Wool processing with Wonky Weaver - from farm to fabric

It is that time of year where the sheep farmers are shearing for the health of their sheep. The wool board gives them absolutely nothing for the wool despite it being the most sustainable, eco-friendly, anti-microbial and warm material on the planet. As fibre-crafters we can all work hard to create a demand for the most wonderful fibre local to us. Here at Wonky Weaver, we specialise in all the fibretools to take wool from farm right through to finished yarns and fabric, even adding the colour along the way.

From the point of collecting wool fleeces from the farms, the next step is to wash the wool. Using FleeceClean, a non-ionic neutral detergent, means you can gently scour and cleanse the fleece helping liberate vegetable matter, remove greece, dirt and debris whilst helping retain the natural dexteriory and lustre in the wool. A small amount goes a long way.

Once the fleece is clean, you will then need to card the wool. This can be done with hand cards or if you have a lot to do then a drum carder really is you best bet. if you wish to blend the wool with other fibres to create art yarns, then a blending board, or drum carder is perfect for this.

With a carder or hand cards you will create batts and/or rovings which can then be spun using a spinning wheel to create fabulous yarns.

The specification and thickness of the yarns will be determined by whether you want use it for knitting, weaving, tapestry weaving, macrame, crochet etc

There are many choices of weaving looms, which are determined by complexity, width, texture, patternation, and what you would like to weave, and these can be as simple as a rigid heddle loom for simple plain weave on the table, right up to a 40 shaft large computerized loom for very complex weave structures.

Heading back to the yarns, you can also add colour to the yarn by dyeing with synthetic or natural dyes yourself which gives you your own pallette of colours to play with...

The journey from Farm to Fabric is in all our hands, and here at Wonky Weaver, this is our true passion, and we support all crafters in wool processing, spinning, weaving and dyeing on this journey.

If you would like any information on our fibretools, dyeing products, spinning, weaving, and carding products, then visit our website www.wonkyweaver.com, or email us on info@wonkyweaver.com

With very best wishes

Haydn, Chris & The Wonky Weaver Team