merch-fleeces-msg - 3/30/01 Sources for fleece. NOTE: See also the files: spinning-msg, wool-clean-msg, wool-hist-msg, felting-msg, livestock-msg, lamb-mutton-msg, dyeing-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ Off Norselist: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 13:31:56 -0400 From: "Christina Olmstead/ Lady Katharine Elyzabeth" Subject: spinning info If anyone is interested in obtaining fleece from the closest modern ancestral Viking breeds of sheep..there is a little place in North Yorkshire that is willing to sell fleeces from the Manx, Hebridean and Shetland for spinning. Their web addy is: http://www.yorkshirenet.co.uk/islandheritage/index.html I had to wind up calling over to ask questions but the lady was so nice she is sending me a sample package from the different breeds they have. Just thought I would share the info :) Christina From: Eloise Beltz-Decker Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: wool help Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2001 09:44:41 -0600 On Fri, 19 Jan 2001, Asbjorn Johansen wrote: > I'm looking for wool that' been washed but not spun. I did a web > search for it, but I came up with mainly industrial suppliers and > clothing retailers. A couple of questions: does anyone have an online > source, is there a term for wool in this state, and what should I > expect to pay (I'd guess it would be sold by the pound). I'm planning > to use it as stuffing for gamboised cuisses, so it doesn't have to be > of any particular quality. This is precisely the kind of wool (ok, the low end of the range) handspinners seek out. When it's washed but not otherwise prepared, it's usually called 'fleece' or 'washed fleece' or 'washed locks'. A search on Ebay should turn some up if you use terms like 'spin wool fleece'; since you're not going to spin it, you can go for lower-quality stuff than I usually do. I rarely pay more than $4/pound for unprepared locks there. -- Eloise Beltz-Decker eloise at ripco.com From: Don Proulx Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: wool help Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2001 16:39:44 GMT On Fri, 19 Jan 2001 14:02:53 GMT, Asbjorn Johansen wrote: >I'm looking for wool that' been washed but not spun. I did a web >search for it, but I came up with mainly industrial suppliers and >clothing retailers. A couple of questions: does anyone have an online >source, is there a term for wool in this state, and what should I >expect to pay (I'd guess it would be sold by the pound). I'm planning >to use it as stuffing for gamboised cuisses, so it doesn't have to be >of any particular quality. > >Thanks for the help > >Asbjorn If you have a quilting store or large fabric store in your area, ask for wool batting for quilts. Quilters sometimes use them. If you live in a hot climate, they may be more difficult to come by tho. Isabelle From: "Mira (Tanya Guptill)" Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: wool help Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2001 10:37:18 -0800 I use Fantasy Fibers for most of my wool, including roving. http://www.fantasyfibers.com/ Mira From: wtp at nds10758.cb.lucent.com (Powers) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: wool help Date: 19 Jan 2001 19:28:58 GMT Organization: Lucent Technologies, Columbus Ohio >I'm looking for wool that' been washed but not spun. I'm planning >to use it as stuffing for gamboised cuisses, so it doesn't have to be >of any particular quality. >Asbjorn ARGH!!! of course it has to be of a particular quality! If you get the wrong stuff it will felt down to nothing vey quickly and you will be telling people that the medieval folk were full of it when they used it. You want a fairly coarse wool---one that most handspinners would flee from. Long staple would be a good idea too. Quilt batting may be a good way to go as the wools for it may be less fine. (suffolk comes to mind as a breed that is suitable though each fleece in a breed is different.) Check Spinn Off magazine for a spinning group near you; they will have great contacts locally! Check the local AG college see if they have a flock and fleeces. BTW washing a fleece for your type of use is not that hard and the coarser fleeces in the grease are *dirt* cheap compared to handspinning fleeces like 1/4 the price or less. Wool is in a bad way right now some farmers might even give you a fleece or two. Handspinning fleeces are specially raised and graded for thir use and you will pay for the extra time and effort! Getting a "commercial" fleece is probably the way to go. (Here in central Ohio we would go to the local wool growers collective and go through their bins). Do use a tight weave material; like ticking, since the coarser wools are scratchier---OTOH "natural" wools will lack the large number of chemical treatments that are what a lot of people are really allergic to and not the wool itself. Thomas married 16 years to a spinster who has been teaching over 25 years. -- Best Regards, W.Thomas Powers From: Eloise Beltz-Decker Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: wool help Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2001 14:04:59 -0600 On 19 Jan 2001, Powers wrote: > >I'm looking for wool that' been washed but not spun. I'm planning > >to use it as stuffing for gamboised cuisses, so it doesn't have to be > >of any particular quality. > >Asbjorn > > ARGH!!! of course it has to be of a particular quality! If you get the > wrong stuff it will felt down to nothing vey quickly and you will be > telling people that the medieval folk were full of it when they used it. > > You want a fairly coarse wool---one that most handspinners would flee from. > Long staple would be a good idea too. Quilt batting may be a good way to go > as the wools for it may be less fine. (suffolk comes to mind as a breed that > is suitable though each fleece in a breed is different.) That's a good suggestion, and one I hadn't thought of. You could try websearching for a breed called 'Karakul' - they have nice coarse wool, very sturdy. It will felt, but will stay springy afterwards. -- Eloise Beltz-Decker eloise at ripco.com From: wtp at nds10758.cb.lucent.com (Powers) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: wool help Date: 19 Jan 2001 22:45:51 GMT Organization: Lucent Technologies, Columbus Ohio > That's a good suggestion, and one I hadn't thought of. You could >try websearching for a breed called 'Karakul' - they have nice coarse >wool, very sturdy. It will felt, but will stay springy afterwards. >Eloise Beltz-Decker eloise at ripco.com Excellant choice---or any of the "hair" sheep. Horse hair was commonly used, one of my "odd" catalogs was advertising british military stretcher pillows padded with horse hair and some old sofas still have it as their padding. Thomas -- W.Thomas Powers From: kate at eyrie.org (Kate Wrightson) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: wool help Date: 19 Jan 2001 23:11:03 GMT Don Proulx wrote: >If you have a quilting store or large fabric store in your area, ask >for wool batting for quilts. Quilters sometimes use them. If you live >in a hot climate, they may be more difficult to come by tho. Beware that prepared wool batts can be quite expensive - far more so than washed fleece bits. Hobbs Heirloom, the most widely available prepared wool batt, can cost anywhere from $30 to $50+ for a queensize batt (the only size they make), depending on where you get it. If you're going to use it for stuffing, a prepared quilt batt is a waste of money whether it's a fancy one like the Hobbs or a less processed one like the kind sold enclosed in cheesecloth. It's far cheaper to go to eBay and look in the spinning category (Everything Else -> Hobbies -> Needlecraft -> Spinning) for unprepared fleeces. Don't buy anything called roving, top, or sliver unless you're willing to pay the price - there is almost always unprepared washed fleece available there. -perin, mundanely a quilter and spinner ------------------------------------------------------------------------- kate at eyrie.org | Please do not e-mail me copies of material posted Kate Wrightson | to newsgroups. I read the groups to which I post. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Heather Rose Jones Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: wool help Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2001 08:49:57 -0800 Organization: University of California at Berkeley Asbjorn Johansen wrote: > I'm looking for wool that' been washed but not spun. I did a web > search for it, but I came up with mainly industrial suppliers and > clothing retailers. A couple of questions: does anyone have an online > source, is there a term for wool in this state, and what should I > expect to pay (I'd guess it would be sold by the pound). I'm planning > to use it as stuffing for gamboised cuisses, so it doesn't have to be > of any particular quality. If you find a store catering to hand-spinners, you can get wool that not only has been washed, but that has been already carded or combed. However, since you're planning to use it as wadding, this may be more preparation (and hence price) than you're interested in. Still, it's a useful line -- and stores like that can probably get you plain washed wool. One caveat from personal experience: wool used as wadding in clothing -- and especially clothing that will get pressure, friction, and probably dampness (sweat) -- will turn into felt sooner or later. (The more of these factors, the sooner it happens.) This can be awkward, particularly if it felts up into shapes that don't fill the space in the way you need it to. (E.g., you may have small lumps of felt and then expanses of unpadded garment.) Tangwystyl ********* Heather Rose Jones hrjones at socrates.berkeley.edu ********* Edited by Mark S. Harris merch-fleeces-msg 5 of 5