methods and pics of finished products please!
Has anyone ever made a pillow out of sheepswool?
- Thread starter seriouslycountryequine
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No, but my grandmother's parents made things out of down feathers. They had mattresses, comforters and pillows stuffed with down. They lived by a lake where there were many ducks and geese and had some every Sunday for dinner when they had a regular crowd of around 30 people, mostly their children, in laws and grandchildren.
I ripped up a damaged sleeping bag and made one out of fiberfill.
As a kid we sold many, many tons of raw sheered wool.. I never seen wool again until it was back in the house as yarn and turned into a sweater and such..
I'm sure there are procedures, but it would seem cleaning, washing, drying or what ever process is needed to make wool ready for home use is a major undertaking..
Curious of the process...
Facts, details, experience.. ??
I'm sure there are procedures, but it would seem cleaning, washing, drying or what ever process is needed to make wool ready for home use is a major undertaking..
Curious of the process...
Facts, details, experience.. ??
Are you talking about the stuffing or casing? (Or both). I can show you roving and batting????
No, never made a pillow... But, recently learned about wool grease, aka wool butter aka Lanolin. Natural occurring 'oil' in sheep's wool, secreted from glands.
Just curious, will you be using raw wool? or wool that's been processed to remove the lanolin?
If raw wool you might want to remove the lanolin... else you'll wake up with an ear full of sheep's butter.
Doesn't sound appealing... Or worse, your head keeps sliding off the pillow.
Also learned different breeds have different amounts of lanolin in their wool, don't remember those details but I'm sure someone here in the forum would know. Also learned the properties of wool vary greatly by breed. Different wool's are suited for different purposes.
Just curious, will you be using raw wool? or wool that's been processed to remove the lanolin?
If raw wool you might want to remove the lanolin... else you'll wake up with an ear full of sheep's butter.
Doesn't sound appealing... Or worse, your head keeps sliding off the pillow.Also learned different breeds have different amounts of lanolin in their wool, don't remember those details but I'm sure someone here in the forum would know. Also learned the properties of wool vary greatly by breed. Different wool's are suited for different purposes.
You would have to wash and card it. Its tedious by hand. It would also pack down and be a tad itchy; the same reason you don't knit your tighty whiteys out of wool.
Save the wool for sweater jackets.
Save the wool for sweater jackets.
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Yes, it is tedious, if you use the hand carders. There is a carder that is a wheel which is much faster. In this image are two types of carders. The one with the handle laying on top is one of two for hand carding. Underneath is a wheeled carding machine which is much faster at cleaning and brushing wool to prepare it for spinning. I have a pair of carders for hand carding. I haven't had a fleece to spin for more than 30 years, due to wool moths.
I have had too many problems with wool moths or I would be doing some spinning. Wool moths have destroyed room sized floor rugs, wool suits, cashmere and wool cardigans and wool coats of mine.
@Peanut, yes, the lanolin is actually lovely, imho. When you work with a fleece, your hands become softer from it.
Hey guys, you might want to look at this!
https://www.cdc.gov/anthrax/transmission/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/anthrax/transmission/index.html
Wool is very warm, I'm not sure how well it would work in a pillow. Let us know.
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What breed of sheep are we talking about? Not all are "next to skin" usable. There is a lot of prep work that goes into making a fleece usable.
I process fleeces for spinning. Starts with "skirting" the fleece which is taking all the fleece that is not salvageable because it is too dirty or coarse to use. Then it gets washed. Usually takes me three washings before I get most of the dirt and debris out. After that, I comb it. More dirt and debris comes out in this process. When I spin it, I have a cloth over my lap (so I can see the fibers more easily) and that is always full of dirt even though the washed and combed locks look perfectly clean. After spinning and plying, the finished yarn gets washed one more time and, yup, the water is dirty. All that just so I can wear it next to my skin and that is only if its a breed of sheep that would be good for that type of fabric.
I might use it for cushions (couch pillows) but not for sleeping pillows.
@Magus I don't worry about the Anthrax when working with my fleeces because I purchase mine from a shepardess (in Idaho). If there were Anthrax, I think the person initially handling it is more at risk.
A good book for references breeds and uses of their fleeces is The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook
I process fleeces for spinning. Starts with "skirting" the fleece which is taking all the fleece that is not salvageable because it is too dirty or coarse to use. Then it gets washed. Usually takes me three washings before I get most of the dirt and debris out. After that, I comb it. More dirt and debris comes out in this process. When I spin it, I have a cloth over my lap (so I can see the fibers more easily) and that is always full of dirt even though the washed and combed locks look perfectly clean. After spinning and plying, the finished yarn gets washed one more time and, yup, the water is dirty. All that just so I can wear it next to my skin and that is only if its a breed of sheep that would be good for that type of fabric.
I might use it for cushions (couch pillows) but not for sleeping pillows.
@Magus I don't worry about the Anthrax when working with my fleeces because I purchase mine from a shepardess (in Idaho). If there were Anthrax, I think the person initially handling it is more at risk.
A good book for references breeds and uses of their fleeces is The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook
Trivia...
......Type of wool.... That is a good point.. I have a friend who raises what are considered ..exotic.. sheep.. Most of them are considered ..hair sheep.. Not the traditional wool and lanolin sheep.. The fleece is handled and used very differently.. Some of the breeds he raises can be be traced back to biblical times in the Middle East part of the world.. I would presume you could imagine this hair used for Persian rug use and the like...
......Type of wool.... That is a good point.. I have a friend who raises what are considered ..exotic.. sheep.. Most of them are considered ..hair sheep.. Not the traditional wool and lanolin sheep.. The fleece is handled and used very differently.. Some of the breeds he raises can be be traced back to biblical times in the Middle East part of the world.. I would presume you could imagine this hair used for Persian rug use and the like...
