Carder Waste Project Done

The waste locks which the drum carder spit out have been hand-carded, spun, and knit. Swatch on blocking frame, below, appears interesting enough to continue spinning until there is enough for a sweater.

A sampling of locks used for the project -- mostly Scottish Blackface

Finished swatch being blocked on a 12" x 12" frame

Detail of the carder waste spun and knitted into a swatch

More carder waste being swatched

Six-ounce Skein

Here is what the waste wool looks like after plying and skeining.

Roving, a small bobbin of "singles," and completed two-ply skein

Skein weighed over six ounces, about the max for my largest bobbin.

Detail of the skein made from carder waste

The "whiskery" looking fiber probably comes from the Scottish Blackface locks included in the mix

"Making Order from Chaos"

One of my teachers used to remark that weaving is fulfilling because one is "making order from chaos." Not sure if this idea works unless you are a "making things from scratch" type, but as a spinner and a weaver, I like it.

I had a box of locks that wouldn't go through the drum carder. (Scottish Blackface locks were particularly snarled up.) As an experiment, I hand carded them and spun up three bobbins of yarn.

The next step: ply the single strands together and knit the yarn into swatches.

Box of matted locks (these are usually discarded)

Detail of "waste" locks

Roving made from waste locks using hand carders

Three bobbins of "singles" spun from waste locks