Carding

:For other senses of this word, see carding (disambiguation).

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Carding is the processing of brushing raw or washed fibers to prepare them as textiles. A large variety of fibers can be carded, anything from dog hair, to llama, to soy silk (a fiber made from soy beans). Cotton, wool and bast are probably the most common fibers to be carded. Not all fibers are carded. Flax, for example, is threshed, not carded.

Related Topics:
Fiber - Textile - Cotton - Wool - Bast - Flax - Threshed

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Carding can also be used to create mixes of different fibers, or different colors. Some hand-spinners have a small drum carder at home especially for the purpose of mixing together the different colored fiber that they buy already carded. Some drum carders even come with directions on how to best card two colors at once.

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The two main ways to card fibers are by hand, and by machine.

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