Today I offer a short lecture: Card your wool – structure and shape for smooth flow and airy yarns. A 40 minute online course where I share my thoughts on carding and show you why, what and how I card.
I love carding and spinning longdraws from carded rolags. I have carded literally thousands of rolags by now and developed a carding technique that suits me. But it hasn’t always been like that – in the beginning my carding was more straining and my rolags more wonky. At one point I watched a video where four spinners showed their personal carding techniques, that were totally different from each other. I picked the parts that suited me and built my own carding routine and it has made my carding smooth and joyful. I hope this short lecture can help as a guide for you to find a carding style that suits you, your tools and your context.
Course outline
The course is 40 minutes and divided into four shorter videos so you can watch smaller portions at a time. The video is in spoken English and all videos are captioned in English. I have added on-screen keywords for important concepts. The keywords also make it easier to scroll throug the videos if you are looking for something special.
I go through why I card, what types of wool I card and how I card. I have divided the carding process into three steps:
- dress and frame
- structure and transfer
- lift and shape.
There is also a trouble shooting section where I explain the most common setbacks I have experienced both myself and as a teacher through all the courses I have taught. In the comments section I welcome you to reflect and ask questions.
More courses
You can find more courses, challenges and short lectures in my online school. Two of the short lectures already published, on picking the fleece and teasing the wool, are essential to the carding process and I highly recommend them as preparation for carding.
Happy carding!
You can find me in several social media:
- This blog is my main channel. This is where I write weekly posts, mainly about spinning. Do subscribe!
- I share essay-style writing on Substack. Come and have a look!
- My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
- I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
- I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden or to book me for a lecture.
- On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons are an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
- Follow me on Instagram. I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
- Read the book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
- I am writing a book! In the later half of 2025 Listen to the wool: A why-to guide for mindful spinning will be available. Read more about the book here.
- In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
- I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
