[Jacob-list] Re: Fiber Ideas

[Bill Thompson]

To all my Jacob Sheep friends, thought you might enjoy need this one!!

Lou Anne in S.W. Iowa who love to felt with her "Jacob Sheep Wool"

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Suzanne Pufpaff 
  To: feltmakers at peak.org 
  Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2004 10:48 PM
  Subject: Re: Fiber Ideas


  Cathy,
  I have a roving style that I have actually named after the Jacob sheep.  The way it is created is.....the colors of the fleece are separated and then when I run them through the carding operation, I randomly place them on the intake belt so that the colors stay separate in the roving but repeat frequently enough so that when the roving is spun you don't get too much of one color before it changes to the next color.  This is not a side by side striped roving, but more like a natural rainbow roving.

  Washing is not required since I do have in house washing available but it would help if you separated the colors in the fleeces before shipping though that isn't required either.
  The cost from raw, unwashed fleece is $6.00 a pound.  IF the fiber comes in washed and doesn't need to be rewashed, it's $4.00 a pound.   Rewashing is the same as for raw, it just means you aren't paying me to wash the dirt.

  The way I make the felt sheets, I don't have a standard size.  I can make any size you would like in any pattern you desire.  I have even been known to do felt by number design work for customers.

  If I am doing simple felt yardage, its $15.00 a yard with a 2 yard minimum.  This price is using processed batting.  Processing the fiber into battting is the same as the prices quote above for roving. A yard is considered 10.5 square feet of finished felt.  There is an addition $20.00 an hour designing fee for special felt designs.  A simple "Jacob" design should not add more than $5.00 to the cost of a yard of felt.  More complicated designs would increase the design cost. 

  You might also consider Jacob felt rugs instead of just yardage.

  I can make the felt as thick or thin as you would like.  In general terms, felts can be made1- garment weight, 2-blanket weight or 3- rug weight.  Number 1 being the thinnest and 3 the thickest.  I can also laminate the wool to silk gauze to allow for thinner, drapier felt.   The thickness chosen will determine how much wool is needed per yard, but it does not change the per yard felting charge.

  Turn around time is currently running about 6 weeks.  This varies somewhat depending on the time of year.  Mid to late summer will be the longest turn around times, winter will be as short as 2 to 3 weeks.

  I think that is most of your questions.
  Sue P.




  Cathy Robinson <perfectspot at blueridge.net> wrote:
    Hi Suzanne--

    I wanted to pick your brain about some ideas and possibilities for 
    processing our Jacob fleeces into 1) roving and 2) felt sheets.

    ROVING: Goal is to have roving that highlights the variations of color 
    found within Jacob fleece. I do not really want "one color", 
    well-blended roving this time. Please suggest some processing methods 
    and describe results that will achieve this. I have had a "stripe" 
    roving done before....is there something else that can be done other 
    than the stripe? Please let me know cost for processing (wool will be 
    washed unless you prefer not), and whether colors should be separated. 
    Wool for roving will be probably be around 3-5 lbs.

    FELT SHEETS: I have never had these made yet, but have seen the 
    commercially prepared sheets that are offered for sale at fiber events. 
    I think the usua! l size is about 3' x 4", and I would like to have a few 
    of these done to see how they sell. What method is used to create your 
    felt sheets? Again, I want them to demonstrate the color variation 
    within Jacob fleeces, so am certain wool would have to be sorted for 
    this. I have some shorter fleeces that are being collected for this 
    purpose (less than 12 mos. between shearings) that would not be useable 
    for roving. The effect I am looking for is a watercolor, splotchy 
    effect...if there is more than one technique possible with these, please 
    describe. I also need to know the size of the finished sheet (and 
    thickness), how much wool goes into each, cost, your preference for 
    washed or unwashed, etc. Depending on what I have and how much is 
    needed for each, I would like to have up to 6 of these made....in 
    various color combinations so that I can duplicate my favorites in the 
    future.

    Please also let me know approximate processing time ! and anything else I 
    might need to know in order to properly prepare the fleece I have here 
    for the processing described above.

    Thanks for your help.

    Cathy Robinson
    2514 Grassy Knob Rd.
    Mill Spring, NC 28756





  Suzanne Pufpaff 

  feltlady at yurtboutique.com 

  Check out my web page at: 

  http://www.yurtboutique.com



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