Hand Carders

Hand carders (or hand cards) are a relatively low-tech way to prepare fiber for spinning. When you card fiber with hand cards, you are separating the fibers and partially aligning them to make them easier to spin. Carded fibers are the preparation you use if you want to make lofty woolen yarns.

If you want to make worsted yarns, you’ll need the fiber to be aligned more precisely and you’ll want the shorter fibers to be removed. The tool to use for this sort of preparation is a wool comb. If you use a flick carder instead, you’ll end up with fiber that’s aligned like you’d get by using wool combs, but the shorter fibers won’t have been removed.

Any current eBay auctions for hand carders and flick carders will be displayed below. Click a picture or description to get more information or to place a bid.

TWO (2) WOOL CARDER (S) + DROP SPINDLE VINTAGE PADDLES US $33.00 (2 Bids) End Date: Saturday Jul-04-2009 16:38:52 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

wool picker spinning wheel roving fiber weaving carder/ US $152.00 End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 4:53:38 PDT Buy it now | Add to watch list

Ashford Flick Carder to Prepare Wool & Other Fibers US $15.95 End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 6:08:48 PDT Buy it now | Add to watch list

wool picker spinning wheel roving fiber weaving carder. US $152.00 End Date: Sunday Jul-12-2009 6:55:39 PDT Buy it now | Add to watch list

Strauch Petite Carder Strauch Quality/w economy(Assembl US $376.00 End Date: Friday Jul-17-2009 20:54:03 PDT Buy it now | Add to watch list

When buying hand carders, the most important feature is the number of teeth per inch. The finer the fiber you like to use, the more teeth per inch your carders will need to have. Fine hand carders (112 teeth per inch or more) will work well on a wide range of fibers; however, coarser carders will not work for finer fibers such as alpaca, merino wool and cashmere.