Feeders are a great tool to use when trying to keep vm off the sheep’s backs and out of the wool. We only use the feeders during lambing...

Skirting a Raw Fleece When we shear, I skirt all my fleeces directly after they are shorn off the sheep. My shearers remove the belly and topknot, before the fleeces even make it to the skirting table. Once my fleeces make it to the skirting table, I spread them out, dirty side up so everything that needs to be removed is easily visible. Next, I check the fleece for soundness, or breaks in the staple. I do this by grabbing the staple at each end and giving it a snap. If it

How to Process Fine Fleece into Nep-Free Yarn Neps are best described as dense, tangled clumps of the short fibers of the fleece. Some people don’t worry about neps and allow them to form to add texture to their yarn, but others prefer a nep-free, smooth yarn. There is no specific advantage to either, whether you like them or not is based off a personal preference. But, when attempting to make a perfectly smooth yarn, I often recommend three things: pick a sound fleece, make

Improving the Quality of Your Fleece Vegetable matter, or vm, is a problem all spinners know too well. Keeping fleeces clean and healthy...