Pictured are some washed Corriedale locks, lower right, inexpensive dog combs and finished combed fiber, top, ready to spin! |
First you need nice fiber (see my last post if you're looking for great Corriedale fleece!) Next, you need to wash that fiber (unless you're planning to spin in the grease) See my series of posts on Washing Wool, The Way I Do starting here. So now, you should have some nice clean wool ideally still in the lock formation. At that point, you could just tease open each end of the lock, fluff it up a bit and spin from the lock. Or you could flick card (using a flicker or an inexpensive dog brush - the kind with rather stiff wire teeth). Here's a short, simple video showing the process.
As I've mentioned many times, I really like combing wool for spinning. Wool combs are expensive, even the small ones. So why not start with a pair of dog combs from the pet store, farm store or even discount stores! Not perfect but it works....here are a few pictures of some that I picked up for .99 each in the clearance bin at the farm store:
Load one comb with a thin layer of fiber, not to thickly |
Three little birds nests of combed "sliver" A delight to spin! |
And what if you don't have a spinning wheel yet? Here's something I just discovered, thanks to my new fiber friend Jill ~ a support spindle!!! See it nestled in the basket of fiber, below?
I can't tell you how fun this is for me! I've never mastered the drop spindle and at this point, don't care to keep trying ;) I've got three spinning wheels but I'm really enjoying learning the support spindle and have even made some "rustic" yarn on it already! My point being, spindles (drop or support) are a good way to spin before you're ready to invest in a wheel.