Carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passing the fibres between differentially moving surfaces covered with "card clothing", a firm flexible material embedded with metal pins. It breaks up locks and unorganised clumps of fibre and then aligns the individual fibres to be parallel with each other. In preparing wool fibre for spinning, carding is the step that comes after teasing.
Dyed wool being carded with a 1949 Tatham carding machine at Jamieson Mill, Sandness, Shetland, Scotland.
Cotton carder (known as dhunuri or lep wallah) in Howrah, Kolkata, India
A "Cotton carder". An old engraving copied from artist Pierre Sonnerat's 1782 illustration.
Carding machine
Dipsacus is a genus of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae. The members of this genus are known as teasel, teazel or teazle. The genus includes about 15 species of tall herbaceous biennial plants growing to 1–2.5 metres (3.3–8.2 ft) tall. Dipsacus species are native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa.
Dipsacus
Infructescence of Dipsacus fullonum (common teasel) showing seeds germinating while still in infructescence (vivipary).
A stand of cut-leaved teasel
Dipsacus fullonum
