Maggie Casey's Start Spinning: Everything you need to know to make great yarn

2:30-4pm (1.5hrs)


Fiber can be rated by two different scales:

• Micron: the thickness an individual fiber in microns (lower the number, the finer the fiber. Between about 15 and 40.)
• Bradford: the number of skeins that could be made from one pound of fiber (higher the number, the finer the fiber. Between about 30 and 100.) 

5 general categories of fiber and sheep:

• Fine: Merino, Rambouillet, (also alpaca, kid mohair, cotton, cashmere)
  17-23 microns, 62-90s Bradford, 2-4" fibers (short)
  Easy to felt, large amounts of lanolin (oil), tight crimp, elastic, soft, puffy
  Best for babies and next to skin
  
• Medium: Corriedale, Columbia
  23-31 microns, 50s-60s Bradford, 3-6" fibers
  Defined crimp but less compact, stronger, less soft and fine
  Best for sweaters, mittens and hats
  
• Down: Dorset, Suffolk, Southdown (meat sheep from the Downs of England)
  23-40 microns, 54-60s Bradford, 2-4" fibers (short)
  Disorganized crimp, matte surface, elastic, doesn't felt well
  Best for sweaters, socks, mittens
  
• Long/Lustre: Lincoln, Romney, Border Leicester
  29-40 microns, 36-50s Bradford, 5-12" fibers
  Luster like mohair, long, coarse, crimp is a soft open wave, less elastic, very strong
  Best for tapestry, rugs, outerwear
  
• Other: Karakul, Navajo, Churro, Shetland
  Often have two coats - an outer coat that is long and course and an inner coat that is soft and short
  Shetlands, for one, are not a very developed breed, and the fiber is often inconsistent across the fleece (according to Tracy of McTavish Farm). 

Things to look for in a fleece:
Even crimp, does not break, springs back, makes a "ping" noise, no second cuts, clean, fresh (if a fleece sits in a barn for a year without being washed, the lanolin will congeal and be hard to remove), no mats, no dry/brittle tips, no musty smell from being stored wet with moths and mildew

Fun fact: Wool can hold a third of it's weight in water before feeling wet.