# Wool vrs Hair - Felting - Breeding questions



## CurrentWave (Apr 2, 2005)

Hello all,

I'm soooo new to sheep. I need some wise council  
And I haven't yet done anything with my 2 bags of alpaca fleece. I'm just starting out on this adventure.

I purchased Dorper/Katahdin crosses because I wanted something heritage and easy to keep. But now I'd like to do some wet felting. I have two alpacas, but..... could I add some Icelandic sheep to my small heard?

I've heard that 'hair' sheep will mess up good wool, but what about when the wool used for utility felting projects? Will a bit of hair really ruin everything? At the fair I spoke with a gal who added her dogs hair to a wool mix and was spinning it - so I'm very confused.

I do not need to be a perfectionist, because I'm not going to sell or enter my feltings - 

What do you think....

About Icelandic wool for wet felting?
Hair in the wool, and wet felting?
Not choice wool (leg sections) and wet felting?
Keeping Mixed flocks?
And lastly - what would I get if I crossed my hair sheep with an Icelandic ram :hrm: My sheep do not loose most of their hair as it is now, so there is already wool in there I think.

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences


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## KIT.S (Oct 8, 2008)

I don't felt, so have no idea about the requirements, but my herd is Icelandic X St Croix, mostly.The first generation crosses were about half-and-half hair-type wool. In fact, one ewe is hair-sheep in the middle and wool sheep on both ends! The second generation (different Icelandic ram) is mostly wool-type. I have one of this-year's ewe lambs with a St. Croix-type mane, but her body has nice curly thick Icelandic-type wool. I have no objection to spinning it. It's not as fine as the Finn X Icelandic I have, but I think it keeps the sheep warmer in our rainy winters, too.
Kit


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## CurrentWave (Apr 2, 2005)

Oh, this is good to know - thank you!


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## kesoaps (Dec 18, 2004)

I've felted a lot of icelandic and like it. We've got some blackbellies (hair) right now and I don't think it would be advantageous to cross the breeds (hair x wool) if you're hoping to use the wool for anything.

In terms of having hair mixed in with your felting project, I suspect that one or two hairs won't have an impact, especially if you're just making things for yourself and not for consumers. 

When you were told about spinning dog hair, it's the soft under coat that some breeds have, like goldens or sammoyed, etc, and not the typical dog hair that you'd find on a black lab, etc.

Hope that helps.


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## Two Tracks (Jul 13, 2013)

Icelandic felts good, it's kinda hairy anyways being a primitive fleece. You can keep them together thou I don't know about how the cross will turn out. Have fun with the wool


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

I've read about people spinning poodle hair with wool into yarn, but it has to be, I think, at least 3 inches long and is only a portion of the fiber used to spin the yarn.


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

Spinning is easier with a consistent fiber length and texture. Talented spinners can do all sorts of blends, but it is more difficult.

Felting can be done with fibers that were not suitable for spinning, you just need a percentage of the fiber to have good felting qualities.


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## CurrentWave (Apr 2, 2005)

Thank you all, this is such great help!

I'm encouraged to try felting, and have decided to not cross breed. I now hope to get a breeding pair of Icelandics.


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