Blog

Sheep to Sweater

denisemor 0 November 2, 2013

A sheep-to-sweater project can take as long as six months to complete, depending on size and complexity.

Each garment is made to order, using your measurements, preferences and design specifications. The process can be documented for a small additional cost.

If you are interested in a handcrafted custom sweater, contact me directly using the Contact Form.

Sheep-to-Sweater Pricing Guide

Size	Yardage req’d	Approx. Knit Time	Base Price
Child	400	8	100
Adult Small	800	16	200
Adult Medium	1200	24	280
Adult Large	1600	32	350
All prices subject to adjustment based upon project specifications.

Raw fleece can be pretty dirty. Some of what is in the fleece comes from the sheep themselves, like lanolin and suint (sheep sweat). There can be a fair amount of dirt and sometimes some hay/straw that gets tossed around at mealtime. I wash fleece in small batches (about one pound) with a mild detergent and dry them in the sun (when it’s available).

Carding

denisemor 0 November 2, 2013

Before spinning, it is generally necessary to separate and align the fibers to ensure a smooth and consistent result. A drum carder (pictured) is immensely helpful to getting this done fairly quickly and efficiently. Fibers come off the large drum in a sheet called a “batt”, and I usually wrap them up in little balls to keep them neat and tidy until they are spun.

Hand carding results in smaller batches of fibers, which are generally rolled off the carders into “rolags”.

Spinning

denisemor 0 November 2, 2013

Spinning is the process of drawing out and imparting twist to the wool fibers to create yarn. The wheel is driven by a foot pedal (called a treadle) and the wheel turns the flyer assembly via a drive band. The orifice of the flyer is where twist enters the wool fibers and the flyer holds a bobbin, where the newly spun yarn is collected (wound on).