Spin-Off – September 2019

Fall 2019 • Spin Off 49

tines, but some prefer to start at the top of the blending

board and work toward the bottom.

Once the tulle is in place, apply your fiber. When

the blending board is full, start at the bottom of the

board and carefully lift the tulle away from the board to

produce a classic batt for spinning.

Tidy Tweeds

One of my favorite ways to use the blending board is to

make a spinning preparation for tweed yarns with tiny

bits of color on a more or less solid background.

Tulle is especially helpful in preventing the tiny

bits from being left behind on the carding cloth. After

applying the tulle, apply a layer of background fiber,

then sprinkle bits or dots of contrasting color fiber bits.

You don’t really need lots of dots. Distributing them

evenly will work better than globs of dots. Alternate

layers of background fiber and dots as many times as

you’d like, finishing with a layer of background fiber.

You can then take the fiber off in rolags or as a batt.

I use leftover bits of yarn to create garnetts, the

flecks and dots of contrasting color. Abrading the scrap

yarns before cutting them into bits will help them stick

better to the background fiber. I tried several techniques

for doing this, but I got the very best suggestion from

Emily Johnston when she took my blending board

workshop. She suggested rubbing the yarns between

two scrub brushes—brilliant! After the yarns are

abraded and fuzzy, cut them into small pieces. I prefer

teeny tiny bits; they seem to stay embedded in the

background fiber better. Also, I’ve had best results if the

yarn I am adding is on the soft side (either fine fibers or

loosely spun).

You can use a similar tulle strategy for garnetts other

than bits of yarn: silk noil, strips of fabric, locks, ribbon, or

lengths of yarn. The tulle will keep all of these additions

from stubbornly getting stuck in the blending board.

Blending for Wet-Felting

The blending board is the perfect canvas for painting

with wool. After blending and removing the fiber, you

can felt the batt to create fabric, which can be used as

a picture or incorporated into garments or other items.

Although I am not particularly adept at painting, I would

like to make a tea cozy using this technique someday.

Start by applying a layer of tulle to the blending

board. Then apply feltable fibers in four layers: vertically

from top to bottom, horizontally from side to side,

diagonally from top corner to opposing bottom corner,

and diagonally from the other top corner to its opposing

bottom corner. Varying the orientation of the fibers will

help make a cohesive felted fabric. Finally, you’re ready

to apply your “painting” fiber to the top layer.

After all of the fiber is in place, apply another layer

of tulle. Starting at the bottom edge, lift all three layers

(tulle, fiber, tulle) together carefully. My preference is to

loosely baste the three layers together before wet-felting

to finish the painting. ●

Resources

Powell, Gwen. Blending Board Basics and Beyond. Self-

published, 2015.

Tortora, Phyllis G., and Robert S. Merkel. Fairchild’s

Dictionary of Textiles, 7 th ed. New York: Fairchild

Publications, 2009.

Amy Tyler lives in the woods of northern lower Michigan,

where she spins, knits, writes, and blends. She also travels

across the country to teach workshops in spinning and

knitting, including fiber preparation on a blending board.

You can find more about her on her website,

http://www.stonesockfibers.com.

Garnetting The process of recovering fiber from worsted

waste, rags, and clippings of wool and manufactured fibers...

[to] restore it to a fibrous condition for reuse.

—Fairchild ’s Dictionary of Textiles, 7 th edition

Scrub several short

lengths of leftover

yarn between two

stiff brushes.