Like many spinners, I adore a carded preparation. Carded fibre is delightfully fluffy and light, and it makes my favourite kind of yarn: one with a little life to it, no matter the draw I use in my spin nor the fineness of the singles themselves. Carded fibre is an excellent choice for new and experienced spinners alike, as the process of carding fluffs your fibre while releasing its strands to slide past each other more easily during drafting and spinning. Both rolags and punis fit this category. Traditionally, they are hand-carded. What sets them apart from other such preparations is that, after carding, the small batt is then rolled up into neat and enticing hollow cylinders, ready for spinning.
What is a rolag?
A true, traditional rolag is hand-carded from fibres of roughly three inches or shorter, then gently coaxed into a cigar-like, rolled-up log. Included are any shorter bits and lengths, creating the truest form of a fully woollen fibre preparation. These rolled-up results are recognizably light as air.
Since commercial fibre (top) is so widely available to today’s spinner, many now use it in the place of fleece, creating a similar result, minus those shorter pieces. Polwarth, Targhee, and other comparable breeds and blends work especially well.
What is a puni?
A puni is visibly denser and tighter than a rolag. Traditionally, punis are made up of the shortest of fibres (think: cotton). Once carded, the small batt is rolled around a single dowel (a knitting needle works too). The tines on the carding cloth continue to aerate the surface of the fibre while it’s being rolled, which helps to keep the fibres light and spinnable, despite the tighter roll. Extremely short, downy, and luxurious fibres make for excellent ingredients in a blended puni, particularly when blended with short, fine wool using a high-density (96 point and higher) carding cloth. While staple lengths up to two or so inches will yield an otherwise normal-looking puni, stick to fibres of one inch or less for the best results while spinning, as longer staples tend to tangle as they draft out from the middle of the tube.
How to make rolags and punis on a blending board
So, what about the eye-catching, colourful “rolags” that have become so popular amongst spinners in recent years? These fall in between the above preparations. That’s because at-home carding equipment with larger surfaces, e.g. the drum carder and blending board, are widely available to us today. Most often, these eye-catching rolags are carded on a blending board, which has longer tines than hand cards and requires the use of dowels for roll-off and removal. This action engages the tines/teeth of the carding cloth, pulling the fibre more deeply into alignment than when rolling a rolag or puni from hand cards. The carded surface of this roll-off is denser than that of a true rolag, but not as tightly rolled as a puni. Thus, the more accurate name is a puni-rolag, a rolag-puni, or a puni-style rolag.
All are excellent vehicles for colour management and blending experimentation.
How are rolags and punis similar?
No matter what you call them, rolags and punis share other similarities, too, including:
- Spinning them from one end results in the fibre strands crossing perpendicularly, creating a beautifully soft and airy yarn with woollen qualities when spun longdraw, and a less lofty yarn when paired with other draws, respectively.
- They work well with wheel and spindle spinning, and their compact size makes for excellent travel spinning, too.
- Roll-ups are a fun way to re-imagine your fibre stash and to experiment with making your own blends.
- When properly prepared, rolags and punis (and rolag-punis) draft like a dream, with no other preparation needed.
Whether you’re carding rolags or punis, or something in between, charging your handcards or blending board with a smaller amount of fibre than the carding cloth can hold will yield the lightest results.
If you’ve previously considered fibre preparation to be too tedious or otherwise out of your league, consider having your own carding party with some colourful fibre and mix-ins, using whatever carding equipment you have at home. Making these little roll-ups is a reward all its own.
Explore further fibre prep fun at my Blending Boards: From Rolags to Roving course at the School!
