Combing Longwool Locks for Smooth Yarn

Why Longwool Locks Love the Combs

Longwool fleeces are the natural home of the wool comb. Breeds such as Wensleydale, Teeswater, Blue-faced Leicester, Lincoln and Cotswold grow staples that can run from fifteen to thirty centimetres, with a lustre that catches light and a crimp so gentle it barely registers between the fingers. Carding these fibres is an exercise in frustration: the teeth tangle long staples into neps and round them into rolags that spin up soft but fuzzy. Combing does the opposite. It takes those long, straight locks and pulls them into perfect parallel alignment, holding back the short, tangled fibres so they can be discarded.

The result is a worsted-style preparation — smooth, dense and gleaming — that spins into yarn with real durability and a lovely clean surface. If you keep longwool sheep, or buy raw fleece by the lock, learning to comb is one of the most rewarding skills you can add to your wheel.

Getting the Locks Ready

Begin with clean, dry wool. Combs work best on fleece that has been washed, because lanolin makes the fibres tacky and clogs the tines, and any grit left in the fleece will blunt them over time. Wash gently in hot water with a little washing-up liquid, rinse until the water runs clear, and dry the fleece completely — a day or two on a rack in an airy shed usually does it.

Once dry, open each lock by hand. Tease the tip end apart with your fingers, then the middle, then the butt, so that no fold or second cut remains. Keep the locks tip-to-butt in the same direction as you work; this matters later when you load the comb. Sort out any felted lumps, vegetable matter or cotty edges as you go.

• Comb: a pair of wool combs, ideally two-row or three-row, mounted on a combing post or clamped to a sturdy bench
• Diz: a small disc or button with a hole, used for pulling off the sliver
• Bin and floor cloth: for noils and short waste
• A little hand cream or water spray: to tame static on dry days

Loading and Working the Combs

Stand the loaded comb upright — tines pointing up — either held firmly in your lap or set in the post. Take a teased lock by the tip and loop the butt end around the tines, working from the far side of the comb towards you. Add four to eight locks, depending on comb size, spreading them evenly across the row so the load is balanced. Don’t overfill: a thin load combs far better than a fat one.

Now take the empty comb in your other hand and bring the two sets of tines face to face. Comb the tips of the loaded wool with a smooth, slightly downward stroke, catching only the very ends of the fibres. Work in long, even passes, letting the teeth take a little more each time. The fibre will begin to transfer from one comb to the other, and you will see the short fibres and neps falling free as you go.

When the first comb is nearly empty, swap hands and comb back the other way. Each transfer is called a pass, and most spinners find that three or four passes in each direction is plenty for longwool. Over-combing wastes good fibre; under-combing leaves neps behind.

Diz Off a Sliver

Once the fibre sits on one comb in a smooth, aligned curtain, you are ready to diz. Hold the comb vertically, tines away from you, and slide the diz gently into the fibre near one edge. Draw a small amount through the hole, pinch it into a point, and pull steadily and slowly away from the comb, letting the sliver draft down to about the thickness of a pencil. Work your way across the comb, edge to edge, keeping the pull even.

If the diz grabs and stalls, the fibres are too crowded — ease the load next time. A well-dizzed sliver should feel like silk, with no detectable bumps or short ends sticking out.

Waste Not

Combing longwool produces a fair amount of waste, and it deserves a home. The noils that fall to the floor are short, crinkly and often full of neps, but they are still wool.

• Card them into soft, bouncy batts for everyday knitting or crochet yarn
• Blend them with silk or alpaca for texture in a lumpy, characterful yarn
• Use them for needle felting, stuffing small cushions, or mulching the garden
• Keep a jar by the comb and let it fill — you will be surprised how quickly it adds up

Spinning from Combed Prep

Combed longwool wants a worsted draw. Use a short forward draw, keeping your hands close together and smoothing the fibres as they leave your control, so the twist enters only the drafted yarn and never the unspun fibre supply. This gives a dense, lustrous yarn with a smooth surface and excellent stitch definition.

Because the fibres are long and aligned, you can spin finer than you might expect, and the resulting yarn wears well — a good choice for weaving warp, for hard-wearing socks, and for lace shawls that need to hold their shape. Take your time, keep the combs clean, and let the wool tell you when the preparation is ready. Longwool rewards patience, and the gleam of a well-combed sliver is proof enough.