Don't worry about the size of that yarn... I have made some wonderful boot socks out worsted before and your socks look amazing.

using your handspun is always so much better! :D

Long time spinner here. I think you can end up with much better products, had you sorted more carefully through the fleece FIRST and BEFORE washing. Separating any broken bits/ thel . Because when you showed the locks in the beginning they were JUST FINE to spin. Then you put them through the picker and it became a neppy mess. It might be worth looking into getting a better grip on processing a fleece first, SKIP the picker , and just use the carder. More carding will NOT fix this problem. Usually three runs through the carder should be plenty to have a workable batt. Also, feed less wool into the carder , spread it out more before it gets picked up by the carder , will also help to get a better batt. Just keep at it, it took me a while but you learn while you do, every time. :) Have FUN

@bagladysendtheferalspinner3761

4 ай бұрын

Also a long time spinner, I would comb the fleece after sorting through the locks. I use my drum carder for blending and making batts. I comb everything to remove neps, noils, and VM. Yes, there is a lot of wastage and it is an extra step, but I'm happier with the prepped fibre I want to spin. I can still decide to do either woolen or worsted yarn but what I want to spin is much nicer. It is extra work but you get good quality yarn from a poorer quality fleece. As a spinner, one of my best equipment investments was a good solid(tines set in wood not in plastic) 2 pitch set of mini combs. I also have a set of medium sized Viking combs and 4 pitch English combs but the mini combs are my go-to ones. They are definitely worth the investment.

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

Excellent information to know. Thank you for sharing that as I am now on a mission to find combs... I am going to need a bigger studio to house all my gear lol. 😀

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

I am learning so much from all the great comments. Thank you for sharing here what you have learned, I appreciate it!

@kevinjohn3873

3 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm now encouraged to continue with some alpaca fleece I've been given. Absolute beginner here so all encouraging comments and info are a God send. 🙏🦘🐑

Those bobbles are called nepps. I find Icelandic is an intermediate wool, there are so much easier fiber to process and spin but I LOVE my Icy sheep they are so absolutely full of character. I also have Shetland, Romney and Rambouillet.

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

I do hope to start experimenting with other fleece. I want to try the Shetland as it is supposed to be similar, but nicer then the Icelandic to work with. I did a blend of my Icelandic with alpaca and loved it.

@thelogicalanswer937

4 ай бұрын

@@liferaisingsheep Shetland is less itchy then Icelandic that's for sure!!

@robynreid3027

4 ай бұрын

Thank you for this video, I found it's really interesting. Love all your details and thinking and how you demonstrate them

I had an Icy fleece that 4 times through the carder and it took me almost a whole month just to spin as it was SO DIFFICULT!! My Icelandics don't grow much of a thell so it was just like this problem fleece of yours. I almost threw it out halfway through but I finished it and it produced a beautiful yarn that I made mittens and a bath mat out of and it has a wonderful bloom and those mitts are my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!! So warm, I was able to even felt them as I made them a bit too big and they are good in -20 and they are my chore mitts. They are my everything mitts. And the wonderful thing about wool is it always seems clean and doesn't catch an odor!! When I do wash them the water comes out like steeped tea though!! Here's to problem fleece coming out wonderful in the end!!!

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

How wonderful! that is what I am finding with this fleece, it is so soft and fluffy and has body to it if that makes sense. I am looking forward to seeing what else I can make with it, but I will admit, for now it has gone back in the bag so I can start on some fleece that I know will go smoother. Thank you for watching :)

It looks to me like the fiber is too fine to go through the drum carder. Even your hand cards look too course for that fleece. Just last week I hand carded a couple of locks of fine Shetland and it looked just like that. I had to comb it and it is beautiful.

Right from the start I would comb your fleece. Yes, you will have a lot of wastage but this will remove 90% of the neps (broken pieces) and VM (vegetable matter).

@Stettafire

4 ай бұрын

Yes, honestly this is a bare minimum. No one wants to knit with VM, it's gross.

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

I am going to start watching for a decent set of used combs. This has been suggested in a few comments, so hopefully, I can find a set. Luckily, every fleece is different from. The last, so for now, I have moved on to a gorgeous fleece that doesn't have these issues. It has been so great to learn through the comments here. Thank you for watching.

I ran into the neppy fiber problem with a Cotswold fleece that had been washed by the farm and came to me pretty matted. I put it through my box picker before carding and I think the box picker may well have contributed to the neppy mess. Although most of the nepps are short cuts, had I done the full fleece prep by hand (including initial wash) I would have had less of a problem. It spun up ok. But coming off the carder, it did look rough. Is the problem the picker, the short cuts, the wash, the fleece health? I don’t know. :/ Thank you for the video. Cozy socks!!

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for sharing some tips. I think it is a combination of all the above lol. Annie's fleece didn't have a lot of second cuts, but I use hand sheers, and I think I didn't cut close enough to the skin which led to the thel layer being so short it just created all sorts of issues. I am looking forward to starting on some of my more recent sheering jobs to see if there is improvement. My daughter loved the socks! Now it is time to make myself a pair. Thank you so much for watching!

My Grandma knitted socks for my Grandpa because he didn’t like store bought elastic socks, but she used knitting needles attached together in a loop. You are an amazing creator and thank you for sharing your journey

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

Thank you so much, and thank you for watching along. I love to knit, but I discovered these looms and I find that as I practice and figure it out, it is so much easier. there is something so great about a pair of homemade socks for sure!

I deliberately add shorts to some of my carded fleece to make nepps in the yarn. But mine are usually angora from my bunnies going into something really soft too. If the fleece is colored, like brown, the angora makes little white nubs. Reminds me of hot cocoa with marshmallows in it. Also my nubby yarn sells better than perfectly spun smooth yarn. There is nothing off the table. Its all a matter of taste.

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

It is amazing how many people have commented to keep the neps! It is wonderful as I was so worried about them. I am going to have to do a second video leaving them in as a comparison lol. I am sure it looks wonderful with the brown.

I do find that soaking the yarn in skein form helps it twist less when worked up. It's like the twist in the yarn relaxes a bit. Either way, lovely socks!

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

I often find that I do a hot soak and then cold to preshrink the yarn a bit and sort of felt.it. I love how soft it goes and as many people have said in comments, it sets the spin. This fleece was washed when I was an extreme novice and I washed in hot rinced I cold, so it was preshrunk and slightly felted. My mistake. But I am going to soak the next skein from it to see how it works out. Thank you for watching.

I would make it into batts for quilts

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

We hope to do that with some of the fleece for sure. My aunt used to make batting for comforters with this carder (her dad made it and she gave it to us) she said they did 4 layers of chriscrossed Batts and felted them ever so slightly. I need to do a bit of my own research, but as a quilter it makes sense to try to make my own batting for sure. Thank you for watching

Thank you for posting this was amazing to watch and learn and be amazed ❤

@liferaisingsheep

3 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! Wonderful comment, and I am glad you enjoyed it. I am working on a follow-up using some of the viewers' suggestions, and we shall see what ends up produced.

I'm so glad this came up on my feed! What a great walk through and demonstration of troubleshooting, and a really cool end product! I knit socks quite a bit and I've never seen a sock loom before. What's the advantage over circular sock needles or DPNs? I personally knit with nine-inch circular needs because the switching of magic loop and DPNs makes me feel impatient hahaha

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

I am so glad you enjoyed the video! I don't know if there is any advantage to using the loom over the circular needles. I was originally trying to make socks on 4 needles like I do my mittens,and I hated it they never looked right and my hands would cramp up horribly. While I was researching on youtube for troubleshooting my patterns, I came across numerous videos that used the loom and it looked so easy, so I decided to try and I love it. I now make scarves and leg warmers and now socks with looms of all sizes. I recently purchased an infinity loom to try and make a wool blanket. We will see how that goes 😆.

Reading the other comments, I'm wondering that using a finer comb would help prevent the nepping issue? Personally, I like using combs to both open a fleece (like a picker) and separate alot of the second cuts. Then use a carder to blend the tog and fel together again. Each fleece is like a little game on how best to work with it😊. Thank you for showing your process, its always interesting to see and learn different ideas. And your sheep is so cute!!! I didn't know Icelandic sheep Roo like shetland- so neat! Super cute sheep!

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

I am thinking I am going to have to invest in a nice set of combs. Many people have said the same thing. There were so many issues with this fleece that were probably human error, but I am looking forward to working with some of my newer fleece as I feel I did a way better job with the sheering. Thank you for watching and for the comment :)

Your sheep are lovely, and it made me happy that you were able to make some socks from the lamb fleece. Your daughter is blessed also to be the wearer of the first socks from Annie's first fleece. Thank you for showing the process, I love process videos, always something to learn. The only knitting loom I have is large so to make socks you have to only use one end, which is a pain. I really want to learn to knit some socks so I might get a sock loom, but my first socks will probably be crocheted since I already know how to crochet. Blessings.

@liferaisingsheep

3 ай бұрын

The sock loom is working great. It took a few tries to figure out sizing (doesn't help that my yarn is always different sizing lol) but I tried for years to knit socks and hated it, but I can sit for hours working on the loom. To be honest, I have all different sized looms, but I have not tried making anything but socks.

Flashback memory of MY 1st Icelandic fleece. I made it work in the end. (WORE mittens I made last week and they were WARM!) [But still never picking Icelandic as a first choice again.]

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

I am definitely learning that it is tricky to work with at times. This fleece had a lot of human error, but it still made a great product. Some of our girls fleece spins so beautiful and simply, and others are awful. I am happy to be learning so much as I go, but I am also eager to try out some other fleece types eventually.

OOOH! They are beautiful!!! AND! you got a picker! Do you love it?! I think the 'bubbly bits' are called 'Neps', and combing the wool I found helps get rid of them. I too am a brand new, self taught wool nerd, and my first attempt at Icelandic (thanks to your videos!!) I just put it through the drum carder. I ended up with quite a bit of the neps too. Then I did some more reading and research, and found out about combs. I am a beekeeper so I played with uncapping forks (don't tell hubby!!) before I found a set of used combs. Then put those cleaned, combed puffs through the drum carder. It was night and day! Not only do the combs get rid of VM really well, they also seem to grab all the second cuts, short bits and unworkable wool too. A lot of the thel will get pulled, but enough stays to keep the tog soft in a resulting spin. You could always wet felt the wool into a project too, wet felting is fun and beautiful!

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

Love the picker....so great. I am going to have to get combs I think. The biggest concern that I have with it is the time it takes to do stuff with combs.... now saying that, I have never tried them. Going to keep my eye out for a good used pair for sure.

@kyerstenkerr5074

4 ай бұрын

@@liferaisingsheep Yes, it does take time to comb over carding or I am sure, picking! (love to get me a picker!) But, I think the end product you will be happy with for sure! Find some cheap onion forks or honey uncapping forks and play with that before committing to a set of expensive combs. Either way, keep the vids coming!!

These nepps can be avoided by hand combing the fine fiber. It should then make a beautiful prodect.

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

There have been quite a few comments suggesting the combs. I had not ever considered it as I am sometimes impatient, but I am now keeping my eye out for a decent set.

@joyyak7865

4 ай бұрын

Look for fine doubled tooth combs. I find them so relaxing to use! Carolyn has some fine fleeces. She's local to me.

I kept inwardly gasping as I watched your video 😅 These clumps of soft thel are called nepps, and people pay a lot of money to buy them separately (!) to add to perfectly homogenous fibers for texture! I love making textured yarns and never remove nepps when I encounter them in my fleeces. My number one favorite fiber is Icelandic Lopi, and I've processed multiple fleeces in the last ~10 years. There are several reasons why nepps occur in fleeces: 1) too much lanolin in the wool (this could be due to genetics or irregular shearing); 2) wet weather that causes fibers to become damp and prevents proper air drying in sunlight (this affects all long wool breeds); 3) infrequent shearing that allows wool to grow too long, so it starts matting (legs and belly areas especially); 4) aggressive washing when fibers are agitated in hot soapy water, so they start tangling and almost felting (thel felts super fast). Other reasons could include specific genetics, nutrition, and general sheep health (that can affect grooming behaviors), but I can't speak to that since I only deal with shorn fleeces and not with animals. Your socks and sheep are gorgeous!

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

I really wish I had a community tab button already as I would love to share a picture of the yarn I spun since I did this video. So many people said to leave the news, so I did (on a different fleece) and I love it! So funny how your mind can be set on one thing being right until enough people share their thoughts. Someone else mentions that they added the white news to their brown fleece, and now I have all sorts of fun ideas floating around in my head 😆. Thank you so much for watching and for the tips and advice!

If you don't want to spin it could you sell it as quilt batting?? When I was a teenager in the 1960's a friend of mine her mother had a quilt with sheep or lamb wool for the batting.

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

I am a quilted myself and I am thinking that I will try making the batting. It makes sense and would make an amazing warm blanket.

is it second cuts?

That would make some good texture type yarns I see people spinning

@liferaisingsheep

3 ай бұрын

I am going to do a follow up video showing this as so many people have mentioned that. I am curious myself as to how it will turn out and just what I would make out of it

I suspect our ancestors would have worked with poor quality fleece regularly - if that was all they had. While there are some examples of decidedly high quality linsey-woolsey from the 18th century, my understanding is that the wool weft was often quite poor quality wool. That fabric was a way of getting some use out of the less valuable fibre. Then, as people have noted, there is also felting. I have seen DK weight (what we would call 8 ply in Australia) sock patterns, so if your yarn is just a bit thicker than regular sock yarn that's not necessarily a problem, it's just a case of adjusting the pattern so that it fits the intended wearer. Thank you for sharing a fascinating journey from a problematic fleece to a very usable end product. EDIT: I loved the almost blue sheen of that yarn.

@liferaisingsheep

4 ай бұрын

That was exactly my thoughts as I was working on those fleece. We have 20 ocelandic sheep, so I could have ditched it for garden mulch, but what if I didn't have a bunch more. I love the traditional/historic feeling of working with wool. I shall have to search for a few dk weight patterns. I also have a loom that was my great grandmother's that I shall be trying to use eventually. Thank you for watching along.