Wool for spinning

Help! I need advice from experienced spinners. I am trying to learn to spin and have some fleeces from our own sheep but what I need to know is how to identify the best for spinning. Any advice would be most welcome.

Hi 2D - what breed of sheep do you have?
Cheers, Mich.

Not knowing what your fleeces are like, I would suggest that while you are learning to spin, join a local guild and get the best sorted fleece you can They can also give and some advice as to whether your own fleeces are any good for spinning. (don't be disappointed if isn't).

Learning to spin can be hard enough as it is much of spining is is understanding your wheel, tension, etc etc AND if you are battling with a difficult fleece it's a recipe for giving up - [!][!] Get a good fleece to start with and it will nearly spin itself.

Good advice, Morioka. I've temporarily joined the 'giving up' brigade and much prefer to be a supplier meantime Will probably get back and have another go at some point.

Just a thought, though, 2D - if you find that your fleece isn't suitable for spinning, why not explore felting and use it that way? Still curious about what sheep you have

Cheers, Mich.

I have several fleeces here that have already been carded, but that was about 10 years ago, they dont have moths in them, but will be a bit dry to spin, you do need to send your fleeces to get carded, or spend hours carding all the wool before you start getting the spinning wheel going. You may find a Spinning group in your area, that will help you get started. ( I also have two spinning wheels here as well for sale)

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I have only a few sheep. I have a of Coopworth ewe and I also have a couple which look to me like the illustrations of Lincolns. This year (I only shear them once a year so the fleece is quite long) the Coopworth's fleece was nice and white - last year hers was a bit yellowish - and it has a very good crimp. The one Lincoln ewe gave me a fleece which feels a bit finer to me but hasn't got as much crimp. I need to reduce the number of sheep I have as I haven't a big block and they are eating me out of grass, so I am trying to decide which to sell. I also have a few others which are not giving good wool, so they can go, but I can't decide whether to sell the Coopworth and/or her lambs, or the Lincoln and/or her lamb. I do also have last year's and the year before's wool still uncarded, in bags in the shed.

Another question - any ideas what I can do with the daggy wool? If I use it to mulch around the trees, won't it just blow away?

I don't know a lot about Coopworths, so I looked up my sheep breeds book ("Pocket Guide to Sheep Breeds of New Zealand" by Graham Meadows, published by New Holland and available through this site). Says "Medium-large, moderately hardy. Easy management with little shepherding. A broad pelvis and narrow shoulders makes for easy lambing. Good mothering and milking ability. High per-head and per-hectare production. Excellent performance on lowlands and improved hill country. Dual purpose, with equal emphasis on meat and wool.
Meat: Lean and tender.
Wool: Coarse and long, semi-lustrous and well crimped. Medium bulk. Good colour (whiteness) and spinning qualities. Fibre diameter: 35-39 microns. Staple length: 125-175 mm. Fleece weight: Range 4.5-6 kg, average 5.5 kg) Uses: heavier clothing. Carpets.

By contrast, it says the Lincoln is hardy, dual purpose and used mainly for cross-breeding to give increased wool weights. Stronger micron at 37-41+. Fleece uses: products requiring high tensile strength, good lustre and a soft handle. Specialised uses include upholstery yards, hand-knitted carpet yards, specialty knitting yards, wigmaking and roller lapping. May be used as a substitue for or blended with mohair.

Both are strong fleeces, but if you wanted to use your fleece for spinning, IMHO I'd keep the Coopworths, however you might also consider crossing your Lincoln ewe with a ram with a finer micron which would give you a finer fleece but still with length. That's how the Polwarth breed came to be - stabilized at 1/4 Lincoln and 3/4 Merino.

Which do you like the best, and what does best on your land?

With using fleece for mulching, I put mine under mulch. Keeps the soil beautifully moist and breaks down after about a year, depending on how thickly I spread it.
Cheers, Mich.

Thanks for that Mich.
I came by my sheep sort of by accident. Some of a neighbour's sheep got into our conserved bush, and I managed to get them out. Before he could collect them they had lambed, and one had triplets but one of them was lying flat in a muddy puddle (the weather was awful). I went to pick it up and dispose of it before it started to stink, and found it was still alive. I brought it back to the house and revived it and fed it and then told the neighbour, who said that was OK so long as I kept it! so I did. This was the Coopworth and she's now old enough to have her own twin lambs. Then later I accepted two sheep from a neighbour of my sister. They were also supposed to be Coopworth but look more like the pictures I have seen of Lincolns. However, in my inexpert opinion, their wool seems to be finer, though with less crimp, than the one I know to be Coopworth. Is it more important to be fine, or crimped, for hand spinning?
Thanks for the advice about what to do with the dags.

RaeM1;393195 wrote: I have several fleeces here that have already been carded, but that was about 10 years ago, they dont have moths in them, but will be a bit dry to spin, you do need to send your fleeces to get carded, or spend hours carding all the wool before you start getting the spinning wheel going. You may find a Spinning group in your area, that will help you get started. ( I also have two spinning wheels here as well for sale)

Thanks for your reply, Rae. I have lots of fleeces now, but none of them yet carded. They are still in bags in the barn. Where does one send them for carding? I have already bought a spinning wheel, all I've got to do now is sus out how to use it!

Put in Google Kane Carding, and see what comes up, its quite a few years since I had my fleeces done, so dont know if they are still north of Auckland. i did notice at the Craft fair, the ladies doing spinning had a bag with kane Carding wool written on it.

Hi Rae - Kane Carding is just out of Greytown in the Wairarapa (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) - noticed it as I was coming home from Jen-Featherston's place - so I guess they've headed South Not sure where 2D lives, but I can also recommend Helen Kinsella (Kinrob Carding - Whangarei) on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Leo Ponsonby (new owner of former Tai Tapu Carding/Spinning just out of Christchurch) on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. What spinning wheels do you have for sale? (Haven't caught up with you for ages - how are you? Would love to hear what projects you're working on.)

Not being a spinner, others will have more informed and practical knowledge of fineness vs crimp but given a choice between the two, I would have thought crimp the more desirable when spinning for knitting purposes. Don't forget the handle and soundness (no breaks in the fibre) though - if you're going to use the yarn for hand knitted garments, it's important that the wool isn't scratchy if it's going anywhere near the skin, and holds together when carding/spinning. Soundness is particularly important if you're sending fleece away to be carded commercially. What do others think?

I love your story 2D. Sounds like you have a very warm heart Just thinking a bit further on once you've decided which you're going to keep - if you want to continue breeding from them, try and find the best ram you can to put over them as this will affect the fleece on the lambs. If you don't wish to continue breeding from them, at some point as the ewes age their fleece may well deteriorate, so you might want to consider what you'd like to replace them with should you wish to continue using your own fleece for spinning. I still like Morioka and Rae's suggestion about joining your local spinning group if you don't already belong to one. In my experience, spinners are very 'giving' in passing on their knowledge and support. Do let us know what you decide and how you get on

Cheers, Mich.

[QUOTE=Mich;393544Not sure where 2D lives,

Whoops! Sorry folks! I live in Franklin, just south of Auckland (yes, we have been part of the Supercity land grab).

I have a ram - the same neighbour came a couple of years ago and said that he had a couple of (Coopworth) ram lambs that had missed being castrated, and would I like one; so that's what I did. I shall have to see what sort of fleeces he is throwing.

The original lamb got called "Lamb" because she was the only one and being raised with the goat kids. She thinks she's a goat and is not really happy with the other sheep, and the ram runs with the male goats and is very bossy with them. I think the subsequent sheep I got might have been a mistake as I now have too many and they eat the grass so short it takes ages to grow long enough again for the goats. One I got just because she was the blackest lamb I'd ever seen, but she doesn't have the quality of fleece even to my inexperienced eye, and she's as scatty as can be. Her body shape is quite different - I think she is Perendale. I think she has to go. I think that I might keep just "Lamb" and her two ewe lambs that she has had this year, and the ram of course, and see if that number will be compatible with my goats. Lamb is the one who had the best crimp in her wool.

It sounds like I shall have to send my fleeces quite a distance to be carded!

P.S. How do I know what microns the wool is?

You can get it properly tested if you really want to be precise, but an experienced wool or sheep judge would be able to give you a very good idea if you ask nicely. You could check out where your nearest A+P show is that has a sheep or fleece competition and take a sample along (early because judging is usually done first thing - about 9am). Alternatively, an experienced spinner could perhaps give a close approximation.

But don't get too hung up on the micron - you can get several different ones on a single sheep The ideal is, of course, to have it uniform over as much of the sheep as possible, but in reality you'll often find some parts are stronger (e.g. the sides vs the back legs). If there are wide variations on all the sheep, you can always combine similar parts of different fleeces so you have a larger amount of the same type (does that make sense?).
Cheers, Mich.

I have two ashford wheels, one has a twin string, and the other one a single string. I have had them stored for quite a few years, but both run smoothly still. The twin one was my Mother-in-laws brought after I taught her to spin, Mich I have just finished a lovely quilt for last grandson, its got trees, one in each corner, and a big center of a lake with hills, trees, and 3 kiwi in it, have not got it here at the moment as they took it home to get the other grandma to write the last of the family tree on it, as on one corner it has a tree of life, with apples that contain all the family names. Should get it back on friday then may be able to take photos. Now nearly finished one for his mum that is all squares and triangles, and in deep reds, deep blue/black, greens, and with green/white in it, very spectacular, just started doing the quilting on that today, as I Pinned it together last night at class, they have a nice tiled floor, so makes pinning really easy. Then have to do a runner for daughter in Ausi, who has M-I-Law as top quilter, but she wants her mum to make a cover for her electric organ, will put Rurus on it, (was in one of the NZ Quilter mags) just need to find some material that looks like brown feathers, not a lot needed, but will have to keep eyes open for the material. Plus will use other NZ fabric to get length and depth, Rurus will be the centre. (Morporks)