# Where to get small amount of wool spun



## PricklyThistle (Feb 6, 2014)

I have a few Shetland sheep and I'll be looking for something to do with the wool once it's time. I would like to not sell it outright, but have it spun into yarn, as I have a friend who is willing to knit it for me. Problem is, it costs a fortune to send wool to have it spun at a professional spinners and it's not worth it for me and my small flock. Where does someone with a small amount of wool send it to get spun?


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## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

There's a program that Marchwind? is involved in where you can get a pound of fiber spun in exchange for a pound of fiber. At least I think that's how it works. Surely someone will come along and give more (or more accurate ) details.


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## PricklyThistle (Feb 6, 2014)

Thanks Taylor  looking forward to hearing more about it.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

With a "few" Shetland sheep, you should have enough for a minimum run at a small fiber mill. Have you looked for a fiber mill in your area? Wouldn't you be able to get ten or twenty pounds of fleece from your sheep? That would be enough for many of the smaller mills to do a run.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

PricklyThistle if you are on FaceBook do a search for a group called, Spin a Pound Get a Pound. Growers post what they have they want spun and spinners pits if they are interested in spinning. The split us between the grower and the spinner. Sometimes it is a 50/50 split sometimes more. A lot depends on the condition of the fibers and what you are expecting back. A dirty VM filled fleece is going to cost you if you are going to expect it cleaned and sorted, carded and spun to a specific size. Definitely read all the info on the pages and talk to people. There are a few other groups that do similar work, they are also good.


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## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

Thanks, Marchwind! I had seen it talked about multiple times, but apparently didn't absorb the details!!


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

First I got sheep, then I got wool to be processed, then I got a spinning wheel. You might want to consider learning to spin.

Then I got 5 pitch combs made by Indigo Hound. No more sheep because we are moving to town, but I am still processing the last five fleeces.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Shetlands produce what? 2-4 lb of unskirted fleece? I can see where you wouldn't meet a mill minimum if you have 3 or so sheep unless you kept it over 2 years.

I agree that your best bet would be in a program like Spin a Pound, Get a Pound.

That said, there is a reason that even mill spun is expensive. If you think you can get a better deal from a person doing this manually, then you need to think a bit harder.

I don't mean to sound flippant or cruel, but turning raw fiber into yarn isn't something that happens over night. You may get lucky and find either an inexperienced fiber person that will give you a good price on turning your raw fiber into a usable yarn at a good price or you will find an experienced fiber artist that just loves this craft so much they would almost pay you to do it for you.

Without trying to be harsh, may I ask why you keep fiber sheep if you don't know how to spin and aren't willing to spend the money into processing it or knitting it? I'm just curious is all.

Just because it sounds like you don't know what goes in to taking a raw fleece and turning it into yarn, I will expound on that.

If your sheep are not coated, you may or may not have good fleece to spin because of weather damage to the tips. Sun will make the tips brittle. This does not mean it can't be spun into yarn, just that those tips may break off in the process of turning it into yarn and could result in a prickly yarn. Same goes for stress in the sheep could produce weak spots in the staple that could break. Stress could be caused by feed change, lambing, a thunderstorm!!! ....


The shearing of the sheep is another step. Hopefully, you or your shearer are proficient in shearing of a Fiber sheep instead of a Meat sheep. You want a nice clean shear with minimum 2nd cuts (where you shear a 2nd time in the same spot). Second cuts are okay for meat sheep, but can cause havoc for a fiber fleece meant for spinning.

Once you have your shorn fleece, you need to skirt it. This simply means removing the wool from the belly, legs, neck & britchen, leaving just the nice 'saddle' wool.

From here, each fiber mill (or fiber artist) will deal with it in their own way. Personally, I like to separate by either color, staple length or hand (fineness of the wool). I hand pick each staple to open the ends and sort. Then you need to scour (wash) the fleece. How many times this is done depends on how much lanolin and dirt are in the fleece. (note: this takes not only time, but water, electricity & detergent).

The fleece is then left to dry. It is sometimes picked (if not picked before scouring), then ran through a carder and then spun and sometimes plyed.

What I'm getting at is that it is very time consuming and mills are set up to handle it.

If you go with the spin a pound, get a pound, let them know it is raw wool. Skirt your fleece judiciously before you send it ... no one wants to try to get out burrs, hay, manure, et al (for me, that wouldn't count towards the pound).

I would love to see pictures of your fleeces ...


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## PricklyThistle (Feb 6, 2014)

By a few I mean I only have four sheep at this time. The ones still in utero don't count haha. 

Shetlands are small sheep and the largest I have would probably give about 4 pounds. The Spin a pound get a pound does sound like my best option. I know it's a lot of work, I just need a good idea for what to do with it and would really like to be able to get something made of it this time. 

I keep the sheep for meat and milking, the fiber part is sort of a byproduct. I choose Shetlands because of their hardiness and their good fit with the climate I'm in. I don't shear them, I roo them. They naturally shed their fleece once a year and it is pulled off by hand. 

I am terrible at finger work and anything that requires handling something tiny. I'd probably make the world's worst spinner so I admire the talent involved.

Picture of one of my ewes -
http://api.ning.com/files/bf3qBTWMV...KRo0eO8M75-pI7*hrqCWzeUq6739PC3s*00gu/003.JPG


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

She's beautiful!

We don't own sheep ... they eat the pasture down farther than we care them to do, even with rotational grazing.

I understand there is two different types of Shetland ... some roo naturally, some are dual coated, some need to be sheared. I love the colors of Shetland and have spun some nice Shetland fleeces

I may be interested in a spin a pound, get a pound, but I'd really like to see a small sample (oz or so) of the fleece since it is roo'ed. I could wash it up and spin it for you & send it back to you. I'll send you a PM.


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## PricklyThistle (Feb 6, 2014)

Thanks MullerslaneFarms! 

Shetlands don't mind brushy pasture so i put mine on stuff most other sheep would be indignant to eat. lol


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

Heritage Fiber Mill in Michigan is a processing mill just for small lots. I found her ad in a magazine and called. I just sent 45 lbs of fiber to her to process. She'll wash/pick/card/make into rovings/and spin it. But she's a hand spinner so that might take a while. I can't say that I recommend her since it's my first time to work with her. I hope she'll call before one of the batches of my fiber is carded so I can go up and watch. She's 3 hours from me- closer to Detroit. She's not spinning mine, just making it so I can dye and spin it. She's $7 a pound for wash/card/rovings. I washed all of mine first so they'd weigh less. I'm sure she's rewash some of it,but at least I'm not paying for all the manure weight.


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## IowaLez (Mar 6, 2006)

Morning Sun Fiber Barn in SW IA can machine spin small amounts. Call Sharon to talk about it. She doesn't answer email, she is too busy with the business to take that much time. Sharon Lawson, in Wapello. It would prolly be cheaper to have it machine spun. Go Google her.


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