AHA!
I’ve run across references to ‘spun worsted’ or ‘spun woolen’ for this last year that I’ve been spinning. There’s a good basic discussion here of what the technical difference is in the technique, but not WHY, or a cultural context.
The latter, I’ve been trying to piece together, with that near-imaginary historic animal, the ‘warm-weather-wool’ in mind.
Earlier period wools were combed, not carded. Carding paddles only date to about 1580 in England. This makes sense, because per Rutt, wire technology was new in Shakespeare’s time. (One of the reasons that knitting took so long to develop – metalwork had to develop too.) So clearly, I need some combs.
But combs aren’t cheap (those double-row Viking ones Ann recommends below are $75), and while I wait for my budget to afford them, I continue to hunt for technical context.
Carding is the preparation for woolen yarns. Fluffy, fuzzy, insulating yarns. Combing produces a more aligned fiber, called worsted. Worsted and woolen yarns were called that BEFORE knitting was produced, per Rutt. (And pre-wire carding paddles, parts of a plant called a teasel were used to card wool and raise naps.) So once upon a time, there were fabrics woven from worsted and woolen. Worsted was cooler. Now I need combs MORE.
Some recommended books from the Twisted Spinners (technical spinning group) on Ravelry:
- For really advanced technical info "The Alden Amos Big Book of Hanspinning" by Alden Amos
- Another excellent book is "Spinning Wool: Beyond the Basics" by Anne
Field. Lots of good, solid information in this one and it’s well
presented with good clear photos. It’s also one of the few books that
explains spinning to the crimp. - Anything by Mabel Ross and there is also a DVD by her.
- Judith McKenzie-McCuin "Teach Yourself Visually: Handspinning" which is
also excellent and does a good job of covering the basics. I found
stuff in this one that I didn’t know and I’ve been spinning for over 20
years now.
I also really really want a handcranked wheel, so I don’t spin wool on my flax wheel, which I’m not supposed to do – that gets oil on the flax, which it doesn’t like. There’s plans to build one here, but I haven’t got there yet.
Combs–I have both English and Viking combs, and I would say save your pennies for a set of double-pitch Viking combs (two rows of teeth). They’re much easier to use than the English combs, where you have to mount one and comb with the other. Mine are from Indigo Hounds, and I really like them.
Remind me when you come to the household party- I have a mini pair I almost never use and you can borrow them until you see what you like.