Beginning with fleece (From Smallholder)

Beginning with fleece

11:40am Saturday 10th September 2011 in Livestock

Before buying a fleece you need to decide what it is going to be used for ie dyeing, felting or is it to be hand spun into a yarn for knitting or weaving. If the hand spun yarn is to be used for knitting the yarn needs to be plyed as the knitted garment may skew if only a single yarn is used.

When using the yarn for weaving a single yarn can be used for the weft but a plyed yarn should be used for the warp as this needs to be stronger.

If you do not keep sheep it is possible to buy a fleece from The British Wool Marketing Board for your own use - the address for the nearest office can be found in the yellow pages. When telephoning about buying a fleece let them know what it is going to be used for, the type you require, the approximate weight as they differ considerably, then the board may be able to get a few out for you to look at for when you arrive.

Ask if the fleece can be opened up so its condition can be seen properly. Remember to think colour as different shades of black, brown and grey as well as cream are available along with the Jacob fleece that has different shades of brown and cream in one fleece.

Sometimes one may be offered a fleece from another smallholder who keeps just a few sheep If this should happen choose the fleece personally and if possible, have a look at the fleece while it is still on the sheep, if you like it ask the owner to keep it for you.

Fleece are normally shorn between May and June in the south of England and later in the North ie. July to early August. If shearing is delayed sheep tend to rub themselves against posts or stone walls to remove some of the fleece as they may weigh over 3kg depending on the type, making the sheep feel very uncomfortable and stressed by the heat.

New wool will also start to grow and when shearing does take place some of next years growth will be shorn. To avoid this happening it is best to shear at the same time each year especially if the fleece is to be used for hand spinning.

Some farmers shear in the Winter, after shearing the sheep are confined to the indoors as a freshly shorn sheep needs protection from the elements, it takes 6 weeks for a fleece to re grow sufficiently to provide effective insulation. A freshly shorn sheep needs more feed to maintain its normal body temperature especially when shorn during the Winter.

Note that if a "Winter fleece" is bought that it will contain less lanolin so both sorting and spinning will be difficult due to the fact that the fleece will not cling together.

A "Summer fleece" from a newly shorn sheep is easier to spin, as the grease has not had a chance to dry out and the locks are open so making the sliding and overlapping process in hand spinning easier.

When choosing a fleece try and avoid the following Check the condition of the fleece before buying. Take a staple (this is the name given to groups of fibres growing in the same direction) and hold it tightly with the tip between the first finger and thumb of one hand and the root between the first finger and thumb of the other hand, pull if the staple should break do not buy as this may mean the sheep has been ill, has had malnutrition or a poor winter. All these things will weaken the fleece so it may not stand up to being combed or carded without the fibres breaking.

Dye marks - the farmers individual marks usually wash out, the "tubbing marks" left behind by the ram are difficult to wash out. I recommend that a fleece or parts of the fleece with these markings are avoided.

Double cuts are tiny nips of wool which can be found on the underside of the fleece. They are the result of the shearer making a second pass over the fleece while shearing or they may be next years growth. In excess both can be a problem when carding and spinning and should be removed when sorting the fleece if an even yarn is required.

Bright yellow stains caused by urine and infection will not wash out.

Over dry, weathered, tips are caused by the sun and sometimes harsh weather conditions making the staples weak and causing them to break when being combed or carded.

Avoid fleece which are matted, felted or very dry, all these things make it difficult to separate the fibres.

Kemp is a thick hairy chalky coloured fibre in a cream fleece but can be a reddish in a coloured fleece. It is usually found on sheep that are bred in the wet areas of the country. Fleece with Kemp should be avoided if they are to be used for dyeing. The Kemp will not take up the colour due to the medulla that is present.

Yolk comes from the sheep glands and is situated on the wool fibres. It is a yellow mixture of grease and suint this becomes hard at certain times of the year. With care it will wash out but the hard pieces should be avoided if the fleece is to be used for spinning Mycotic Dermatitis is a fungal skin disease. It forms hard lumps and discolouration of the fleece Quality The value of the wool is governed by the amount of crimps (this is the name used for the waviness present in the staple) the more crimps per inch the finer the wool that can be spun.

The diameter is measured in microns this being one thousandth of a millimetre The quality of the wool is known as the 'count', this dates back 200 years to the worsted industry in Bradford hence being called the 'Bradford count', this denotes how many 560yard long hangs can be hand spun from five hundred grams (one pound) of fleece ie 560 yards is a 1 count, 1120 yards spun is a 2 count (560x2).

Five hundred grams of wool spun to 35840 yards (560x64) is a 64 count.

The higher the number of hanks that can be spun the finer the quality of the wool. If you are a beginner to hand spinning I recommend a fleece with a staple length of around 10cms (4 inches) as this can be spun straight from the fleece after opening out the root and tips of the staples by hand or with a dog comb. It can be hand or drum carded and then spun into a woollen yarn from a rolag.

A yarn spun from a rolag is softer, more elastic and warmer than a yarn spun straight from the fleece as the air is trapped in the