I’ve been really fortunate to acquire a set of Peter Teal English wool combs which have taken a while to master. I’ve been using Valkyrie Extra Fine combs with a stand up until now, which are great, but I couldn’t resist the  Peter Teal ones when they popped up. These combs have  four lines of very long tines instead of the two on the Valkyrie, and are overall much bigger. Each comb weighs somewhat over 400g, compared to the Valkyrie’s 300ish grams. The stand is higher and sturdier and allows you to turn the combs on their side which is quite a useful position as it means there is no need to swap the combs over. The stand has a more flexible fixing system with a stop-block so that the comb which is on its side is securely supported. Sets of combs were made for right-handed and left-handed users and this stop-block is positioned to keep the comb at the most suitable position.

My set came with a tine straightener and a dizz.

I had a box of hand dyed locks ready for combing which gave me a great opportunity to get to know the combs. I had dyed these locks quite a long time ago using Buddleia flowers, and they were a bit compacted so I had to pick them over first and open them up.

After that I put the opened locks in a plastic bag and sprayed some spinning emulsion onto the fibre. Then the bag sat on a warm radiator overnight,  all of which made the fibre far easier to work with. My version of spinning emulsion is derived from the Alden Amos recipe and is largely olive oil;  I can’t remember exactly what proportions, but any light oil mixed with water will give a similar result. Just remember to shake the spray bottle to mix the ingredients before use and to wash the yarn well after spinning.

I now have two boxes (around 300g) of delightful hand combed sliver in slightly melange yellow and a similarly mixed pale blue that I have to decide how to spin.

The fibre has about four crimps to the inch, so that’s my starting tpi for sampling. Otherwise, suggestions on a postcard please…

The waste from the combing will be carded and maybe blended with other things and then spun into a more textural art yarn.