Fiber ~ flicking: part 2

I received a lot of great questions about flicking raw fiber, so I wanted to talk a little more about it. It's really hard to explain, so much easier to show someone in person, but I will try my best with words and pictures.

In reply to what is a flicker, it is a small brush with metal teeth, like a mini carder:





The idea of flicking fiber is similar to carding it - both methods take a bundle of fiber and loosen it so that it can be spun into yarn.

This is a bundle of Twilight's fiber:



I take the flicker, and brush down the length of the bundle (I was home alone so had to take a picture of this myself, not the best, but I think you can see how it goes):



I brush in one direction, down, which separates the bundle on one tip end, but not the tip end that is in my hand. I flip it around so that I can get the other tip end too. That way the entire length of the fiber is flicked.

Flicking it makes the fiber feel smooth, so that it can slip into a twist and make a strand of yarn:



Here is it flicked:



I make it into a cloud (which can be used similar to roving or batts for spinning into yarn) (note the cloud is of Greyt's fiber, so if you thought the color looked different it is):