2018 Wool Summary and Availability

Whirld Works Farm Debouillet Sheep Wool
Season 2018
Sheared by Katie

2018 was our second shearing season and we took the opportunity to learn more about our wool. We sent off samples for each animal and were thrilled with the results.

Our wool falls into the very fine category! Here are the results:

• Winton: 18.6 microns /2.95 inch length
• Wade: 16.7 microns /3.14 inch length
• Wynonna: 18.8 microns /2.75 inch length
• Wanda 18.9 microns /3.54 inch length
• Wendy 18.5 microns and /3.54 inch length

Rather than trying to process the wool ourselves this year, we had it processed by the great folks at Independence Wool.  We did a considerable amount of skirting the wool by hand prior to handing it off and were rewarded with the report from the mill that our wool was not considered to be exceptionally dirty with seeds and other “vegetable matter”.

We did learn that we should probably let the wool grow a little longer before the next shearing as well as add a little more than our usual amount of supplemental feed.

Our final lesson from the mill was that even with all our precautions and care for the sheep, their sleeping on our sand floor in the barn creates a process problem for the mill. They showed us a pile of fine grit and sand that came out of the wool (after washing) in the carding machine. It is too late in the season for us to make changes that will fix this for our 2019 wool, but there are things already in the works to help with that issue (Stay tuned!).

Our shearer did a great job and as a result, this years wool has far less “slubs” or lint and was cut much more evenly. It is processed into semi worsted roving and the prices reflect the lengths and micron count.

What is worsted or semi-worsted roving? Here’s an article to help understand the difference:

http://www.porpoisefur.com/blog/2008/10/fiber-friday-worsted-vs-semi-worsted.html

** Happy spinning! **

Purchase 2018 Stock Wool

Wade (16.7 microns /3.14 inch length): $4 per Ounce
Wendy (18.5 microns and /3.54 inch length): $4 per ounce
Winton (18.6 microns /2.95 inch length): $3.50 per ounce
Wynonna (18.8 microns /2.75 inch length): $3.50 per ounce
Wanda (18.9 microns /3.54 inch length): $4.00 per ounce