Re: fleece processing

[Lynn & Terry Chapin]

Holly, I think we think alike.  I almost always spin very fine wool, as 
long staple as I can find, since I like to weave with my singles to make 
clothing.  I like fabric that's warm, but light weight and flexible.  I 
used to spin mostly Merino, but lately I've been experimenting with 
Polwarth (LOVE IT) and Shetland.  My own carding (I have a Pat Green 
drum carder) is my favorite preparation. 

The Dorset is a new experience for me, but I wanted to teach myself the 
long draw.  My reading indicates that a down fleece would be best for 
making woolen yarn.    I haven't spun a down fleece since the '70's when 
horrible dirty Suffolk was all I could find!  It's a strong fleece, but 
still soft.  It's easy to spin very fine, but it is best when 
plied...then it just blooms.  It'll make great knitting yarn.  I think 
that a mill would have to work hard to ruin it.  I'd like to find a good 
mill so I could spend a little more time spinning and a little less time 
with fiber prep.  I'm just not willing to sacrifice the quality of the 
fleece to save myself some work. 

I know people who always send out their fleeces, but when I've handled 
the roving, it's obvious that the wool has been all chopped up into 
shorter lengths.  I assume it is the picker that does this.  Since most 
of the spinners I know always make 2 or 3 ply yarn and use it for 
knitting, this apparently doesn't bother them.  I bought some Romney 
roving, dyed a beautiful color combination, but when I went to spin it, 
I discovered that there was nothing in there that was longer than 2"!  
It was processed by a local mill and intended for use by handspinners.   
A small processor who sells on eBay once sent me samples of a blend she 
had made and it was the same story...nothing in there longer than 2".  
You can't spin that for warp.  The only really good roving/top I've ever 
bought has been processed in New Zealand.  I admit I haven't ever sent a 
fleece out to a really good processor, though...I'd like to do that with 
this Dorset, if I can find someone.  I really love to paint roving to 
spin, but it's hard to find roving the quality that I need!
Lynn

Holly wrote:
 a Dorset fleece will probably do better in carding mills than most,
I'd love to hear more about your weaving :)

Holly

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