I want to show you that hand carding can be done comfortably, consistently, and efficiently. It is the only way to make lofty rolags that are perfect for long draw spinning and creating fuzzy bouncy "true" woolen yarn.
In this workshop I will show you several different carding techniques using flat and curved hand cards as well as pet slicker brushes. Comfort and injury free carding is important so we will also talk about how to hold your hand cards comfortably. I will also show you some special effects you can accomplish with hand cards to blend color, fibers, and create self striping gradient rolags.
You will love spinning from your hand carded rolags. Let's get carding!
