Drum Carding

Drum Carded Batt: Gotland Fleece Rhinebeck

The Gotland Fleece I bought at Rhinebeck this year is lovely with about a 4″ staple and 2 crimps to the inch, more curl than crimp. The color is charcoal with some silver and some brown tips. There is also some other fiber that must come from different parts of their body that is short, very crimpy to almost frizzy and matte black. I did a number of different things to try it out: the festival worker suggested spinning it in the grease from the locks. I tried this but I found it a little hard to draft and hard to be consistent. Then, I washed several flats, not really organizing the locks like I did with the Leicester. I fluffed them rather than flick carded them and spun them up. There was a lot of variation in color and although more consistent, still some lumps and bumps and variation.
I found a drum carder, a Strauch Finest, on ebay and won the auction. It arrived on Monday so I read the directions, watched a few UTube videos, and set about it. I fluffed the fiber and tried to feed evenly and not to overload it. I didn’t separate by fiber color/type but tried for some homogenous blending. I got a big batt, nothing like the purchased roving I have worked with and it seemed a little too loosey goosey but I tried spinning it. I worked on trying for a supported long draw; it was somewhat successful and I like the resulting single. In the following picture the bottom bobbin is spun from the lock and the upper bobbin is the carded fiber. I need to scour some more fiber for the next run and this time when I card it, I will separate the different types of fiber, similar to the article in the latest Spinoff. My finished product is still a little inconsistent but I am happy with it. Of course, I will continue to experiment with the drum carder.

Comparison of Different Fiber Prep Singles

On another note, I have finished one mitten out of California Red. It is a little still but the color is pretty and it will be warm. The second cuff is half done and I should be finished with the pair soon. I still have some plied yarn on the bobbin waiting to be finished if I need it and plenty of roving to spin. I am still not used to spinning worsted; I didn’t agitate it or whack it or anything.
I also finished the Three Rivers Yarn and it needs to be wound into a ball. It was a little fragile in places and broke; I guess it could have used more twist. It is funny but I seem to overspin the long fibers and under spin the short ones.

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