Blog Archives

Peacock Batt – Blending Tutorial

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Otto

Inspiration is everywhere, and today we want to show how to turn your ideas into reality. The jumping off point for this tutorial is a peacock feather. It can be notoriously difficult to capture their beauty and shine, and all of … Continue reading →

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Artist Profile: Sara Renzulli – Sarafina Fiber Art

Posted on December 21, 2016 by Otto

We recently came across the Sarafina Fiber Art website, and have fallen in love with her work. Sara Renzulli, owner and operator of Sarafina Fiber Art, works with wool roving to create felted creatures from fanciful to very realistic. Sara’s vivaciousness and … Continue reading →

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Color Palette Blending

Posted on December 13, 2016 by Otto

If you’ve been following our Pinterest boards, you’ll know that we have a board dedicated to color palettes. Today’s post will show you how to use these color palettes to blend fibers on your Strauch drum carder. Here we have started … Continue reading →

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Carding Alpaca

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Otto

Recently, we’ve been focusing on carding alpaca fiber. The beautiful long staple length of alpaca is incredibly warm and soft, and ideal for a variety of projects. Alpaca is a fiber that benefits from proper prep. Drape is the characteristic that its … Continue reading →

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Alpaca Facta

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Otto

Customers tell us that the Strauch carder is the best drum carder on the market. We’ve spent a lot of time and hard work into creating this ideal machine. Strauch drum carders are great for carding a variety of fibers, … Continue reading →

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Staff Highlight: Liz Ackermann

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Otto

Today we’re featuring one of our staff, Liz Ackermann. Liz has worked for Strauch Fiber Equipment for more than 10 years assembling drum carders, ball winders, and swifts. In her spare time, she enjoys weaving, spinning, knitting and whatever other … Continue reading →

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WestPark Alpacas

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Otto

Today we’re excited to feature one of our customers, an alpaca farm in Pennsylvania that purchased a Strauch carder for creating batts from their alpaca fiber which are turned into felted pieces. Below is an interview with Pat Scheer, one … Continue reading →

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Keeping Your Drum Carder Clean

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Otto

Like it or not, fiber gets EVERYWHERE. On all chain drive carders, it’s important to keep fiber off the idler shaft and the sprocket. As fiber accumulates, it pushes on the small sprocket and will eventually cause the carder to … Continue reading →

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Featured Artist: Elysa Darling

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Otto

Today we’re excited to feature a wonderful fiber artist, Elysa Darling from 222Handspun. Elysa creates and sells beautiful art batts and art yarns through her Etsy shop, and blogs on her website, 222Handspun. Today we’re sharing photos of Elysa’s batts … Continue reading →

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Behind the Scenes at the Strauch Workshop

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Otto

Welcome to the Strauch Fiber Equipment Blog! To start off our blog we thought we’d write about the early days of our workshops here in New Castle, Virginia. Strauch Fiber Equipment started building its workshop in Spring of 1999. The … Continue reading →

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