Carding My Green Leftovers Together
When I have a lot of little bits I like to card them together. First I pull them all into small lengths. This pictures make the wool look very blue. I think maybe because the table is very yellow.
I mixed up the colours in a big tub
Next I feed it through the carder
This is what it looks like as it comes off onto the storage drum. This is what the batt looks like. It is about 7 feet long and 18 inches wide.
I want to blend it more so I peel of thin layers of the batt and feed it back through the carder.
and at the other end
You can see, at the top of the picture, how thin the web of wool is as comes off the carder to form the batt.
This is probably the closes to the real colour. It is more green but it is very blue green.
Here is a close up you can see some of the different colours. and how the wool is not as aligned as top but not as mixed as a bat made from wool that hasn’t been processed.
There is always some wool left on the drum take off drum and I let the carder run to clean out the last of the colour and get what looks like a rolag as well. I ran it through the carder in a narrow stip.
I think I like the first time through the carder better than the second time through. I think it will make a nice hat. The small amount I will probably spin at a demo this summer.
19 thoughts on “Carding My Green Leftovers Together”
I rather liked it when it was stripey! 🙂
Yes, I like it stripy better this time. It needed more light greens in it I think.
Your carder makes mine look like a child’s toy – it’s produced a lovely batt!
It does make a lovely batt. I have a small hand powered one for smaller amounts.
I just have to agree with Lyn – I’d love to have access to a carder in that size. 🙂
It is great to have. I was very lucky to find it at a great price when I had some money I could use for it. All my stars were aligned.
After just having my first carding lesson, it was very entertaining to see how you make large batts.
In fact, with a carder that size, why aren’t you planning to make a yurt? ;-}}
Time is why I am not planning a yurt. That and as I am sure Ruth knows it takes a lot of wool and work. I thought making the frame looked the hardest.
I’ve got carder envy again! I’ve just spent an hour putting some of my wollknoll batts through my handcarder and only got about 25g each for 3 different types! It looks really nice, Ann 🙂
it is fast but I still have my small hand cranked one. It is better for some things.
It’s fun to see how other fiber artists use leftover bits! I save all leftover bits from my felting projects: the end slivers of fiber, and tiny wisps of silk, and silk fabrics, curly locks, sari threads, bits of prefelts after I’ve cut out shapes — anything that is so tiny it doesn’t make good sense to put it all away in the bins. Then it feels like I’m making soup when I “take stock” of what I’ve accumulated to make a batt. These leftovers add up quickly. Always, the color combinations are different from what I’d choose if I wasn’t working from these leftovers; but always, there are ways to combine things into one or more batts so that things blend well. Sometimes I craft “rainbow batts” by carefully sorting everything into a range of rainbow colors, and then I apply everything in small amounts directly to the large drum. The resulting batt(s) have orderly colors, but great texture. I would not have the patience to assemble so many different tiny bits to create these special batts. I love the fact that nothing is wasted.
I never throw anything out either. They do make great easy combinations.
I know I’m just repeating what others have already said, but I definitely have carder envy 🙂 Don+t you feel like carding all day long to see what size batts you can come up with, Ann?
It is fun. The most I put though was a 3 pound fleece. It was a very thick batt.
Renewed carder envy, definitely! 😀
Now that’s some color blending 🙂 We are all jealous of such a wonderful carder for sure.
Thanks Ruth.
A super carder! While I’d love one, I’m not sure where I’d put it. 🙂 Nice batt Ann!
where to put it was a problem for the first while. it was in my basement for several years. then when it moved to its current spot it was a big job. it is really heavy. It will probably never move again.