Long Wool Fiber Study, part 4

Processing yarn is not hard. There is fleece to wash, locks to separate and comb or card, fiber to spin into yarn, garments to make. Processing fiber is not hard.

However, it does require time, a bit of space, special equipment and desire.

I spent last Saturday morning with my gals in the Saturday Spinners guild. We shared our current Long Wool Fiber Study results with lots of show and tell. Then we watched a new video by Robin Russo, Combing Fiber (released by Interweave Press June 1st). 

Our program for the day was on how-to use combs and hackles. The organizing member showed samples and had collected enough hand combs, production combs and various hackles for all of us to practice on. There was a plethora of equipment to use.

Specifically, we were using the tools to process Shetland wool that we got from Elemental Affects.

Shetland is a double coated fiber. The fleece has a long outer coat and a shorter downy inner coat. As I worked with the combs I was amazed at how easy it was to distinguish the two types of fiber.

I got to use English production combs made by John A. Meck. They are 5 pitch (5 rows of teeth). One comb was mounted on the counter and I handled the second comb. They were very big, heavy and crazy dangerous.

After the first few tangly passes of the handheld comb, my technique quickly improved. It was easy to see the fibers straightening and detangling. I felt like I was brushing long hair very carefully. I gently pulled off the outer coat to exposed the downy undercoat.

This is my first time using a diz. A diz is essentially a large curved button with various sized holes in the center. It is used to pull fiber off the combs. What you see in the picture is the undercoat on the comb ready to pull off.

You hold the diz concave side facing the combed fiber. Then you pull the fiber through the hole to make roving. The fiber came out smoothly and easily. Also, the fibers were distinctly parallel. Just like top (combed roving) I’ve purchased. It was very cool.

Here are the various piles of the Shetland wool I ended up with. I started out with 2 oz. of washed fleece. It took me two hours to process that amount. The weight measurements shown below are after combing out the whole 2 oz. 

From the top right going clockwise: 

• Washed fleece
• waste fiber - full of noils & vegetable matter (VM) - 3/4 oz. or 21g
• downy undercoat - top roving arranged in birdnests - 5/8 oz. or 18g
• outer coat - parallel fibers pile - 5/8 oz. or 18g

It was suggested that the long outer coat is good for lace. I will endeavor to spin a fine singles for a finished 2-ply yarn. I want to spin the undercoat semi-worsted but with a soft twist to maintain its loftiness.