Dee Dee writes:
<<I just got received a number of Shetland Fleeces. I'm at a loss as how
to prep them for spinning.>>
Lucky you! Shetland is so versatile and fun to work with :)
First thing I like to do is find out how much, if any, undercoat there
is in a given fleece, as that then impacts how I prepare it for
spinning. The longer, hairier looking wools are more likely to have
more undercoat. Shorter, crimpier wools are unlikely to have an
undercoat.
You can use a flick card, handcards, handcombs, a drum carder, or even
your hands. Remove a lock from your fleece, and draw the cut end of it
through the teeth of one of those tools. Or hold the tippy end very
tightly as you attempt to draw out the undercoat by pulling on the cut
end with your other hand.
If there's more than just a few fibers pulling out, and they look finer,
shorter, and sometimes of a different color, you've most likely got some
undercoat. If the remainder of the lock is mostly hairy looking, you've
got most or all of the undercoat out. Compare the volume of each to
give you a clue as to whether there's enough undercoat to give you the
option of using it separately, or not.
If the fleece is clean and has an undercoat that you want to leave with
the outer wool, you can now just tease it slightly (to open any clumps
of fiber, not to disarrange it) and handcard (if under 6-7 inches in
length) or drum card both coats together. The resulting yarn will have
strength from the outer fibers, with the undercoat working to the
surface slightly, making it both softer and warmer. Nice combo :)
If you want to separate the outer and inner wools to spin separately,
continue using the flick card, combs, or your hands to remove the
undercoat. Combs are probably the easiest if you have them--you don't
actually need to 'comb' the wool, merely lash on the cut end and pull it
through and off the teeth, leaving the under coat behind. At any rate,
that works with my 5 pitch English combs, it might not with Viking or
other such combs.
Then you can comb, card, or spin from the fold the outer wool, and comb,
card, or spin from the fluff the undercoat. You will have distinctly
different yarns in terms of how they feel, and maybe color, plus the
undercoat will want to spin much finer, but neither will full a lot, so
you can ply them together if you wish, or ply them back on themselves
and use them in the same item, or separate items.
If you don't have a lot of undercoat, prepare the Shetland just as you
would any wool of a similar length and style. Combing will preserve
color differences better than carding; spinning from the fold will
preserve even more color variation.
I hope you have fun :) Shetland is wonderful wool!
Holly
who happens to raise the little critter :)
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