Process

The metal teeth on the drum carder will help open up the wool and turn it in to carded fleece. From here you can take the fleece and spin it in to yarn.

Much of our wool processing is done on our farm on Orcas Island Washington.

Now we are taking the carded wool and spinning it on a spinning wheel. This style is called Worsted spinning where all the spinning is done between the hand and the wheel. This type of spinning produces a straight type of yarn.

Plying is taking two or more strands (singles) of yarn and twisting them into a plied yarn. Two ply yarns are food for lace knitting and for hand weaving. Yarns that have three or more plies are good for knitting.

Here we see Maria using a floor loom to weave a small blanket. Using her feet she operates the treadles and with her hands she feeds the shuttle through the shed.