Selecting Fleeces For Handspinning

The first step in spinning a good yarn is of course selecting a good fleece.  Now, you could just buy roving or wool carded into batting, but if you want to spin in the grease, as I often do, start with the right fleece.  Once again, this is easier if you find a reputable wool grower that covers their sheep.  A covered sheep will offer a fleece with a lot less (vm) vegetable matter.   The fiber will not be sun bleached on the tips as well.  If you are not sure where to find covered fleeces, contact Sharry Bone at Westfarthing Farms, (505)281-2065, and tell her I sent you! She has a booth at Taos Wool Festival this October.  Anyway, look for a fleece that has been skirted and shook out.  I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to get a fleece home to find straw and feces in the center once I take it out of the bag.  Remember, fleeces are sold by weight, and I paid for that mess!  Also, second cuts are the short little fibers created when a shearer goofs.  They are inevitable, but a good and experienced shearer will keep them to a minimum.  Since you can’t spin them, you don’t want them in the fleece, because once again, you are paying for them.  I have purchased nine pound fleeces and been lucky to get four pounds of usable fiber!  A good spinning stable length is 4-6 inches long.  Anything shorter, and it is harder to spin. I have spun fiber as short as three inches.  Then consider breed.  We will go into the different breeds and class of wool they offer later, but if you are new to spinning, start with either a shetland, rambouillet, merino or corriedale.  Any one of these will give you a soft yarn you will be proud of with little or no itch factor.  Happy Spinning!