Long Wool Fiber Study, part 5

Shetland is a double coated fiber. In post Long Wool Fiber Study, part 4 I wrote about using combs to process Shetland locks into roving. I really liked spinning hand combed roving.

Here are my results.

Shetland - Undercoat/Down - washed - 5/8 oz. - spun 7/17/12

• locks combed on 5 pitch combs
• used large diz to pull roving
• spun back draft - woolen (drafting fingers open and close as twist move up fiber)
• thin roving wanted to spin fine
• some lanolin remains makes fibers soft and smooth feeling
• very easy to do long draw with my fiber holding hand
• lovely to spin top
• 2-ply - 105 yards - 22 wpi (wraps per inch) - size 2 fine

Top preparation made it easy to have real control of my long draw to make a smooth consistent and fine yarn. The final yarn is very very lofty and soft. I wish you could feel it.

Shetland - Outer coat - washed - 5/8 oz. - spun 7/23/12

• locks combed on 5 pitch combs
• outer coat pulled off combs by hand - aligned parallel
• top preparation is easy to draft
• fiber has a wiry feel
• definitely stiffer and less lofty than undercoat
• spun forward draft - worsted (drafting fingers smooth fibers down as twist moves up fiber)
• finished yarn is smooth and crisp
• 2-ply - 78 yards - 22 wpi (wraps per inch) - size 2 fine

The outer coat was interesting to spin in contrast to the undercoat. The fiber was very wiry and the resulting yarn is not as smooth as a worsted yarn should be, but it is more tightly spun than the undercoat. I would not make anything that would be worn next to the skin.

I Andean plied both skeins. Andean plying is a way of wrapping singles around your hand to make a two end bracelet for plying. I like using this method as it plies every inch of singles. It’s also great for sampling. Although 200+ yards of singles is a bit more than a sample. I did get tied to the wheel until the plying was finished. I like Andean plying better than using a wound ball with 2 ends as I always seem to get the two ends tangled somehow.