Preparing Fleece For Spinning

For many years before we moved here, a farmer kept sheep in the field. It made sense to us for that arrangement to continue - the sheep would keep the grass short, and we would learn sheep-rearing skills from the farmer. Along the way, we've become friends with him and his family. We got talking about clipping (the local term for shearing) and I mentioned that I'd knitted jumpers from Swaledale wool in the past, and that I was interested in preparing a fleece from scratch. So last month, he brought me four fleece. I spent a happy afternoon experimenting with washing some of the fleece.

This fleece is from a North Country mule: a cross between a Swaledale yow (local term for ewe) and Blue Faced Leicester tup (local term for ram). This cross produces healthy, vigorous breeding ewes which will then be crossed with a terminal sire - the Texel in these parts. The offspring have the size and shape demanded by supermarkets for commercial lamb.

The fleece itself is of little value to the farmer; many say that it costs more to shear than they realise as income. Most of the fleece is sold to the British Wool Marketing Board. The grade the wool that they collect and then sell it on. They also promote British wool; do take a look at their stand if you're at a show.

This is the fleece as I took it from the bag. Beautiful and soft, with plenty of lanolin. This is what helps the sheep to shed water and keep warm, but as a spinner, I want to remove this as it will clog up my wheel. 

I cut off and discarded the "daggy" wool. 

I then made up a box of very hot water and plenty of liquid detergent. I put the fleece in and carefully washed it. 

I then rinsed several times, again in hot water. The heat helps to soften and remove the lanolin. 

I then left the fleece to drain as well as possible and then dried in the sunshine. I've now started carding this, in preparation for spinning. . 

Next project - a Blue Faced Leicester fleece. This sheep gives highly-prized lustre wool.