What Carding Does to Wool
After washing, individual wool fibres remain in their natural lock structure — a compressed group of fibres that grew together from the skin. Locks are not suitable for direct spinning because the fibres within them are parallel but compressed, and there is no consistent point from which to begin drafting.
Carding uses two paddles covered in fine wire teeth (hand cards) to separate the fibres from each other, remove remaining vegetable matter, and lay them in a roughly parallel arrangement. The output — a rolag — is a soft, airy cylinder of fibre that can be drafted steadily on a drop spindle or spinning wheel.
Carding is distinct from combing. Combs align fibres strictly in parallel and remove shorter fibres (noils) to produce worsted-style preparations. Carding produces a woollen-style preparation where fibres lie in varying directions, trapping air and producing a loftier, warmer yarn.
Understanding Hand Cards
Hand cards consist of a rectangular wooden paddle with a handle and a working face covered in cloth embedded with fine wire pins. The pins are bent at a consistent angle (the hook angle) and arranged in rows across the working surface.
Cards are sold in several tooth densities, measured in teeth per inch (TPI or PPSi — pins per square inch). Common options:
- 72 TPI — for coarser fleece (longer staple, thicker fibres)
- 108 TPI — for medium fleece (Merino crossbreeds, Corriedale)
- 120+ TPI — for fine or short-staple fleece
Using cards that are too fine for a coarse fleece results in tooth clogging. Using cards too coarse for fine fleece causes fibre breakage. Polish native breeds, which tend toward medium staple length (6–10 cm), are generally suited to 108 TPI cards.
Loading the Card
Before carding begins, clean fibre must be placed on one of the two cards. The loading card is held in the non-dominant hand, face up. Locks are laid across the teeth from the base of the card toward the tip, with the fibre tips pointing upward. Only a thin layer of fibre should be loaded at once — roughly 10–15 grams. Overloading causes the teeth to fill and prevents proper fibre transfer.
Fibre should be spread evenly across the width of the card. Uneven loading produces a rolag with inconsistent density, which creates thick and thin sections in the finished yarn.
The Carding Stroke
With the loaded card in the non-dominant hand (held flat, teeth facing up), the second card is held in the dominant hand and drawn across the loaded card in the direction of the teeth angle. The key points:
- The drawing card moves from the base of the loaded card toward its tip — in the same direction the fibre was laid
- The stroke should be smooth and even, not a scrubbing motion
- Pressure should be light; forcing the cards together causes tooth damage and fibre breakage
- After each stroke, some fibre transfers from the lower card to the upper card
After three to five strokes, the fibre is split between both cards. To continue, transfer all fibre back to one card by reversing the stroke direction, then resume carding. This process is repeated until the fibre appears open, light, and free of clumps.
Forming the Rolag
When the fibre on one card has been carded to an open, uniform texture, the rolag is rolled off. Hold the loaded card face up. Use a dowel or pencil placed at the base of the card and roll the fibre toward the tip, collecting it into a cylinder. The rolag should be even in diameter and firm enough to hold its shape but loose enough to be pulled apart easily between two fingers.
A well-formed rolag from 10g of medium fleece should measure approximately 15–18 cm in length and 3–4 cm in diameter. Rolags that are too tight will not draft smoothly; those that are too loose will pull apart unevenly at the spindle.
Staple Length Considerations
Fleece from different breeds has different staple lengths — the length of an individual lock of wool. Staple length affects carding in several ways:
- Short staple (under 5 cm) — fibres are prone to breaking if the card stroke is too firm; a finer TPI card and lighter pressure are needed
- Medium staple (5–10 cm) — the standard range for most hand carding; tolerates moderate pressure and standard TPI
- Long staple (over 12 cm) — hand carding is less suitable; combing or flick-carding individual locks is typically preferred to avoid excessive fibre breakage
Related Articles
Before carding, the fleece must be thoroughly washed. See Washing Raw Fleece: Removing Lanolin Before Spinning for the previous stage. Once rolags are prepared, the next step is described in Spinning with a Drop Spindle: Starting from Scratch.