# what to do with slub / textured fleece and yarns



## meganwf (Jul 5, 2005)

Greetings all -- wish I could make it to this board more often but here's my question: I have a fleece of unknown origins, I think it was from a grab bag from a local shearer's barn before he took them to the wool pool. So nothing special except it is white and I've been dyeing a lot lately. I scoured it some time ago and put it away. Now I'm looking at it again and wondering if it is worth it. Medium length, lots of luster, but also very textured in that while there are some second cuts, there are lots of well, bumps in the fleece so that when I spun up a sample it lent itself to a fairly thin textured yarn. Ok, if it wants to be a textured yarn I could probably do that but as I somewhat beginning knitter...what do folks DO with slub/textured/funky yarns?


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## caroline (Sep 29, 2009)

Did you card it?


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## Michee (Mar 10, 2006)

Scarves, hats and mitts (fingerless or full) seem to be the most common use for these. The thinner it is the more options, even shawls. Are you a member of ravelry? If not, join(it';s free). Look through the spinning forums or search for 'art yarn' the look for finished items.

Beside just spinning it straight, textured fibers work great for core spinning.


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

or combed?


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## meganwf (Jul 5, 2005)

I haven't used combs yet (would love to take a class on that so I could try out different combs..) but I did card it on my drum carder multiple times. I am a member of ravelry and have finally mastered putting on projects and looking up patterns but find the forums really cumbersome. Honestly I think I'm trying to find an excuse to purge this fleece to make room for something nicer. I might just leave it at our guild to see if someone else needs one to practice and play around with. I have a cormo fleece I REALLY want to dive into and I'm dyeing another mystery fleece that has really long fibers different yellows to blend and spin bulky for a sweater.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

There's a book called, Spin to Knit, I believe it is an Interweave book. They have some good patterns for slubby beginner yarns. Maybe your library has the book. Or check on Ravelry in their patterns and refine your search to include the type of yarn you want.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Slubby/textured yarns give great interest to an otherwise boring item. I love using it when the pattern calls for garter or stockinette stitch.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Agree, textured yarn looks neat when knit in a plain stitch, sometimes on slightly larger needles to allow room for the bumpies. 

Try a hat for starters, perhaps?


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## rabbitgeek (Mar 22, 2008)

Betty Chu takes slubby wool from her angora rabbits and makes art yarn out of it. Then she knits hats with it. 

See this discussion thread - Designer Yarn From Junk Wool
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=376215

Have a good day!


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## meganwf (Jul 5, 2005)

very good stuff! pics always help, that is for sure. Ok, i'll keep the fleece but it is not moving to the top of the list anytime soon. recently i bought a used ashford traveller and then bought the lace flyer kit. putting that together is at the top of my list so i can spin that cormo! meanwhile dyed some more yellow this a.m. then stared out the window for a while turning part of our barn into a fiber studio in my minds eye... sometimes rainy days are just what is called for!


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