The Case of the Half- Washed (and somewhat felted) Clun Forest
Hi all!
It’s been a while. If anyone is actively following my blog, I must apologize for my lack of posts.
Life gets busy with kids, farm chores, garden, work, etc. And, I must warn you: my life is about to get even busier, as I am going to start school this August.
But, for now, I’m here, and I’m blogging.
Some months ago (yes, it’s been months), I bought a few bags of Clun Forest fleece and bartered another for a finished product. I had never processed or spun Clun Forest before and so, when I notices some for sale just north of me, I decided that I had to purchase it.
Some information on Clun Forest: Clun Forest is a considered a fine fleece with an average micron count of 27- 29*. The fleece is known for consistency; that is, having the same type and texture of fleece throughout the body of the sheep. Clun Forest sheep are not supposed to have any dark or gray hairs, and they are a high- lanolin breed. This means that it can take a bit more time to thoroughly scour Clun Forest fleece. It also means that Clun Forest is a prime candidate for the suint fermentation method (yay!).
The fleece I got had already been partially washed. I say “partially” because it had been scoured- but not thoroughly.
It had also been put- somewhat wet- into a plastic bag and, therefore, a cardinal rule had been broken: dear Readers: please do not ever put even somewhat wet fleece into a plastic bag! Spread it out and let it dry!
Anyhow, there it was.
I noticed a bit of felting but it didn’t seem too bad.
One bag, however, smelled a bit of mold already. Bad.
I must defend the seller’s actions by stating that it was cold and snowing when I purchased the fleece. This would have made finding a place to dry the fleece difficult. The seller planned on drying the fleece outside and was blindsided by an impromptu and odd spring snow storm.
He was also new to fiber processing. We’ve all been there!
Anyhow, I believe that I got a good deal on the fleece, and was pleased to have met a nice, semi- local shepherd.
Most of all, though, I was pleased to experiment with a new type of wool; yummy!
So, I got the fleece home and evaluated the situation. This is how I always go about things so that I can come up with a plan of attack.
The one bag of fleece was more moldy than I thought and so I decided to soak it in a borax/ Dawn dish soap solution with a few drops of tea- tree added.
Some of the wool was extremely felted- and most of it seemed on its way to felting. Still, I wasn’t deterred.
After a few weeks- yes, weeks- worth of deliberation, I determined that the best course of action would be to pick the fiber as is and spin it in the grease. After which I would finish the scouring process by setting the twist. I also decided that I would most likely spin up singles that I would partially felt during the scouring process. This would add strength and character to the finished yarn.
I knew that I wanted to spin up a singles yarn for use in my finished product because I wanted to show off the wool and keeping it simple would best accomplish that.
Also, I planned on knitting a cabled scarf- thinking that this would definitely show off the fleece. Cables always seem to put a fiber’s best foot forward. Also, cables are fun to knit and always yield an eye- catching results.
I was not planning on dyeing the wool because, again, I want the fleece to stand out. I also wanted the cables to stand out and this is often best accomplished by using light- colored yarn.
So, that’s where I was a few months ago. Then life got busy.
Now I am at it again.
Yesterday, I put on the Chieftains and got serious about the fleece.
The Plan of Attack
I wasn’t going to deviate much from my original plan. At first...
I can’t use the fleece as-is because the locks are closed and somewhat felted. It must be processed somehow.
I could re- scour it but, since it has begun to felt, I am concerned about felting it more. It seems like once the process of felting has begun, there is not turning back.
I could flick it, or run it through a carder- but that would take forever.
I decided to use my box picker- my thought being that this would kill two birds with one stone: it would open the locks; and (2), it would (hopefully) free the wool from debris and VM.
I picked and picked- running the fleece through the picker several times. While the picker opened the locks, it didn’t remove as much VM as I would have liked. I believe that this is due to the (still) high- lanolin content of the fleece; it acts like glue.
However, significant progress was made.
While picking, though, I began to revisit scouring. I may scour a bit of the fleece- just to see if it felts further.
Why?
Because, somehow, I will have to clean out my picker. This will be a bloody job to which I am not looking forward. Ouch!
Also, how the heck am I going to further process the wool? I can’t use my drum carder (too much grease), and I don’t want to use my hand cards (too much grease).
As it, I will have to cloud spin, or core spin the wool because I don’t want to gunk up either of my carders. And the wool has to be carded, as it has such a short staple length. I hadn’t thought about preparation beyond picking; my bad!
Another reason to re- scour: I noticed that a good portion of the fleece was neppy after being run through the picker. While neps are a bane for those wanting a consistent, smooth yarn, they can also add texture and interest. I like texture. I’m thinking tweed yarn woven into cloth and then cut and sewn into a vest for my dad- who loves tweed vests…
However, as I have already mentioned, I can’t card the fleece in its current, greasy state on either of my carders and, therefore, can’t take full advantage of its neppy goodness.
Last, I wanted to spin a somewhat smooth singles yarn to use for a knit, cabled scarf. I am not sure that cloud spinning the picked fleece will yield the results necessary for the finished project I have in mind.
Again, without being able to card the fleece, my options are limited in regards to getting the result I want in my finished project.
So, that’s where I’m at.
In closing, I should state that, if my hand cards were in better condition, I wouldn’t think twice about carding the greasy wool. However, my carding cloth is starting to flake off of my ancient cards and so attempting to remove any grease from them may prove fatal (the the cards, not me).
I suppose I should add new carders on my list of future fiber tools…
About Clun Forest Sheep:
- Originated from Shropshire, England
- A rugged, hill breed known for easy lambing and vigorous lambs
- Dual purpose breed
- Wool should be free from kemp and dark or gray wool
- Spinning count averages 58; micron count appears to be 27- 29*
Source: North American Clun Forest Association http://www.clunforestsheep.org
* Touch Stone Farm http://touchstonefarm.org/clun-forest-fleeces/
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