Monday, May 3, 2010

How to make wool handspinning batts on a drum carder






First of all, you can make batts for spinning and crafting purposes even if you don't have a drum carder.  You can use hand carders, or if you don't have these, you can go to Walmart or any pet store and get two pet slicker brushes--the ones with the wire bristles, the larger the better. These will serve for carding batts.

Next, you need some wool. If you have raw, unwashed wool, you will have to wash it carefully, probably several times to get out the grease and dirt. Be sure that you do not accidentally felt the wool while washing.

Then, using your washed, dried wool, gently pull off locks and lay them lengthwise on a hand carder, or if you have a drum carder, fluff them out a little bit and feed them slowly into the carder as you turn the crank. 





Here are some soft garment grade wool/mohair batts. They work well for hand spinning, felting and other craft projects. Wool batts are made on a drum carder--
Colors available:
Purple--grape: this batt is mixed with angora rabbit fur.
Turquoise: this batt has some mohair in it.
Yellow green: this batt has some mohair in it
Sea green: this batt has mohair in it
Apricot: this batt has angora rabbit fiber in it.
Blues and purples: this batt has some mohair and angora rabbit fur in it