We’re in a Natural Fiber Renaissance.
Wool is regenerative--it’s sustainable, renewable, and biodegradable.
Slow Fiber
Let me tell you how to select raw fleece straight from the flock.
Our ewe Florence produced a fleece that won her long wool class at a small show because I skirted the entire fleece lock by lock. Skirting is sorting off the undesirable edges, veg. and manure.
I left no ‘seconds,’ or short bits, vegetation, or manure.
I saw a natural beauty in the ‘clip’.
It was gray-silver natural colored with a beautiful, lustrous gradient, +3-4” in length of lock, and extremely uniform throughout.
Florence, Fall 2020
A Hand Spinner wants her fleece:
Highest quality
Clean
beautiful
to Meet her function
Quality
Lamb is the best fleece and softness decreases with age.
Fleeces from sheep over a year old are still functional and can be high quality, however.
Ram fleeces are stinky. but Ram Lamb fleeces can be high quality and smell fine.
Beyond age, what makes a good fleece?
Strength
no ‘break’, or weak fiber; passes the sound test
Condition
clean, dry, absence of felted fiber, mildew, pests, removal of breech wool and seconds
Crimp
frequency of the waves of fiber within a staple
Uniformity
a fleece that has minimal variation from shoulder to tail with locks that present similarly throughout; largely genetic.
Length
short fibers are not suitable for spinning worsted yarns, generally +3-5 inches is desirable; too long is undesirable, considered ‘overgrown’ and increases chance of ‘break’
Handle
the pleasing way the fleece feels in hand
Brightness
just like it sounds: bright with a lack of yolk or yellow lanolin
Luster
shine, breed characteristic, Lincoln Sheep are known for their lustrous wools
Appearance
clean; free of stains, dung, seconds, vegetable matter (VM)
Weight
an adequate clip Purchases are generally in $/# This is less important for Hand Spinners and more important for Show Fleeces.
If you’re buying a raw fleece you’ll want to only buy the best fibers- no breech, heavily skirted, but adequate amount for the project.
(remember washing or scouring fleece results in weight loss; even up to 50% in fine wools)
Starting out, certainly you could spend a lesser amount for a greater volume of lower quality fleece.
Now you know how to select a raw fleece and compare multiple fleeces.
Come to a Skirting Party!
I’m having a “Skirting Party”
April 23, 2022 from 11am - 2 pm at my farm.
I’ll provide hands on learning and discussion about creating quality clips and preparing wool for show, sale, and processing.
The fee is $20 per person and a light meal will be provided.