It happens: the fiber that dyed didn’t come out exactly how you planned, or perhaps your online purchase has some “surprises” hiding within the braid.

Even if the fiber in question is full of colors that seem to go well with each other, there’s always that one blotch of color that can spoil things – or perhaps there is too much white space, or you might have accidentally compressed the fiber during the dyeing process. You may be tempted to abandon your failed fiber, but as long as you have a drum carder handy, your “fail” can become a “win.”

Take small sections of your fiber approximately 4-6″ long, and pass them through your drum carder. Once you’ve done your initial pass, card the batt again.

Once or twice is generally enough to get the fibers mixed enough to dull the bright blotches, This also helps to straighten out the fibers and reintroduce a little bit of air into the mix (especially handy if they’ve been compressed in the dye process).

As you can see, this batt now has a lovely heathered look, and will give you a dimensional yarn with more subtle color differences. This batt will also be much easier to spin later on down the road.

Do you have a fiber fail that you revived with your Strauch Drum Carder? If you do, share them on Instagram with the hashtag #StrauchFiber, and who knows you may see your post shared on our profile!