Breed Book- Corriedale

Corriedale

“Michelle” 

 Photo courtesy of Val Fiddler

Their fleece ranges from 10-20 pounds (averaging 12lbs) with an average of 50% weight loss from washing. 

The fiber has an average staple length of 3.5”-6.0”. 

The average micron count is 25-31 for adults in North America and can be dip into the low 20s in a lamb from the breed.

Woolen

Prep- Washed, rinsed twice. Teased then carded 3x into rolags. Spun woolen using a long draw.

The fiber felt a little sticky even after my prep, next time I would scour it. The fiber was really clean but whatever vegetable matter that was present fell out during teasing. When I was rolling up the fiber into rolags I had a lot of difficulty due to the long staple length so I used a dowel to try and make them tighter. Once the fiber was in rolags it did stay together nicely. Due to the stickiness of the fiber I did find it hard to control the fiber during the drafting. This made the finished yarn more inconsistent then I would have hoped. The staple length of the Corriedale fiber makes it best suited for a worsted prep. 

Suggested end use: I think the woolen yarn would make a great warm sweater or blanket. I think because of its length it wouldn't pill as much as other breeds spun woolen. 

Worsted

Prep- Dip washed, rinsed twice. Teased then combed. Spun worsted using a short forward draw. 

The fiber was fairly clean but there was some vegetable matter present, mostly hay and straw. Most of the debris fell out while teasing and combing the fiber but I did hand pick out the larger pieces of hay. The tips of the fiber was also a little felted. The fibers had a very long and uniform staple length making spinning worsted easier. I found the fiber easy to draft after the tips were opened up after combing. The yarn is very consistent and once the yarn was washed the fiber bloomed and had a really nice finished look and feel. 

Suggested end use: I think the worsted yarn would make a great textured cardigan or outwear sweater with cables or some kind of interesting stitch pattern. I think the worsted yarn would have excellent stitch definition.

Breed Book- Coopworth

Coopworth

Photo credit http://www.coopworth.org.au/cliftonhill/

Their fleece ranges from 8-18 pounds (averaging 12lbs) with not much weight loss from washing. 

The fiber has an average staple length of 5”-8”. 

The average micron count is 30-39 for adults depending on what the bred end use is.

Woolen

Prep- Scoured, rinsed twice. Teased then carded 3x into rolags. Spun woolen using a long draw.

The tips were a little stained which is why I decided to scour the fiber but besides that it was very clean. I felt the fiber was on the drier side after the scoring process. I used a dowel to help me roll the rolags because it was difficult due to the length of the fiber. The rolags did not want to stick together because of the dryness. While drafting I felt it wasn't coming out as even as I would have hoped. There were some sections which were difficult to draft so I would use an assisted long draw. 

Suggested end use: The yarn is not the softest, however, it could be next to skin. I think because of the length of the fiber the yarn would be very durable, making a great outwear piece or something like a blanket.  

Worsted

Prep- Dipped washed then scoured the tips because they were still dirty. Teased then combed. Spun worsted using a  forward draw. 

The tips were a little stained which is why I decided to scour the fiber, however, the fiber was very clean. I felt the fiber was on the drier side after the scoring process. I loved combing this fiber and it was easy to pull off into a sliver. This fiber is perfect for worsted prep because of its length and characteristics. There were a few nubs that I picked out during the spinning process where I spun the fiber butt to tip. I am really happy with this yarn and its great sheen. 

Suggested end use: I think because of the length of the fiber and the yarns durability it is best suited for weaving. It has such an amazing sheen that would make a exquisite shawl. 

Breed Book- Bluefaced Leicester

Bluefaced Leicester

Photo credit http://www.blueleicester.co.uk/sales/midlock.htm

Fleece ranges from  2 1/4 - 4 1/2  pounds with a 75-80% yield from washing. 

The fiber has an average staple length of 3”-6”. 

The average micron count is 24-28.

Woolen

Prep- Washed, rinsed twice. Teased then carded. Spun woolen using a long draw.

Before processing, I separated the shorter light gray fiber to use for the woolen yarn and the darker longer fiber for the worsted yarn. During the teasing process, I broke off most of the tips of the fiber with my hands. They were really damaged and broke off easily. The fiber did have a lot of vegetable matter present so while teasing I picked out as much as possible. I then carded the fiber three times and used a dowel to assist in making rolags. During spinning, a lot of small debris fell out. I plyed the yarn loosely and I am satisfied with the result. 

Suggested end use: The woolen finished yarn has a much softer hand then the worsted. Due to the softness, it could be used next to the skin. I love the airiness quality and think it would make an amazing sweater. I am really happy with the end result of this yarn. 

Worsted

Prep- Dip washed, rinsed twice. Teased then combed. Spun worsted using a forward draw. 

Before processing, I separated the shorter light gray fiber to use for the woolen yarn and the darker longer fiber for the worsted yarn. While combing the fiber had a lot of static and come out very clean. The fiber had felted tips that broke off during combing which lead to large amounts of fiber waste. That being said, the sliver came out nice, clean and drafted beautifully. There were some nubs that I was able to remove during the spinning process. 

Suggested end use: The yarn had a clean and crisp hand. After weaving the swatch, I found that it would an amazing woven scarf or shawl. I love the hand of the yarn and finished fabric. 

Master Spinner Level One

I have completed my Master Spinner Level One course and it has been a journey! Going into the program I was not sure what to expect. I have learned so much and it was a ton of work but worth every minute of it. I took level one and level two this past year with level 3 coming up in July.  I feel now more then ever I have a deeper appreciation for wool and fibered animals. I have a whole new understanding for wool and how to spin it based on the breed characteristics. More surprising then anything is that I have gained confidents not only in my spinning but my writing as well. Over the next few months I will take you on some of my journey through images and my written experiences of the process. I highly recommend this program to anyone who is serious about wanting to expand their knowledge on hand spinning, weather you are a beginner or have been spinning for 20 years. Now to start working on level two!!! Here is more information about the course and I hope you stick around to follow me on my journey of becoming a master spinner! 

http://www.oldscollege.ca/continuing-education/fibre/master-spinner-program-/index

Olds Program Description: 

The Master Spinner Program consists of six progressive levels of classroom and independent study involving skill development, research studies and project assignments in the area of hand spinning of all major types of fibers, yarns and the end use of the spun yarns.  At all levels, students are evaluated on the basis of written assignments, practical projects, oral presentations and skill development.