What is skirted wool?
What is skirted wool?
Wool Fleece. Skirting is the process of removing “junk” wool, stains, second cuts and vegetable matter (VM) from the wool fleece prior to processing it ~~ or offering it for sale. ‘Second cuts’ are a fault in hand-spinning fleeces and, unless removed from the fleece, they will cause neps in carded wool.
What is skirting in sheep?
Once the fleece is removed from a sheep, it’s passed to a skirting table. At the skirting table, dirtier parts of the fleece from the sheep’s belly and rear are removed. This less desirable wool is put aside and sold for different purposes.
Why is it necessary to skirt a fleece?
Skirting is done after shearing the sheep to ensure a sheep-friendly process, and it’s the final step before marketing a raw fleece to hand-spinners and other fiber artists. Shearing is essential for the sheep’s health, and it doesn’t hurt the sheep at all.
What is a skirting table?
What is table skirting? Table skirts are cloth or paper coverings for the table edges used to hide unsightly legs or make the table seem more decorative. Table skirts come in panels that can be used all the way around the table or on only three sides, depending on what you need the table for.
What does Cotted fleece mean?
Cotted: Fleece which is matted together; causes processing problems.
What is Cotted wool?
Cotted: A term applied to wool that has become partially matted while on the sheep’s back.
What are the types of skirting?
Types of Skirting
- Pencil Skirting.
- Wooden Skirting.
- Metal Skirting.
- Continued Skirting.
- Flush Skirting.
- Double Layered Skirting.
How do you store raw wool?
Raw Wool
- Make sure all manure (including “tags”) is removed.
- Put the fleece in a large plastic bag with lots of room – do not tie or seal the bag.
- Store someplace where the temperature will stay relatively the same or change at a gradual rate.
- Do not pile bags of wool (washed or unwashed) on top of each other.
What is sheared off wool called?
Sheep shearing is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep’s wool is called a shearer. Ewes are normally shorn prior to lambing in the warmer months, but consideration is typically made as to the welfare of the lambs by not shearing during cold climate winters.
What is Corriedale wool used for?
Corriedales produce a thick stapled, bulky fleece, which is popular with spinners and can be used for a range of handspun garments. Their dense fleece is medium-fine and high yielding, with good length and softness, somewhat between medium wool and long wool.
How big is the wool of a Corriedale sheep?
The Corriedale produces bulky, high-yielding wool ranging from 31.5 to 24.5 microns[2] diameter. Fleece from a mature ewe will weigh 10 to 17 lb (4.5 to 7.7 kg) with a staple length of 3.5 to 6.0 in (8.9 to 15 cm). After cleaning, a yield of 50 to 60% of the raw fleece weight is common.
What does a Cotswold sheep fleece look like?
The fleece of the Cotswold is white. The fleece from a mature ewe will range in weight from four to eight pounds (1.8 to 3.6 kg) with a high yield percentage. The fleeces have a numerical count of 50 to 60 or 23.5 to 31.0 microns with a staple length of three to six inches (7.5-15 cm).
