Homespun Wool and Natural Dyes
(Page 2 of 5)
January/February 1972
by Salli Rasberry
You can even make use of Mother Nature's homegrown wool combs called teasles, or card teasles. These members of the sunflower family grow wild all over the country, are free for the getting and were used by the Indians for this very job. Pick the four-foot-long light green stickery parts that stand up (they'll turn brown as they dry) and tie several together to make good-feeling cards that work pretty well.
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Mark your cards "left" and "right", always use them that way and—as they wear in—they'll develop an increasingly "easy" feel.
To card, spread a thin layer of wool evenly over the upturned teeth of the left card as you hold it in front of you with the handle pointing away from your body. Then brush the fleece gently toward you with the teeth of the right card until the fibers of the wool are nice and straight. During the process, some of the wool will stick to the right-hand comb and you'll have to transfer it back to the left one by reversing the right card (turning it so that its handle also points away from you) and sweeping the comb down across the left one. Repeat the whole combing process several times or until the wool feels, like you want your own hair to feel after a good brushing.
To remove the wool from the cards after the brushing's done, hold the combs in carding position (left handle away from you and right handle pointing toward your body). Then, starting at the bottom of the left card and pushing up and away toward its top, use the right card to roll the fibers into a thin roll called a rolag. The rolag, when picked up for removal, should be no fatter than two fingers for easiest spinning and—once you've stockpiled a number of rolags—you'll be ready for that step.
Spinning wheels are nice and, after four years of working wool, I finally have one of my own. I can now really appreciate the effort that mine saves me but—for starting out—I recommend a hand spindle. Hand spindles are simple to make, highly portable and give you a very basic understanding of your work.
I've used both the drop and the Navaho spindle and I prefer the latter for its efficiency. It also feels good and is easy to use while talking with friends. I don't know where you can buy one but you can make your own quite readily. Just be sure the spindle's not too heavy or too light and that the whorl is perfectly round.
Begin spinning with your Navaho, or thigh, spindle by tying a starter piece of spun wool to the dowel down next to the whorl. Pass the length of starter under the whorl and then wrap it in a spiral up the dowel to within an inch of the tip, where it is allowed to dangle free. Sit down comfortably (half-lotus position is good) and place the top part of the spindle on your right thigh if you're right-handed and on your left thigh if you're a southpaw. The spindle's bottom end should rest on a rug or dirt floor—some surface with traction—or in a cup, bowl or hole in the ground.
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