A friend of mine has heard I have started weaving. He has phoned me to say he has 6 cotswold sheep and 10 Oxford down sheep. He is offering me the fleeces for £1.00 each ( about $1.20?). I have said yes because if I don;t have them he will burn them but what do I do next? I have some hand carders but for all this wool?!?!?!?!?

ANy help/advice appreicated

Paul

Comments

Thu, 02/23/2012 - 23:14

Xylem

Paul,

I was given 30+ fleeces (Clun Forest) in a similar deal last spring.  Once skirted and picked over - it will be quite a bit less depending on conditon of the fleeces.  We wash and dry the wool after another sort (only washing that which will be used) at about a 1lb a go (I don't have a washing machine I can use to do more).  Some could be spun straight from the locks, but most is flicked to open the locks and run through a drum carder to make batts.  I spin it for whatever use, and have dyed and woven various amounts.  See earlier posts on sheep2shawl.blogspot.com

Steve

Fri, 02/24/2012 - 03:11

Jen Brown (not verified)

If you have small woolen mills nearby having them process the fleece into roving is another option.  It does add an extra expense.

I had 6 fleeces given to me and at first thought of processing it by hand, but only got as far as about a pound or so.  The fleece was pretty dirty and had a fair amount of vegtable matter in it, so it wasn't an easy job.  (These weren't the nice hand spinner fleeces one can get at a fiber show.)

I ended up skirting the fleeces heavily to get the weight down and save only the best parts, then took the remainder to a wool processor.  They cleaned the wool and carded into roving.  It came back looking wonderful and is a dream to spin.  I was happy I went that way.

The parts skirted off went into the compost --- after the lab had a good roll around in it first.

When comparing processors you need to check on if their price per pound is for raw weight or finished weight and then judge how much loss you expect from each type.  I'm not sure about Costwold or Oxford, but I've seen fine fleeces - Corridale and Merino lose 50% between raw and finished.  I would expect Costwold would be less than Oxford, with both of these less than Merino. 

Good luck with all that fleece!

Fri, 02/24/2012 - 22:19

mrdubyah (not verified)

What a great bargain!  You can have lots of fun with these.  I spin 10-12 fleeces a year and use the yarn in my weaving. First skirt them.  Spread them out on a wire fence and shake them so the small bits fall through.  Pull off the outside edges with the short cuts, poop and the vegetable matter (VM).  Take what's left and put it in mesh laundry bags for washing.  Wash three times in the hottest water you can get as follows.  DO NOT AGITATE!!  Fill the washer, add 1/2 cup of dish washing detergent (I use Dawn).  Place bags in water and soak for 20-30 minutes.  Remove bags, drain and rinse the washer then put the wool back in and spin dry.  Then remove the wool, refill with very hot water, add 1 cup of white vinegar, put the wool back in and soak for another 20-30 minutes.  Remove the bags, drain the washer, put the wool back, spin dry and remove again.  Finally, fill the washer with just plain clean very hot water, add the wool and soak for 20-30 minutes.  Remove the wool, drain the washer, add the wool and spin dry one last time.  Take the wool out and spread it on a screen or sweater rack in the sun (or by the stove) to dry.  When dry, the wool is ready to process.  You can use English combs, your hand cards or a flicker, to prepare the fiber, but I use a drum carder and make wool bats.  Tear the bats in strips and spin clockwise with a drop spindle or a wheel to make single strand yarn in your choice of sizes.  Combine singles counterclockwise to make 2 ply yarn, 3 ply yarn or more.  Dye some with commercial dyes or with the plants from your neighborhood.  Leave some in natural colors.  Wind the yarn on your loom and weave beautiful handspun scarves, shawls and blankets.  It takes time, but it's well worth doing.  Hook up with your local spinning guild and I'm sure they'll be happy to give you tips and help you learn more.  They might even buy a few of your fleeces too!.  Enjoy!