Ok, I've had a few requests for pics of some of my batts I carded on my Kitten drum carder. First I'd really like to say that I'm not a professional and the Kitten is my first and only carder. I know there is bigger and badder out there, but I LOVE MY KITTEN! It does what I want it too, and that's all that really matters isn't it? I just wanted a drum carder that would allow me to blend my own batts, process a bit of fleece when the need arises. That being said....here are some of my recent batts. Above is a blend of http://www.thesheepshedstudio.com/ superwash wool in peach carded with silk and firestar.
This batt is from the bird's nest I found in the Big Bale Sale from sheepshedfiberstudio. It was 10 lbs of mill end rovings for 5$ a lb. Not a bad price. Only about 10 ozs were really matted up, the rest is lovely, and can be spun as is. My kitten made short work of the bird's nest and I got 2 nice batts weighing 2 ozs. I find if I put more than 2 ozs on the carder, it starts wrapping around the licker in drum.
Finally, another batt from another birds nest. I got one of these, and 2 more in black. I'd post more pics, but blogger is being stupid tonight, and it's taken me an hour to get these pics to upload. I have some churro batts, and a sari silk blend. But you can see from my pics how well blended these batts are. I put the batts through twice, and use my hand carder as a doeffler brush to help smooth and pack the fibers on denser. I use a bamboo mat like for sushi to help get the batts off too. So I hope you like my batts. I'll post somemore later. I have to get to bed now!
2 comments:
I've got a Kitten, too, but have never really been able to get a nice batt. (Maybe it needs adjusting...) You batts look fantastic.
Thanks for the comment! Yes, I did adjust mine. I used a double folded peice of paper between the take up and the drum. It's really easy to adjust. I also use a hand carder as a burnishing tool and that packs the fiber in. I always run the fiber through the drum carder twice too! Hope that helps!
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