Can anyone please tell me why carding wool for felting is important, i understand why for spinning but it is as important just for felting. 🙂 thanks
someone much more experienced will come along soon, but here’s my 2c worth:
carding it makes the fibres sit in the same direction, without knots and miscellaneous mank. when you felt, you’re agitating the fibres so that they will bond with one another. if they aren’t neat, your felt won’t be smooth and may not bond properly. and it would be difficult to get your felt an even thickness.
Kathy pretty much has it covered. Without carding, your wool will be hard to get to an even thickness, and will be hard to clean / clear.
Carding not only separates and tidies up the fibres, it also helps lots of dirt and grass seeds and short cuts and other bits get out of the fleece. These are things you don’t want in your felt.
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