Carding Wool: Learn how you can use wool to make pillows, duvets, or insulation – Saturday 12 December 2026

Opening up the fibre: picking, combing and carding washed wool

Picking, combing and carding turn clean, tangled locks into soft, airy fibre ready to be used for a filling for a duvet or a pillow, or for spinning or felting. Using our wool picker, hand carders and two drum carders, with wool we have washed ourselves at the Wool Lab, you will learn how to open up the fibres, line them up and turn them into rolags and batts.

Choose what to make

• Rolags ready for our spinning workshop
• Batts ready for use to make a duvet, a pillow or insulate clothing. Or can be used for felting.

What you will learn

• Picking: opening up washed locks by hand and with our wool picker, and shaking out the last bits of plant matter. The picker has sharp teeth, so it is always used under supervision
• Combing: separating out and lining up the longer fibres, for a smooth, strong yarn
• Hand carding with a pair of carding paddles, without tearing the fibre
• Using our drum carders to card larger amounts quickly, and lifting off a finished batt
• Making rolags and batts
• Blending different fleeces and colours to create your own mix
• For a larger projects like a duvet: how to lay out batts evenly, and how to stitch or tuft through the casing so the wool stays put

What to bring

Nothing essential. If you have your own hand carders, bring them along. We can provide washed fleece, the picker, carding paddles and both drum carders to share.

Details

When: Saturday 12 December 2026, 12pm to 2pm
Where: Former Gospel Oak Nursery, Balcony Level, Haverstock Road, London NW5 4RA
Cost: This event is free, but if you can, please do make a donation to help us cover costs.
No experience needed. All our workshops are supervised and open to everyone.

This workshop is part of our Fleece to Finished Piece series: washing, carding, spinning, natural dyeing, felting and weaving. Come to one, or follow the whole journey from raw fleece to finished piece. Find out more about the Wool Lab.