Title: merch-fleeces-msg
Subject: Sources for fleeces.
Author: Edited by Mark S. Harris
Last saved by: Mark S. Harris
Keywords: fleece, wool, source, merchant, sell

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.

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Off Norselist:
Mon, 25 Sep 2000 13:31:56 -0400
From: "Christina Olmstead/ Lady Katharine Elyzabeth" <krztina at earthlink.net>
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 <eloise at ripco.com>
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 <don_proulx at telus.net>
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
<asbjorneh at hotmail.com> 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)" <tguptill at teleport.com>
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 <eloise at ripco.com>
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  <don_proulx at telus.net> 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 <hrjones at socrates.berkeley.edu>
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
*********

<the end>

Edited by Mark S. Harris	merch-fleeces-msg	 of