Pat Lees provided photographs of her hand carders to illustrate the method of holding the left and right cards while carding wool. The carding process removes tangles from the wool and aligns the fibers. The fleece is combed from one card to the other a few times until the fibers are lined in one direction.
       In the upper left photo, Pat is loading fleece on the left card. Fleece will be applied across the width of the card. The upper right photo shows the carded fleece after a few transfers from card to card.   If the carded fleece is removed from a card without rolling it, it will have the form shown in the bottom left picture. If the fleece is rolled off the card, it forms a rolag as pictured at the lower right. A rolag can be used to spin yarn. Fleeces of different color or staple length can be blended by adding them to the card in the desired proportions.  The type of yarn is affected  by the direction in which the fleece is rolled from the card, side to side or front to back.
       While the carding of fleece appears to be rather basic and uncomplicated, it is in fact a means by which yarns take on the wide range of characteristics so skillfully crafted into them by the artisans.
       In later issues of this publication, we will see that the spinning wheel adds its own special dimensions to the crafting of yarns.