[Tish tosh]

My three sheep are due to be sheared soon. My daughter would dearly love a jumper from our sheep. Can you tell me what needs to be done with the fleece , like where do you send it for washing, how much is needed etc.
Many thanks 

[Fowlman]

You will need to find someone to spin it for you.

[Bionic]

Tish I am sure that one of the experiened people will be along shortly with lots of info but just for starters
What sort of sheep are they? - not everything makes good yarn for a jumper
The fleece needs to be washed which you can do yourself, carded and then spun into yarn. There are plases that do this for you but its not a cheap option. You might find a local spinner/spinning group which would do it for you.
How much yarn depends on the thickness of the spin, the type of jumper she wants, the size etc.

[suziequeue]

We compost some of ours. This year I am going to use them for mulch to keep the slugs away.

[Fleecewife]

There are places such as The Natural Fibre Co in Somerset which will scour, card, spin and ball your yarn for you, but they need at least 20-25 kgs to do a private run and you'll never get enough from three British sheep     You could google some mini mills and see if they would do it, or look for hand spinners who do contract work (very costly)   BUT what an excellent opportunity it would be for your daughter to learn to spin herself.  You don't mention her age but she should be perfectly able to learn from about 10 upwards, or maybe younger if she's keen.  Once she's spun somewhere between 300 and 600 gms, depending on the size and thickness of the jumper needed, she can then knit it up herself 

[Anke]

We compost some of ours. This year I am going to use them for mulch to keep the slugs away.

Didn't work for us . Slugs still had all the strawberries and mice made nests in them and under ... nice and cosy

[Ina]

I think it's good mulch under fruit bushes and trees - wouldn't use them under strawberries etc where it gets very close to the fruit. Anyway, I only use daggings for mulch - added fertility!

[suziequeue]

Anke - thanks for the tip off.


Mmmm - might have to rethink my strategy.


At the moment the hens seem to rove around the middle field of an evening and hopefully are picking the slugs off before they get into the allotments.

[Raine]

 


These guys will do small runs, but they're not cheap (I'm thinking of using them for 5 of my fleeces).


http://www.halifaxspinningcompany.co.uk/index.html

[Ina]

I saw that guy at Extravagansey in Helmsdale a few years back - seemed very knowledgeable, and willing to go the extra mile for small and unusual runs.

(Couldn't remember the name, otherwise I would have posted it before!)

[ferretkeeper]

Yes there are mini mills out there, only a few though and their waiting lists are very long. They can do as little as an individual fleece, and this is why it's so expensive. I've seen prices around £40 per kilo as weighed in, so before they've got all the grotty stuff out, it pays to clean the fleeces yourself as best you can before sending.

But yes as said above why not try it yourself? I joined the local Guild of Spinners Weavers and Dyers, which had a superb workshop facility, where you could use their equipment. Enjoyable as it was to learn I didn't have the time or patience to spin all my fleeces, I'd rather be knitting, so will be using the mill when I can face sorting all the fleeces! 

Other ideas for using fleeces without going through so much preparation are felting or even using a peg loom to make a rug, and it's esp suitable for coarser fleeces not soft enough to go next to the skin...

Loads of ideas - still bubbling over from Wonder wool 

[Badger Nadgers]

If you have Hebs, don't overlook the "offcuts" - just find someone who enjoys fishing.  The exchange rate is about one handful to the trout around here, a bit better than for feathers of black orpie chickens where there's the faff of getting the right size for their fly.