Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
work. It's not a good idea to dry wool outside on very windy days, unless you
loosely tie another piece of chicken wire on top of the frame.
After the wool is completely dry, you can store it, ship it to a custom pro-
cessor, or process it yourself. If you want to store it, remember that paper or
burlap bags work better than plastic bags. Seal the ends of the bag so that bugs
can't get in and ruin your fl eece. If you are storing cleaned fl eece in a garage
or other area that mice or other critters might get into, store it inside a large,
plastic tub that has a tight-fi tting lid.
Carding
Carding is typically the next step in the processing of wool for yarn. The card-
ing process “teases” apart the fi bers, removes short fi bers, and sets the fi bers
to lie in the same direction. At commercial processing facilities, carding is
done on large machines, but for home use and 4-H demonstrations, hand-
cards can be used. For anyone with two or more sheep, a drum carder is faster,
more effi cient, and easier on the hands.
As you card, you can pick out any odd pieces of vegetation that survived
the washing, but if there was a large amount in the fl eece, you may have to
“pick” it before carding. Those little burrs, seeds, and pieces of chaff will ruin
your fi nished work. (And you'll quickly realize why maintaining a clean fl eece
is so important in the fi rst place.)
Extended Cottage Industry Carding Machine with Bump-winder, produced
by Patrick Green Cardess, Ltd. (Sardis, BC, Canada)
 
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