Between Rounds
You are now ready to re
-
card, but don't try to feed the entire batt into the carder at once. If
you do, your carder will become overloaded, the carding will be incomplete, and the machine
will jam. Finally, the poorly carded fiber will be difficult to spin smoothly. After the first card-
ing, the texture of the batt will be uneven, but it will have two characteristics of completely
carded batts: the layered arrangement and the lengthwise grain of overlapping fibers. You can
use these characteristics to quickly prepare the fiber for the next step. At this point, some
people pull a strip from the side of the batt and fluff it into a thin layer. Again, I don't like to
spend this much time on the task. In the amount of time it takes to pull off and spread out
one strip, you can probably prepare a whole batt with my method. Place your hands on the
front and back sides of a batt, and pull it into two halves. Gently pull. Repeat this with each
half a couple more times, until you have thin sheets. Now divide each layer in half lengthwise
and you are ready to send the fiber back through the carder.
Second Round
You will now be feeding the fiber through the feeding chute, in the "normal" way. But don't
completely rule out the possibility of feeding from the top again
-
some fibers card better
from the top, while some do better from the bottom (the chute). Try both techniques and see
what you think. Remember to keep the layers thin, and take the time to pull apart any sec-
tions of the divided batt that seem to be too thick. A second invested here can make a big
difference in how thoroughly your machine cards. Slide a narrow edge of the fiber layer under
the licker
-
in until you feel the machine begin to draw it in. Now you need to retard the fiber's
progress slightly, to keep it from being drawn in too rapidly. But don't hold it back too firmly,
or the fiber will wrap around the licker
-
in (the little, feeding drum) instead of being trans-
ferred to the swift (the big, carding drum). To get an idea of how much to hold the fiber back,
just do it wrong a couple of times. Then you'll know exactly what is required. Some people lay
a hand lightly on top of the fiber layer in the chute, but I like to give each layer a series of
quick, light tugs, which both slow the progress and thin out the layer being drawn in. Both
methods work.
Fiber on the licker
-
in
Even when you are feeding the fiber correctly, some will stay on the licker
-
in. Curiously, it will
probably load to a certain level and then stay there for a long time. If you conscientiously
clean it out, it will quickly reload again to that point. So don't spend more time than is really
