Come to the carding party and feel the warmth of history in your hands!

Come to the carding party and feel the warmth of history in your hands!

Once the sheep are shorn, the long journey from wool to sock begins. In the old days, wool was often hidden away over the summer, when the fields and animals did all the work. But after Michaelmas on 29 September, the evening meal began – and with it the transformation of the wool.

At the carding guild, the wool was first teased, plucked and pre- carded before being carded into fine cloth, ready to be spun and knitted. On a winter’s day, you could card a pound of wool – and one sheep yielded two to four pounds. If you had too much, you might get an old woman in the neighbourhood to help out in exchange for food. But you could also invite people to a carding party – the girls from the local youth team would come and card to songs, laughter and competitions. The young men also came, with their own sock knitting in hand, and the evening was spent in good company.

In Lejre Land of Legends you can experience a kartegilde from 14.30 to 15.30.
Learn to card, hear the stories and be part of the joint effort that made the winter knitting possible.