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Adding value to your fleece - Claire Boley says learning to spin is better than selling to the British Wool Marketing Board
HOW many times you have stood at a farm gate looking into the field at the sheep and wondering what to do with the fleece when they have been sheared and thinking the British Wool Marketing Board will only give you a few pounds for a fleece that may weigh 2 kilograms and is in excellent condition.
My suggestion to you is to learn to spin and make it into yarn that can either be woven or knitted into a garment. It is possible to make quite a few garments with almost 2 kilograms of yarn - after the fleece has been sorted.
It does not cost a lot to get started with hand spinning, it is possible to buy a new spinning wheel for around £200 but if you do not wish to spend that sort of money in the first instance why not go on the internet and see if you can get one from e-bay for under £70 ( if you have not got a computer most libraries have them, and they can be used by the general public - the first 15 minutes use is free and after that it costs just a few pence) or you can learn the basics of hand spinning by using a drop spindle. This can be bought for just a few pounds from a craft shop or by making one from a length of dowelling bought from a Do-It-Yourself shop for a few pence.
Many people, including myself, started hand spinning with a drop spindle. It enables one to get used to the feel of the wool and also learn how to judge the correct amount of twist and improve your drafting technique before spending money on a spinning wheel.
Before starting any form of hand spinning with either a drop spindle or a spinning wheel it has to be decided which type of fleece is to be used and from which sheep. Is it going to be coloured, ie brown, black, grey or cream, using the colours separately or by mixing the fleece together by carding the different colours together - this will give a tweed effect when spun. It is possible to spin one single yarn coloured and one single yarn cream - plying them both together makes a double yarn ready for knitting. When knitting a garment plyed yarn should be used as the finished garment will hang better. If you decide to use a single yarn and knit the garment in stocking stitch the knitting will skew, but if moss stitch, garter stitch or rib is knitted with single yarn the knitting should be ok. If the yarn is going to be used for weaving then there is no need to ply.
The fleece that is going to be used has to be selected very carefully and the following should be avoided.
Tender wool caused by sickness and malnutrition of the sheep. This can be checked by removing a lock and lightly pulling both ends to see if the lock breaks.
Double cuts which are the tiny pieces of wool coming from the fleece when the shearer makes a second pass over the fleece when shearing, or it could be next years growth. Both can be seen if you look at the underside of the fleece, in excess they can add problems when carding and spinning.
Vegetation such as twigs, etc, need to be removed when sorting the fleece and some times this is very difficult.
Dye marks - quite often will not wash out.
Over-dry and weathered tips which are often weak and break during a fleece preparation.
Fleeces that are matted, felted and very dry.
Fleeces that are shorn and then stored when wet and damp.
Before beginning to sort the fleece you need to clear a large area of floor space on which a large plastic sheet can be placed to unroll the fleece on - it expands to a remarkable size. First find the neck band of the fleece and once this has been released unroll it to its full length and open out each side onto the area provided. You should now be looking at the fleece with the tips of the wool locks facing upwards and the fibres, which were closest to the sheep before shearing, facing the floor. If the fleece has been over-stretched compact it so that it looks like the sorting diagram.
1. Extra diamond - good quality.
2. Diamond - quite dry caused by natural oils having been removed by exposure to the weather.
3. Prime - takes the worst of the weather and is often thinner and dryer.
4. Skirting waste.
The time has come for you to decide if you will be visiting a craft shop or Do-It-Yourself shop. If you decide to visit the Do-It-Yourself shop to buy dowelling to make the drop spindle, you will need to buy a narrow piece of dowelling 2cm wide and 30cm in length (for the shaft) and a piece of wood the size and shape of a toy wheel (this is called whorl) 8cm across and 1cm deep with a hole in the centre for the shaft to go through. Take the shaft and make a point at the bottom end and a notch at the top end, now put the shaft into the whorl (see photo).
To use the hand spindle take a long, strong piece of commercial wool (this is to be used as the leader) and tie it near the base of the shaft, hitching the wool around the underside of the whorl then loop it into the notch at the top of the shaft allowing at least 30cm of thread beyond this point. Take a lock of fleece and tease slightly to prevent the fibres clinging together and obstructing the movement when spinning the spindle.
Hold the thread from the spindle - with the spindle hanging free - and the fleece in the left hand and with the right hand grasping the top of the spindle; twist the spindle in a clockwise direction. Immediately draw down a few of the fibres on the last 5cm of thread. Twist the spindle again making sure that it spins in a clockwise direction at all times, and draw out more fibres between the fingers and thumbs with both hands. Continue to do this, making a short length of spun yarn before unhitching the thread and winding it on to the shaft near the whorl. Re-hitch the spun yarn as before, leaving about 30cm of yarn at the top of the spindle so the process can be repeated.
If there is insufficient twist, the yarn will lack strength and may break, with too much twist, too many fibres will be held together and the yarn will be too thick. When the shaft is full, remove the yarn by winding it into a ball.
After spinning two balls of single yarn, it is possible to ply the yarn with the spindle. Take the two ends of the yarn in the right hand and put both balls of yarn over the right shoulder into either a cardboard shoebox or a plastic bowl, which is placed on the floor. Still holding the ends of the yarn in your right hand tie the two ends of yarn on to the shaft of the spindle, hitching both yarns together around the underside of the whorl then loop them into the notch at the top of the shaft of the spindle. Twist the drop spindle in an anti-clockwise direction and carefully allow the two yarns to twist as it comes over your shoulder. Stop when it reaches the floor and wind the wool onto the shaft, repeat this until all the wool is on shaft. Take the plyed wool off the shaft of the drop spindle by winding it into a ball or by making the wool into a skein by using the niddy noddy (a niddy noddy is for winding yarn into skeins. It consists of a length of a broom handle with two pieces of dowelling going through it at right angles at each end of the broom handle).
When washing the wool tie the skein of wool lightly in three places to stop it from tangling while being washed. Immerse the wool in a bucket of warm water with either soap flakes or a mild detergent. Leave the wool for a few hours to soak - do not agitate the wool as this could cause it to felt. If more washing is required make sure the water is at the same temperature as before. Rinse in cool water several times. Squeeze the skein and allow it to dry naturally in the garden. When the yarn is dry it is ready to use.
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