Raw Fleeces, now what? : Wool Rabbits and Fibre Arts

It seems a bit silly but OMG at that price ($45 delivery included) how could I say no to two full Shetland fleeces?

I only started looking on the UK version of Craigslist to see prices and breeds to help my youngest son decide on what sheep breed he wants to have - his FHA class had a lamb one year and he fell in love - and then thought, well, as fleeces are so inexpensive, why not get some of the breed he is most interested in - Shetland - and see how we like the fiber as lamb/mutton is simply delish no matter what breed so it is all about the wool really.

The fleeces arrived today and ooooOOOOOOOOoooooo how cool, one rich brown and the smaller one grey/blue. About 9 pounds of raw wool in total.

So, what now?

love it...

Have I said how much fun raw Shetland wool is?

It is SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Have made a scarf and a hat and have traded a hat to be for a real leather sofa and cushy chair.

List of must haves? A wool picker and a drum carder!

A picker is pretty easy to make and there's several different versions. Couple of boards and some big sharpened nails and you can cobble up a picker. A drum carder is a lot harder and carder cloth (the rubber stuff with the stickers in it) is pretty pricey.

For small amounts, dog slicker brushes work somewhat. The kind with the button on the back to push the fiber out of the tines is a good thing, too. Way less expensive than a drum carder, but way slower, too.

When you do find a drum carder, if you happen to have an old treadle sewing machine base around, mounting the carder on a treadle base lets you power it with your feet and have two hands to feed fiber into the carder. I've seen some carders run from stationary bicycles, too.