handpainted tops vs. carded batts

Tops or batts, batts or tops... I find myself in a luxury position of getting to choose my favorite fiber prep for any given fiber any day. It's a new experience for me.

I used to seek tops because I felt they were the most versatile. You can create worsted  or semi-wortsted yarns, thick or thin or any combination from them. In the case of handpainted tops, the choices and yarn results can vary even more just based on how the top is separated or spun up.

I've carded some tops and enjoyed the results, though it's lots of work to get a nicely blended product, particularly when I add in other things like silk brick or sparkles. I'm not a fan of the clumped silk or angelina batts, and so spend maybe too much time working to even out the luxury/sparkles so that a little bit shines through throughout the batt. In my mind, there is a difference between art batts where lots of different fibers and textures are thoughtfully blended and combined, and those that are sometimes called that but are merely the result of lack of skill or control over the end product.

For many years, my very favorite workhorse carder has been my Clemes and Clemes. Everything goes through it and blends nicely. From the shop perspective, the batts are wide enough to meet the expectations of most people when they seek a batt. It has been my 'go to' carder when things needed blending.

Then I got to try the Louet roving carder and I've loved the results. The batts are narrower but thicker and the results are spectacular! I have been a happy girl! When I need thick layers of color or a single fiber or fibers blended together well for myself, this is the one I go to. And because I've loved it so much, this past week, I got in the Louet Elite carder, a full-sized carder with more functionality than I've had time to try yet. And, OMG!!! I'm so in love! I wish I had had this available to me years ago.

Truly, I'm not trying to sound like an infomercial and I'm not a drum carder neophyte... I have been to workshops and conferences where I had the opportunity to try several of the leading brands. So I can't put my finger quite on why this carder has me so over the top excited! Except that the tops card with a minimal of effort, the drum carder's large circumference seems to help create large batts with the colors well dispersed, the cleanup is a Breeze, and the batts are so light, airy and without neps that I want to spend all my time spinning them.

I had a couple of COM tops that fell apart out of the dyepot and I would not sell as braids. With the new carder, I decided to divide them and spin them up. Here is how the 'Under the Big Top' looks carded as batts... can you see how light and fluffy they are??

I carded them in a sort of progression, from lighter to more colorful and have already spun one up. All this (plus one more) from one 4oz handpainted braid. The resulting yarn will be heathered, contrasted to the wide expanses of color that happens when spinning directly from the dyed tops. Heathered yarns are so comforting to me. They are so huggable! Why are there not more heathered yarns, huh?

It will be fun to see how they come out. I'm thinking of using a different fiber to ply them, maybe something like a fine bamboo or soy thread.  What do you think I should do?