blending fiber - leilani handmade

I’ve owned my Brother Drum Carder for ten, if not 12 years. At the time, it was considered the most affordable drum carder on the market. Although they are still in the cheaper category drum carder wise, the price has increased significantly (what hasn’t?!), which makes me wonder who is affording a drum carder these days!

That said, I wanted to create a video showing how I make textured batts on my drum carder, which I feel very privileged to own these days, given the current economic climate.

Batts vs. Rovings

This post is a companion post to textured blending with a hackle, which is a more cost effective way to texture blend fiber for spinning. I really enjoy my hackle and use it more than my drum carder, though I must say, I do like having the option of using either.

By the way, although this post showcases making batts, you can also use a diz to pull rovings off the drum carder just like with a hackle.

A close-up of a hand using a drum carder to process wool fiber. The drum is spinning, blending colorful fibers, while a hand feeds wool in and another holds a wooden tool with a brush, combing the fibers. Workshop equipment and natural light are visible in the background.

The Wrong Carding Cloth

When I decided to get a drum carder, I really didn’t have that much experience with one, well, I had none really. Just what I saw at wool shows and online as other people demo’d them. It just made common sense to me to have one since I was doing my own fiber processing. I really didn’t understand the different carding cloths and what would suit my needs. So I went with a medium carding cloth, because it’s right in the middle. So that should be precisely what I need, right?

For blending traditional style batts, either out of top or raw (scoured) fiber, the medium cloth is perfect. What I wasn’t expecting was that the batts I preferred to spin were chunky and textured. I should have known, since I was always drawn to the bulky, funky, textured art yarns. You would think I would have realized that I would need a course carding cloth. But noooo…

A drum carder loaded with colorful, blended fibers in shades of pink, purple, white, orange, and black sits on a wooden table. Various crafting supplies and equipment are visible in the background.

Stuck with a medium carding cloth but the desire for chunky batts, what should I do? The easiest and most obvious solution is to buy another carding cloth. But truthfully, by that time I had purchased quite a bit of fiber tools, including another spinning wheel (of which I have four now…two were used, okay? 😉 ). I didn’t want to spend any more money.

A person uses a drum carder to blend pink, blue, and black fibers for spinning. Their hands guide the fibers off the carding drum using a doffer to remove the fibers. Sunlight streams in from the left, and various tools and yarn are visible in the background. The person wears a smartwatch.

An Unexpected Solution

One day, I was blending some silk and became frustrated with how the carder was up-taking the fiber. Too much was going on to the licker-in (the smaller drum). I wasn’t happy with cleaning the licker-in with perfectly fine-to-use silk fiber, and feeding it through again and again. I also couldn’t get the silk divided and fed through so it would blend evenly.

So I got the idea to feed the silk directly onto the main drum while I cranked the handle slowly. And lo’ and behold, this worked wonderfully! I could place the silk wherever I wanted, and it blended just to my liking. I got to thinking: could I make chunky, textured batts this way?

A person with glasses and short dark hair holds up a colorful wool batt with pink, blue, green, and black fibers in a bright, cozy craft room filled with shelves, supplies, and a wooden table.

And so this is how this technique was born: a way to achieve a textured chunky batt without a coarse carding cloth.

Watch the Video Demonstrating the Technique

To demonstrate how I make textured chunky batts I set out to blend random bits of fiber left over in the studio.As the fiber chosen is all very random, the batt colors are…interesting to say the least.

The subsequent batts are a blend of many colors of hand-dyed merino roving, angora rabbit fiber, silk and Angelina fibers.

Should you purchase a Drum Carder?

Do you need a drum carder? I’m still an advocate for a hackle over a drum carder, particularly in terms of affordability for blending fiber. However, if you ever get your hands on one or have the opportunity to use one at your local guild, keep this method in mind if you want to create a textured batt. Just be sure to go slowly and not force the fiber on, as you might bend the teeth; however, all drum carder teeth will wear out eventually.

If you’ve ever tried this technique or a similar one, please drop me a line here or on YouTube and share your thoughts. I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s thought of loading fiber on the drum directly. 🙂

A person wearing a smartwatch sits at a wooden table, using a blending hackle to blend colorful fibers. Their hands are visible near the fibers, which are a mix of green, purple, blue, and shiny strands, all attached to metal spikes of the tool.

“Sandwiching” Fibers on a Hackle

When I was very young and learning to read, my favorite book was called “The Biggest Sandwich Ever,” in which a man enters a park and starts assembling a gigantic sandwich with everything you could ever imagine on it. I loved how this book rhymed, but most of all, I loved all the different types of food that were piled onto this humongous sandwich.

It’s no surprise that, as an adult, I’ve become a total foodie who loves cuisine from all over the world. I find this food theme even enters my jewelry and fiber arts endeavours, with many of my projects referring to or named after food. Everything reminds me of food! 🙂

I have nicknamed this hackle blending technique “sandwiching” because I layer many different types of fibers for spinning on top of each other, and repeat the process, “sandwiching” the fibers together before pulling them off with a diz.

A person holds multicolored, shiny fiber near a wooden blending board with metal pins. More fiber is spread across the board’s pins. The background shows a blurred room with art, books, and weaving tools. Light softly enters from the left.

Above: a mixture of Merino, Silk, Angora, and Angelina fibers forms this mini roving, pulled off my hackle with a diz and ready for some fun hand spinning!

Why Blended Textured Fibers

I love playing with color and creating unique handspun yarn. I get satisfaction in watching all the colors come together when spinning or plying yarn.

I know some people dislike texture in their yarn, and you can still do this sandwiching technique with just wool top of different colors to create a uniquely blended top, colorwise. Life’s too short for spinning boring fiber. 😉

Another reason to blend fibers is to create different strengths or structure in your yarn. Blending dyed nylon for a stronger sock yarn, for example, or adding in bamboo or cotton for its absorbent or anti-microbial properties. Adding in a luxury fiber, such as silk, to your project is always divine!

For me, textured blending is all about the uniqueness of my handspun. The unpredictability and unreplicability of the fiber are what make it enjoyable and motivating to spin. Although all handspun yarn is art yarn, spinning textured blended fiber embodies that definition in its entirety.

Hackle vs. Drum Carder

You can achieve similar results with a drum carder. With a drum carder, you will pull off a batt, whereas a hackle is used to create roving. I do find that the fibers on a drum carder can blend more effectively than on a hackle. I have a trick to this that I will share in an upcoming video & post, because when I am making textured fiber for spinning, I don’t want the fiber to be overly blended.

Watch: Sandwich Blending Fiber on a Hackle

Tips for Successful Fiber Blending on a Hackle

Don’t Overload the Hackle

It’s tempting to fill a hackle as full as possible, but from my experience, all this does is compact the fibers, making it harder to pull off with the diz. This results in a significant amount of leftover fiber, which you will need to either re-run through the hackle or remove in what I refer to as a “mini-batt” (demonstrated in the video). Because I want to preserve the chunky blending and have every roving match, I don’t run it back through the hackle.

Pull Roving with a Firm but Gentle Pressure

You will want to be firm and steady when pulling the fiber through the diz, BUT not aggressively. Pulling too hard only results in the fiber breaking on the roving prematurely. It also feels like you are fighting the fiber; much more resistance is created, and thus it becomes harder to pull. Not to mention this is very hard on the body.

In the video, you will see me alternate hands while pulling off the roving. Usually, I would guide the diz with one hand and pull with the other, but I have a bad shoulder and neck issues from being hit by a car years ago, so I find the repetitive motion of fiber prep and spinning exacerbates that injury.

Slow and steady is always the way to go when pulling a roving.

Take breaks when needed.

I am guilty of getting so into my hackle blending that I don’t take adequate breaks, resulting in some serious neck, shoulder, and back pain. It’s essential to find balance in tasks that require repetitive motion to keep them enjoyable; otherwise, you may wind up with repetitive strain injury and needing to visit the massage therapist or physiotherapist more often, or even worse, have to quit altogether.

Overall, a hackle is a versatile and generally affordable tool for blending fiber for spinning. See my other hackle post for general hackle use tips, and be sure to check out my YouTube Channel for more spinning and fiber inspiration.

Tag: blending fiber

Textured Chunky Batts on a Drum Carder