Carding and Combing Raw Wool for Spinning — Preparing Fleece for the Drop Spindle

Lay out the raw fleece on a clean surface and pull apart any large matted clumps by hand

Pick out visible debris by hand — straw, burrs, seeds, dung tags, and matted felt patches

Sort the fleece into grades — fine wool from the shoulders and sides, coarser wool from legs and belly

Fill a basin with warm water at 40°C and dissolve a handful of wood ash or mild soap

Submerge a handful of fleece gently into the warm wash — do not agitate or the fibres will felt together

Let the fleece soak undisturbed for 20 minutes to dissolve lanolin grease and release embedded dirt

Lift the fleece out carefully and rinse in a second basin of clean warm water

Squeeze excess water out gently between your palms — never wring or twist the fleece

Lay the washed fleece on a rack or clean cloth in the sun and leave until completely dry

Take a dried lock of wool and spread it across the teeth of one hand carder, held in your lap

Draw the second carder across the first in a steady, light downward stroke — teeth brushing teeth

Repeat the carding stroke 5-6 times until the fibres lie parallel and airy across the teeth

Transfer the carded fibre back to the first carder by reversing the stroke direction once

Card 3-4 more strokes on the transferred fibre to further align and blend the fibres

Roll the aligned fibres off the carder into a loose cylinder called a rolag, about 15 cm long

Load the next lock onto the carder and repeat until all washed fleece is carded into rolags

Store the finished rolags loosely in a basket — they are now ready for spinning on a drop spindle