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Post by Teri Berry on Jan 14, 2015 22:38:28 GMT
One of my neighbours has a dozen sheep (some Zwartables, some Beulah) and admitted that he burns the fleeces because no one wants them!! After I recovered from the horror of his admission I suggested I could use them or at least know some spinners who might like them.
Before I race round and fill my garage with smelly fleeces, has anyone tried felting with Beulah or know anything about it (e.g. micron count)?
I have tried felting Zwartables before and while it made a lovely soft felt it took forever to start fulling, it was definitely slow to felt in my my hands. Has anyone else tried, what did you find?
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Post by Shepherdess on Jan 15, 2015 3:09:53 GMT
everything I can find and there isn't much, is that they are a meat bread and the wool is of no interest to them. it varies widely form "high quality" to long and course. or possibly both on the same sheep it was hard to tell. I know in my meat sheep the fleece's vary widely from sheep to sheep, some are curly. some are crimpy some are fine, some course. you really have to look at them. If they don't felt well you can spin it to make machine washable socks.
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Post by zed on Jan 15, 2015 10:57:36 GMT
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 14:02:16 GMT
Hello Teri,
I am happy to hear that your rescued the sheep's wool from your neighbor... How awful to think he was burning it.. I am sure you and your friends will get good use from the wools..
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Post by Frances on Jan 15, 2015 22:52:35 GMT
Burning makes me sad - in addition to being wasteful it is bad for the environment.
I worked with a man who owned a nursery who developed mats made out of human hair (I know not human hair again)to be placed in the bottom of containers rather than fertilizer when planting. I watched his experments and it really made a difference in the size of the plants. The mats were eventually marketed commercially. So I wonder if sheep wool would have the same effect. It would certainly help retain moisture in the soil since it takes so long to dry.
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Post by Pandagirl on Jan 16, 2015 1:52:18 GMT
I'm sure there has to be other more Eco uses for the fleeces. Frances has a good point.
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Post by Shepherdess on Jan 16, 2015 3:32:24 GMT
I bet they would make great pillows especially if they don't felt well. I have made them before. I put the fleece in the washing machine on a short wash. it cam out as a boa. then ran it though the picker. then I stuffed a pillow and I had a wool pillow I could fluff up like a feather pillow. it was great to sleep on. I should make some more. you can make batts to stuff pillows with too.
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Post by zed on Jan 16, 2015 10:37:07 GMT
Start compiling the list of things to do with it, Teri and give it to the farmer!
I've seen it used in hanging baskets instead of the synthetic stuff and much more eco friendly than sphagnum moss.
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maisie
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Post by maisie on Jan 16, 2015 16:18:38 GMT
I grow orchids and use sphagnum moss quite a lot in the pots, you have made me think, zed, I'll try sheep fleece and
mix it in with the orchid compost like I do the moss.
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Jan 17, 2015 1:46:05 GMT
I used to do orchids many moons ago and had to buy the very expensive sphagnum moss (at least in the city of Chicago…) I think fleece would work as well or better and makes me want to get started raising orchids again.
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Post by koffipot on Jan 17, 2015 10:16:11 GMT
There are a few people composting wool. Here's one for starters. www.dalefootcomposts.co.uk/our-products.aspxI was given a Swaledale fleece, which had more or less felted on the sheep, so I'm using it as Hanging basket liner. Works a treat! |
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Post by zed on Jan 17, 2015 10:40:52 GMT
If you grow your own sphagnum moss, which is apparently quite easy, it doesn't have the same impact obviously as depleting the natural environment. Some where on Facebook ( I'd never find it again) someone did a test burying a woollen jumper and synthetic one, it wasn't long before the wool started to break down, but the other looked the same. Funny how wool will last a lot longer not buried though  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2015 13:41:25 GMT
What a great idea. I would of never thought of using wool fleece for composting. You could use it around the bottom of hanging plants so you would not have to water them as often.. Neat idea.
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Post by Teri Berry on Jan 18, 2015 19:57:01 GMT
Thank you everyone, those are some fantastic links Zed, and it makes sense that Beulah is a meat breed, that is, after all, what my neighbour breeds them for. Great ideas to use the wool to line flower baskets and to stuff pillows too. Whatever happens I will take the fleeces, if only to stop him burning them |
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