Textile carding is a mechanical process that unravels, cleans and intermixes fibers to produce a continuous web suitable for subsequent processing.[1]​ This is achieved by passing fibers between differentially moving surfaces that are covered with card clothings. It breaks up knots and disorganized tangles of fiber and then aligns the individual fibers so that they are parallel to each other. When preparing wool fiber for spinning, carding is the process that follows carmenation.[2]​.

In the industrial textile process there is the devil-type carding machine, which ensures that the procedure is automatic in large productions.

The term derives from the Latin Carduus which means thistle or card, because, before technological advances that led to the use of machines, cards made from dissected thistles were the first to be used to comb wool.

These sorted fibers can then be passed on to other processes that are specific to the end use of the fiber: yarn, knitting, quilting, felting, knitting yarn, worsted wool, etc. Carding can also be used to create mixtures of different fibers or different colors. When mixed, the carding process combines the different fibers to produce a homogeneous material. Industrial carders also have rollers and systems designed to remove contaminants from the wool.

Carding machines are known as carders (they are more complex than a simple tool). The hand tool is known as a carder. The fiber can be carded by hand if manual spinning is desired.