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Åland wool

Today’s blog post and an upcoming breed study webinar are all about Åland wool. This is my eleventh breed study. Previous breed studies have been about Gotland wool, Gute wool, Dalapäls wool, Värmland wool, Jämtland wool, finull wool, rya wool, Klövsjö wool (blog post only), Åsen wool and Gestrike wool.

This Saturday, April 9th at 5 pm CET (world clock here) I will host a free live breed study webinar on Åland wool! I will share my experiences with the wool from a spinner’s perspective.

The webinar has already taken place.

Åland sheep

Åland sheep is a unique breed that has lived and developed in the archipelago of Åland in the Baltic Sea for centuries. Åland is geographically quite close to Sweden, but is an autonomous region of Finland. The belief used to be that Åland sheep were related to the Finnish landrace, but genetic examinations have shown that Åland sheep is its own and unique breed. It is believed to belong to the most primitive breeds of the Northern European short tail sheep.

In the 1980’s Åland sheep were endangered, but through dedicated work the breed was saved. Åland sheep got a status as its own breed 20 years ago. At the time there were around 150 ewes, now there are over 1800, of which around two thirds live in mainland Finland and the rest in Åland.

Åland sheep is a sturdy breed that have developed into excellent landscape managers in the barren skerries of the archipelago through centuries.

The sheep are relatively small, rams weigh around 60 kilos and ewes around 40 kilos. About half of the rams and some of the ewes have horns. The fleece comes in a wide variety of colours and patterns. Many Åland sheep are born black or dark grey but lighten with age.

Gene bank

In the gene bank for Åland sheep all individuals and their characteristics are documented in a database, including information of wool colour and quality. Through this documentation the aim is to preserve the breed and keep its genetic diversity.

Sweet staples of Åland wool from two different fleeces.

When I read the guidelines for the Åland sheep gene bank I get the sense that the rules are similar to those of the gene banks of Swedish heritage breed. With an aim to preserve the genetic diversity of a very small breed there is no room to breed for specific characteristics like the wool, even if the work with the gene bank does include information about wool quality. I asked Maija Hägglund, the chair of the Åland sheep association about this. She confirmed that the genetic variety is the focus of the gene bank. However, they do recommend sheep farmers to consider wool quality and not allow too coarse or too fine wool to take over in the flock.

Tommi’s Åland sheep

To get hold of some Åland wool I contacted Tommi, a sheep owner with around 50 Åland sheep. His landscape managing sheep graze freely in the barren outer skerries of the Åland archipelago between May and October or November. He takes his boat to visit his sheep every now and them so they will recognize him and know that he is still there. Many other breeds would not be able to survive on their own in this kind of environment. But Åland sheep have grazed these islands for centuries and have adapted to their environment.

Åland wool characteristics

Åland sheep have a dual coat with fine undercoat and long, strong outercoat. The wool can differ very much between flocks, individuals and over the body of one individual.

The staples of the grey fleece are long, some over 30 cm (left). The center picture shows undercoat and outercoat separated. To the right a staple of the white fleece.

I got parts of two Åland fleeces from Tommi, one grey with extremely long outercoat and very fine undercoat. The other almost white with some black fibers in it, silky soft undercoat and strong outercoat. Shorter and finer than the grey fleece. Both fleeces have some kemp, but it feels quite fine and doesn’t bother me that much. They add to the rusticity of the yarn and makes it more interesting to me. When I asked Maija about the kemp she said that the occurrence of kemp varies between individuals but that her experience is that the kemp in Åland sheep is relatively fine, expecially when the fibers in general are fine.

On both the grey (left) and the white (right) fleeces you can see the finer undercoat fibers, the coarser outercoat fibers and an occasional black kemp fiber.

Main characteristics

I look for the main characteristics of the fleeces I have. When I work with the Åland wool, through picking, teasing, carding and spinning I see and feel a wool that is full of contrasts – silky, yet rustic, fine, yet strong. The outercoat are the longest I have seen and the undercoat remarkably long for its fineness. I smile when I see the vast difference between undercoat and outercoat and how they still work together with the aim to protect the sheep from the harsh weather on the barren islands. If I have to pick three main characteristics of the Åland wool I have experienced it would be

  • The length, particularly of the outercoat fibers. I don’t see this length of fibers very often. Some of the outercoat fibers in the grey fleece are over 30 centimeters. The undercoat fibers are also remarkably long for their fineness.
  • The silkiness of the undercoat. What can I say, it’s like meringue batter.
  • The contrasts. I love a fleece that surprises me. It tickles my heart to find these long and rustic outercoat fibers right next to silky soft undercoat fibers.

Every time the fibers go through my hands I get to know their characteristics. Through the time I spend with the fibers in my hands and in my muscle memory I get a chance to prepare and spin a yarn that makes the wool justice. By focusing on letting the main characteristics shine in the finished yarn I get the opportunity to show the soul of the fleece as I see it, honouring the sheep that once grew the wool.

Working with Åland wool

When I contacted Tommi he was interested in my view of the wool and what I could do with it as a hand spinner. I decided to spin a few samples to show the variety of yarns I can create from a versatile wool like the Åland fleeces I got.

Prepare

One of the most rewarding things about a dual coat fleece is the opportunity to play. There is so much I can do with a fleece with two distinctively different fiber types. I could

  • Separate undercoat from outercoat.
  • card undercoat and outercoat together
  • comb undercoat and outercoat together
  • semi-separate the fiber types.

Separating fiber types

By separating undercoat from outercoat I get to enjoy and take advantage of the unique characteristics of each fiber type. To separate the fiber types I use my two-pitch combs. The two (or more if that’s available) rows of teeth in the combs allow a firmer grip of the undercoat fibers, keeping them in the comb as I doff the outercoat fibers off the comb. The undercoat fibers left in the comb are hereby teased and ready to be carded into sweet rolags.

To separate undercoat from outercoat after combing I pull the longest fibers in a top (left). If necessary I comb the outercoat again to separate any remaining undercoat from the outercoat top (right). I use two-pitched combs.

I may run the separated outercoat fibers through the combs once more, or a couple of separated tops together. This is to make sure I remove any remaining undercoat fibers and to make the birds’ nests a bit fuller.

The combed outercoat top and carded undercoat rolag resulting from a comb load of the long staples of the grey fleece.

Carding fiber types together

I love carding outercoat and undercoat together. This preparation really shows the contrast between them – the soft undercoat, flexible in their communication between the cards, the outercoat fibers more sharp in their appearance, keeping a straight line. Then, in the rolag I see the undercoat sponged up in a bundle with the outercoat like an armour around the round shape.

The outercoat fibers are long, making carding a new and interesting experience. In the rolag the undercoat fluffs up and is armoured by the long and organized outercoat fibers.

But can you really card fibers this long without disaster? Wouldn’t the long fibers just double around themselves in the rolag and create a tangled mess? Well, they would if they were alone. In a combination of short, medium and long fibers the fibers sort of marry each other and create an airy rolag. A dual coat therefore usually works well carding since there are naturally different fiber lengths in the staples. The longest fibers will double around the rolag, but I don’t see that as a problem since there are so many other lengths that won’t. Spinning may be a bit slower because of that armouring, but it also means that the yarn will be stronger.

Combing fiber types together

By combing fiber types together I will get a preparation that has characteristics from both fiber type – length, strength, softness and warmth. I use my single pitch combs for this. The single row of teeth allows the fibers to slide through them without separating too much.

To get the mix of outercoat and undercoat fibers off the comb I try to grab them closer to the teeth than I would of I were separating the coats. The resulting bird’s nest is a lovely combination of long, strong, soft and warm.

While the single pitch combs allow for the fibers to glide through the teeth, doffing the combed top off the comb will still result in a separation to some degree. As I grab the bundle the longest will naturally come off first and the shortest will stay in the combs longer. I can make sure I don’t just grab the outermost fibers to prevent this. I can also divide the combed top into sections and re-comb them.

Semi-separating fiber types

With a dual coats like my Åland fleeces I have the opportunity to tailor the preparation to meet my needs. By removing some of one of the fiber types but not all of it I can adapt the fiber content to a specific kind of yarn. I haven’t had the time to do this with my Åland fleeces yet, but it does present a number of additional possibilities from one single fleece.

Spin

Eight yarn samples from the Åland fleeces I bought from Tommi.

With the different fiber preparations I have described above I ended up making eight wheel spun samples that I sent to Tommi:

  • Z-plied 2-ply yarn from the white fleece, intended for two-end knitting, carded and woolen spun. I spun a full skein of this quality.
  • worsted spun 2-ply yarn from combed outercoat only
  • woolen 3-ply yarn from carded undercoat only
  • woolen 2-ply yarn from carded undercoat only
  • woolen 2-ply yarn from undercoat and outercoat carded together
  • worsted 2-ply yarn from undercoat and outercoat combed together
  • woolen and lightly fulled medium singles yarn from undercoat and outercoat carded together
  • woolen and lightly fulled chunky singles yarn from undercoat and outercoat carded together
Separated fibers: 2-ply worsted spun yarn from combed outercoat (top). 3-ply and 2-ply woolen spun yarn from carded undercoat fibers (middle and bottom).

From the list you can see eight different yarns with different fiber preparations, fiber type content, spinning technique and plies. There are numerous other dimensions to play with here, these are just a few. I love fleeces like these where I can play and find an expression I think rhymes with the fleece I got from the beginning.

2-ply woolen spun yarn from outercoat and undercoat carded together (top). 2-ply worsted spun yarn from outercoat and undercoat combed together (bottom).

In my yarns I have taken advantage of the length of the outercoat fibers – on its own and together with undercoat. I have been able to let the billowy silkiness of the undercoat fibers shine through the orderly outercoat fibers. Finally I have enjoyed displaying the contrast between undercoat and outercoat, creating a range of yarns full of lovely surprises.

Singles yarns woolen spun from outercoat and undercoat carded together. The yarns have been lightly fulled.

Use

Traditionally Åland wool has been used for a wide variety of things – knitting yarn for hats, socks, mittens and sweaters. Weaving yarn for everyday clothing for men and women, interiors like pillows, sheets rugs and curtains. Even sails. It has also been waulked.

When I look at the list and yarn samples above, adding the possibility of yarns from semi-separated fiber types it is easy to see the wide variety of uses of a fleece like the Åland fleeces I have described. Anything from the softest next-to-skin garments, through sweaters, mittens and other accessories, outerwear and strong warps. By tailoring the yarn with different fiber type content you can make socks with extra strong yarn for heels and toes. Just like it has been used by Ålanders for centuries.

The woolen and worsted yarns with both outercoat and undercoat are allround yarns suitable for sweaters and outerwear with their combination of strength and warmth. They could also work well in weaving as warp (worsted) and weft (woolen).

The singles samples are despite their singleness and low twist strong through the long outercoat fibers and could work for any accessory that doesn’t involve too much abrasion, and of course as a weft yarn in weaving.

A Z-plied woolen spun yarn from hand-carded rolags of white Åland wool, intended for two-end knitting.

I haven’t come so far as to plan a project, but I do have plans to continue with a Z-plied yarn for two-end knitting with the white fleece. With the grey fleece I am leaning towards separating the fiber types. Outercoat fibers of this length is quite unusual in my experience and I would love to take advantage of that. A warp yarn from the outercoat and soft knitting yarn from the undercoat is my plan at the moment.

Live webinar!

his Saturday, April 9th at 5 pm CET (world clock here) I will host a live breed study webinar about Åland wool from a spinner’s perspective. In the webinar I will talk briefly about the breed in Sweden, wool characteristics and how I prepare, spin and use Åland wool. I will use Åland wool during the webinar and show you glimpses of how I prepare and spin the wool.

The webinar has already taken place

Even if you think you will never come across Åland wool this is still an opportunity to learn more about wool and wool processing in general. The breed study webinar will give you tools to understand different wool types and apply your knowledge to breeds and wool types closer to you.

This is a wonderful chance for me to meet you (in the chat window at least, I won’t be able to see you) and for you to see me live and unedited. The previous live breed study webinars I have done have been great successes. I really look forward to seeing you again in this webinar.

You can register even if you can’t make it to the live event. I will send the replay link to everyone who registers for the webinar. Remember, the only way to get access to the webinar (live or replay) is to register.

Happy spinning!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • You are also welcome to make one-off donations on my Ko-fi page.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how
  • Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
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Gestrike wool

One of the ten Swedish conservation sheep breeds is Gestrike sheep. Today’s blog post and an upcoming breed study webinar are all about Gestrike wool. This is my tenth breed study. Previous breed studies have been about Gotland wool, Gute wool, Dalapäls wool, Värmland wool, Jämtland wool, finull wool, rya wool, Klövsjö wool (blog post only) and Åsen wool.

This Saturday, October 23rd at 5 pm CET I will host a free live breed study webinar on Swedish Gestrike wool! I will share my experiences with the wool from a spinner’s perspective.

The webinar has already taken place

Gestrike sheep

Like all the other Swedish conservation/heritage breeds, the Gestrike sheep is named after the region where it was (re-)found and established as a unique breed. So, Gestrike sheep were found in just a few flocks in villages in County Gästrikland in the 1990’s. The flocks had been grazing in the area for many generations.

According to the statistics from the Swedish sheep breeders’ association there were 173 breeding ewes in 25 flocks in 2020. The ewes way around 45 kg and the rams 60–70 kg. They can be white, grey, black, brown or spotted. Some lighten with age. The wool is predominantly of rya type – about 50/50 of outercoat and undercoat.

Gestrike sheep on shearing day. The sheep with the blackest face just left of the center is Elsa, described below.

Gestrike sheep are very good at grazing in tight vegetation and therefore perfect for forest grazing. They can get very affectionate and cuddly.

Gestrike wool characteristics

As a heritage/conservation breed, the breeding standards don’t allow crossing with other breeds or breeding for specific characteristics, including the fleece. So, as with the rest of the conservation breeds the fleece from Gestrike sheep is quite heterogenous.

My experience of Gestrike wool is mainly from three individuals – Elin, Elsa and Gunvor from Claudia Dillmann’s flock. Claudia has been a member of the board of the Swedish sheep breeders’ association for some years, with a responsibility for wool and skin.

Gestrike wool can have very soft and airy undercoat and long, strong and shiny outercoat. Some have a little kemp. Some can have. rougher mane fibers. Lamb’s wool is finer than wool from older individuals. This together with the many colours and the possibility of wool lightening with age gives a spinner an enormous spectrum of spinning possibilities – soft knitting yarn, strong warp yarn, fine, bulky and a broad palette of colours.

The characteristics I choose to focus on when I spin Gestrike wool are:

  • Rusticity. Gestrike wool is rustic. Still, not necessarily coarse. I would consider it a medium wool with no fuss. What you see is what you get with Gestrike wool. Triangular or conical shaped staples with outercoat and undercoat fibers. Rustic, straight and straightforward.
  • Lightness. Despite staples of up to 25 centimeters the Gestrike fleeces I have encountered have never felt heavy. On the contrary, they have a lightness to them that is very appealing. The undercoat is very airily distributed around the outercoat fibers and keep the sheep warm and cozy.
  • Versatility. With the different fiber types, a wide spectrum of colour possibilities and different wool qualities in sheep of different ages there are few things you can’t do with Gestrike wool.

Elin

The first time I met Gestrike wool was in the shape of Elin. My friend Claudia Dillmann who has a small flock of Gestrike sheep wanted me to get to know the breed she loved. So on a rainy day I hopped on my bike and collected Elin’s fleece.

Gestrike wool from the sheep Elin.

Elin’s fleece is of mainly rya type wool (50/50 or 40/60 of outerocat to undercoat) but leaning towards vadmal wool (mostly undercoat and a little outercoat). Her undercoat is very fine and outercoat strong and with an overall light feeling. I can see some but not many kemp fibers in this fleece.

Fine undercoat fibers, coarser outercoat fibers and quirky kemp fibers in Gestrike wool.
Fine undercoat fibers, coarser outercoat fibers and quirky kemp fibers in Gestrike wool.

I have demonstrated Elin’s fleece in the free webinar The hand spinner’s advantage and also on the 2021 Kil sheep fest.

Gunvor

One night about six months ago a baby idea woke me up, pinching me to get my attention. The baby idea said to me, with great conviction: “Make a longitudinal study of the fleeces of one single sheep!”. What’s a spinner to do? I contacted Claudia and asked her if I could adopt the shearings of one of her sheep. Claudia thought it was a great idea and offered me Gunvor, a lamb born in May 2020. I happily accepted Gunvor and got her first (October 2020) and later second fleece (April 2021).

Gunvor and her lamb’s fleece.

The undercoat of Gunvor’s lamb’s fleece is almost as soft as on Elin’s fleece. It has some white kemp that falls out quite easily. The wool is very easy to work with. Some of the black staples are very long, around 25 centimeters, and the black wool seems slightly finer than the white wool. The black wool also has less kemp.

  • Gunvor the Gestrike sheep in April 2021, a few weeks before the second shearing.
Gunvor and her second shearing in May 2021.

The second shearing is a bit coarser than the lamb’s fleece and a bit lighter – it seems like Gunvor’s spots are fading with age, which will be interesting to observe.

Elsa

Elsa is my newest Gestrike fleece, shorn in early October this year. She is also a member of Claudia’s flock of Gestrike sheep. She also happens to be Elin’s daughter. Grey in different nuances and all the staple types represented, from mainly outercoat staples to mainly undercoat staples. The main wool type is rya type wool, though, with a 50/50 undercoat to outercoat ratio. The fleece has no kemp.

Elsa’s lovely grey fleece has all the staple types.

To learn about the four wool types in Swedish sheep breeds, read this blog post.

Gestrike wool for sale!

Claudia had her sheep shorn only last week (more about the shearing day in an upcoming post) and she has fleeces for sale! Eight Gestrike fleeces and two Värmland fleeces. They are remarkably clean and of high quality. Crotch and belly wool has been removed and also poopy bits and visible vegetable matter.

The fleeces come as they are, raw. The lanolin content in the Swedish landrace and heritage breed is quite low and they can be washed in water only.

Again, all the four Gestrike fleeces I have come from Claudia’s flock and I have seen all the shorn fleeces she is selling now. I would buy them all if I had the time and the space.

If you want to buy a fleece from Claudia’s flock you can email her: claudia (at) saxensorter dot se

The sale of the fleeces brings in money to keep the sheep happy and fed during the winter.

Preparing in general

With a wool in so many different colours, staple types and hands it is easy to see how Gestrike wool can have a very wide variety of preparation, and spinning techniques. Add to this the age spectrum where fleece from an older individual can be coarser (and stronger) and lighter in colour than a the one from a younger individual. Considering all these aspects there are numerous ways to dissect a Gestrike fleece:

  • fiber type (undercoat or outercoat)
  • staple type (ratio of undercoat to outercoat in the staples)
  • staple length
  • fiber fineness
  • different colours and shades of the same colour.

This makes wool from a breed like Gestrike sheep very versatile. With a flock of Gestrike sheep the sheep farmer has material from coarse rugs to the finest lace shawls in all the natural colours.

The Gestrike wool I have experienced is quite light and open. Preparing it is a true joy. It melts like butter in both combs and cards. My heart sings through processing. The fleeces from Claudia’s sheep has very little vegetable matter.

Preparing in particular

I have plans for all of the Gestrike fleeces in my stash.

  • I have started to card rolags from Gunvor’s lamb’s fleece (after teasing with combs). To take advantage of her spots I have sorted the colours in heaps of white, black and mixed.
  • The second shearing from Gunvor’s fleece will probably also be carded and sorted by colour.
  • I am planning to separate undercoat from outercoat on Elin’s fleece. I will then card the undercoat and comb the outercoat.
  • My plan for Elsa’s fleece is to divide it by staple type. I think I can get enough of each staple type to get four very different qualities. If there is enough I may also sub-sort by fiber fineness and/or staple length. I will probably card the heaps with more undercoat and comb the ones with more outercoat.

So, between the four fleeces I have I have plans to sort them in up to five different ways.

Spinning

As you can imagine, with fleece from a breed with so many options for dissecting and preparing, there are equally many ways to spin. Here are my plans for the fleeces I have.

  • I’m spinning a super bulky 2-ply yarn from Gunvor’s lamb’s fleece in black and white. I have spun bulky woolen singles from hand carded rolags on a floor supported spindle and plied it on a spinning wheel. You can read more about the spinning process for this yarn here.
  • Gunvor’s second shearing will be part of a rya rug project as pile yarn (you can read about a previous rya chair pad project here). A low twist, high ply and lightly fulled 2-ply yarn that will stand the abrasion in a rya rug.
  • With Elin’s fleece I’m planning to spin a worsted spun singles warp yarn and a woolen spun singles weft yarn for weaving and fulling.
  • Elsa’s fleece has so many options and I’m planning to spin lots of different yarns from the preparations of the heaps of different staple types.
  • The Gestrike sheep Gunvor's lamb's fleece is slowly turning into chunky skeins of super bulky yarn.
    The Gestrike sheep Gunvor’s lamb’s fleece is slowly turning into chunky skeins of super bulky yarn.
  • Soft woolen undercoat weft yarn and strong outercoat warp yarn from Elin’s fleece.

Using

With the wide variety of staple types available in Gestrike wool it is easy to understand that you can use the yarn for a wide variety of projects – warp and weft for woven fabric, rugs, socks, mittens, sweaters, shawls and more. The undercoat fibers from a soft lamb’s fleece would definitely be a candidate for next to skin garments.

  • The Sirwal pants in super bulky Gunvor Gestrike lamb’s wool are coming along slowly.
  • I’m experimenting with Elin’s outercoat warp yarn and undercoat weft yarn for weaving.

I am slowly knitting up the legs of my Moroccan snow shoveling pants. I run out of yarn quite quickly since it’s so bulky and the 5.5 mm needles aren’t really silky smooth knitting, but the fabric is just wonderful in my hands. Bulky, warm and safe with a soft smell of lanolin.

Live webinar!

This Saturday, October 23rd at 5 pm CET (world clock here) I will host a live breed study webinar about Swedish Gestrike wool from a spinner’s perspective. In the webinar I will talk briefly about the breed in Sweden, wool characteristics and how I prepare, spin and use Gestrike wool. I will use Gestrike wool during the webinar and show you glimpses of how I prepare and spin the wool.

The webinar has already taken place.

Even if you think you will never come across Gestrike wool in particular this is still an opportunity to learn more about wool and wool processing in general. The breed study webinar will give you tools to understand different wool types and apply your knowledge to breeds and wool types closer to you.

This is a wonderful chance for me to meet you (in the chat window at least, I won’t be able to see you) and for you to see me live and unedited. The previous live breed study webinars I have done have been great successes. I really look forward to seeing you again in this webinar.

You can register even if you can’t make it to the live event. I will send the replay link to everyone who registers for the webinar. Remember, the only way to get access to the webinar (live or replay) is to register.

Happy spinning!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • You are also welcome to make one-off donations on my Ko-fi page.Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
Posted on

Old blog post: Webinars

I am enjoying my vacation and have no new blog post for you today. Instead I give you a replay of a previous blog post where I take you behind the scenes of my live webinars. You see me for one hour or so on the screen, but there is a lot more going on before and after. In case you haven’t attended any before, a webinar is a seminar or other presentation that takes place on the Internet, allowing participants in different locations to see and hear the presenter, ask questions and comment. They are powerful tools to meet and share information and skills.

Here are two previously live streamed webinars you can watch:

About four times a year I livestream webinars, usually in a breed study series of Swedish sheep breeds from the spinner’s perspective. I have no new webinar coming up at the moment. If you registered for the webinars when they were live-streamed you have them. If not, you are more than welcome to read about the breeds I have covered so far:

Finull sheep. Photo by Dan Waltin
Finull sheep. Photo by Dan Waltin

Happy spinning!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • You are also welcome to make one-off donations on my Ko-fi page.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
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Åsen wool

Åsen sheep is one of the ten Swedish conservation breeds. Today’s blog post and an upcoming breed study webinar are all about Åsen wool. This is my ninth breed study. Previous breed studies have been about Gotland wool, Gute wool, Dalapäls wool, Värmland wool, Jämtland wool, finull wool, rya wool and Klövsjö wool.

The webinar has already taken place.

Åsen sheep

Åsen sheep is one of the ten Swedish heritage breeds. This means that it is protected in gene banks and that the sheep farmers in the gene banks are not allowed to breed for specific characteristics, like the fleece. Therefore the fleece can vary a lot in a flock and in an individual.

The Åsen sheep were found in the 1990’s on three farms in the village of Åsen in county Dalarna. The flocks had been kept on the farms for many years with no interference from other breeds.

Åsen sheep. Photo by Ylva Örtengren.

Åsen sheep are one of the forest sheep breeds and quite small. Ewes weigh 40–50 kg and rams 50–55 kg. The rams usually have beautiful horns. In 2020 there were 465 breeding ewes registered with the Swedish sheep breeder’s association, in 55 flocks.

Wool characteristics

As most of the other Swedish heritage breeds, the wool of Åsen sheep can vary greatly between individuals and within one single individual. Some individuals have kemp in their fleece. Kemp is a hollow fiber that is designed to keep the staples upright to protect the sheep from rain running in to the skin. Usually the wool from Åsen sheep is easy to work with.

A wide variety of wool types are represented in this breed – pälsull type (mostly outercoat with a little undercoat), rya type (about 50/50 of outercoat and undercoat), vadmal type (mostly undercoat with a few strands of outercoat) and finull type (almost only undercoat).

Locks of different wool types from different individuals of åsen sheep.
Locks of different wool types from different individuals of Åsen sheep in one flock – from mostly outercoat wool to mostly undercoat wool.

The colours

The colour can vary from white to black with all the greys in between. Many sheep are born dark and lighten with age. So within a flock of sheep of different age there can be a wide variety of colours and shades. It is easy to see that you can spin a wide variety of yarn qualities and colours from a flock of Åsen sheep.

This ewe has three wool types in her fleece – rya wool type (left), finull wool type (middle) and vadmal wool type (right).
This ewe has three wool types in her fleece – rya wool type (left), finull wool type (middle) and vadmal wool type (right). You can see some kemp in the staples to the right.

Vadmal type wool

One of my favourite wool types is the vadmal wool type, with mostly undercoat fibers and just a few strands of outercoat fibers. Usually the staple is triangular in its shape, with a wide and airy undercoat base and a thin outercoat tip.

Mostly vadmal type wool in the staples from this Åsen ewe.

I contacted a shepherdess, Ylva, who has a flock of Åsen sheep. I asked her to get me samples of the different varieties of wool found on her sheep. And she delivered. She had fastened staples on cards with information about the sheep and some thoughts about the wool. You can see some of the samples in the images above.

The main characteristics

When I explore a fleece I want to get to the core of it. I look for the characteristics that I think represent the soul of the fleece. Every fleece is unique, but for the sake of these breed study webinars I choose characteristics that I think can work for the breed as a whole. The characteristics I chose for the Åsen wool fleeces I have worked with are

  • The versatility – there can be a wide variety of staple types in one single fleece. Across a flock there can also be a wide colour range from white to black.
  • The kindness – Åsen wool has a kind air to it. The soft but still a little rustic wool, the open staples and the gentle sheen.
  • The vadmal type staples. I do have a weak spot for this staple type. There is so much you can do with it!

Sample batches

From Ylva’s sample cards I found two favourites, the fleeces from sheep 16010 and 12002. The first two digits in the numbers tell the year the sheep were born. I specifically looked for the vadmal wool type, with most undercoat fibers and just a few strands of outercoat fibers. I asked Ylva if she could send me larger batches of them, which she could.

12002 – a little kemp, a little curl

I found all staple types in this Åsen fleece – from mostly outercoat to the left to mostly undercoat to the right.
I found all staple types in this Åsen fleece – from mostly outercoat to the left to mostly undercoat to the right.

In this fleece I found all the staple types, from mostly outercoat fibers to mostly undercoat fibers. However, the vast majority of the staples lean toward the more undercoaty edge of the range with finull type and vadmal type wool in the forefront. The staples aren’t very long, around 10 centimeters. It is mainly white but does have some light grey spots. Chances are that this sheep was born black.

12002
Fleece 12002, raw (left) and soaked in water (right). Shorn in the fall 2020.

The staples have a lovely shine and are somewhat silky to the touch. They are soft to touch while at the same time having just a brush of rusticity to them. I see that kindness I talked about earlier – this fleece is easy to work with and doesn’t make a lot of demands. It is kind and gentle. The staples are open and easy to draft.

When I see and feel this fleece I imagine woolen spun yarn for warm sweaters and an occasional hat.

16010 – a dream of vadmal wool

This fleece is a little bit rougher than 12002 above. The staples are considerably longer, around 18 centimeters with undercoat fibers 10 centimeter long. It is a lot more consistent with almost entirely rya type and vadmal type wool and a mix between the types. The fleece is creamy white and I see only a few black kemp fibers. The fibers are almost straight. This wool is a bit clingy to draft.

16010
Fleece 16010, raw (left) and soaked in water (right). Shorn in the spring 2020.

This fleece was shorn in the spring. Usually the spring shearing is of lesser quality than the fall shearing. This has a number of reasons, like lots of vegetable matter due to the sheep being indoors, pregnancy, cold and less fresh food. Ylva keeps her sheep outdoors all year round and they only seek shelter when they need to. This means that they don’t stand and lie in straw all winter. This fleece is clean and with a lovely quality.

Staples of Åsen wool. Most of them are of rya or vadmal type or in between.
The staples from this Åsen fleece were more consistent. Most of them were of rya or vadmal type or in between.

One technique that comes to mind when I feel this fleece is nalbinding. The soft and airy undercoat fibers will give the yarn warmth while the long and strong fibers will add strength. This wool felts easily, which is another excellent characteristic since I like to full my nalbinding projects for extra strength and windproofing.

Preparation

I chose the fleeces with the vadmal type wool because it is such a lovely type of wool to work with. Mostly soft, but with a little outercoat fibers to keep the fluff in order and add some strength. This wool type is quite rare and my heart sings whenever I dig my hands into a fleece with lots of vadmal type staples. The name vadmal type refers to the fact that a wool with this kind of undercoat to outercoat ratio is particularly suitable to weave for wadmal cloth, a thick broadcloth to keep you warm through the winter.

Åsen wool carded into fluffy rolags.
Åsen wool carded into fluffy rolags. This is from the first Åsen fleece I ever bought. It was a couple of years ago and my first fleece from Ylva’s flock.

While it is fully possible to separate the undercoat and outercoat fibers I choose to work with the fiber types held together. I want to card and spin a woolen yarn. With the majority of the fibers being soft and airy I get the warmth I want, and the few outercoat fibers will elegantly marry these together and add strength and stability to the yarn. So I tease the wool with combs and card rolags.

Spin

Carded rolags like these are just itching to be spun with an English longdraw. The short and airy undercoat fibers will make the draw light while the longer outercoat fibers will add just a little resistance to prevent the rolag or the yarn to fall apart.

A 2-ply tarn with low twist from åsen wool.
The resulting yarn from the rolags above. The skein has long since crossed the Atlantic and is in Sara Wolf’s safe knitting hands. Read more about her knitting samples in Knit (spin) Sweden!

I choose to keep quite a low twist here. I want to show off the wool and all its superpowers and keep the spinning simple. Doesn’t this skein portray a perfectly kind wool?

Use

The whole range

With the wide variety of staple types available in Åsen wool it is easy to understand that you can use the yarn for a wide variety of projects – knitted mittens, sweaters, hats as well as weft yarn for weaving. If you find a fleece with enough outercoat fibers warp yarn is definitely possible too. I know an Åsen shepherdess who spins both weft and warp and sews beautiful garments with the wool from her flock. The undercoat fibers from a soft lamb’s fleece would definitely be a candidate for next to skin garments.

Fulling

Coming back to the wool type vadmal wool – a fulled sample is a very good idea with a fleece like this. Such a lovely way to explore a fleece.

Woven square, 2-ply yarn and fulled square (from a woven square same as to the left) from Åsen sheep 16010. The fulled square took me less than five minutes to full to size.
Woven square, 2-ply yarn (that I didn’t have time to finish) and fulled square (from a woven square same as to the left) from Åsen sheep 16010. The fulled square took me less than five minutes to full to size.

As the fleece of sheep 16010 felt a bit clingy to draft I suspected that it would felt easily, so this was my wool of choice for a fulled sample. I wove a 10 x 10 cm square on my pin loom and started to full with hot water and some dish soap. It took me less than five minutes to full my woven sample to the size above. So I was right, the fleece was a very good candidate for fulling. In this I need to remind myself that wool preparation is a fresh produce, especially with a fleece that is this prone to felting – I will only card as much wool as I need for the day. Carded wool saved for the next day may well felt just by breathing too close to it.

It was a long time since I made something in nalbinding and I think a yarn like this would be a very good candidate. The airiness in the outercoat fibers brings warmth to the garment while the outercoat fibers will give the yarn strength. Just as with the previous nalbinding projects I have made I would full a pair of Åsen mittens. I know the felting properties of the wool and I can’t wait for winter.

A kind wool for teaching

One of my students carding Åsen wool, happy as a clam.

Once I brought Åsen wool to a spinning course. I had several other breeds for the students to choose from, but the Åsen wool was by far the most popular choice, especially for the carding classes. Again, this is a kind and gentle wool. I also believe that some of the students contacted Åsen sheep farmers to buy Åsen wool after they had finished the course.

Happy spinning!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
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New online course and webinar

Last week I told you I would have a big announcement this week, and I do: This Saturday, September 19th I will launch my new online course Know your fleece. It is a course in wool knowledge that is presented in five themed modules. The same day I will host a free live webinar where I talk about the handspinner’s advantage. In the webinar will also talk about the online course and give you a special offer.

Preview of the course promo for the online course Know your fleece. Enrollment opens on September 19th.

Close to 300 of you have taken the five-day challenge Fleece through the senses that I launched two weeks ago (the challenge is evergreen and open for enrollment). Last week I wrote about how participants in the challenge have appreciated the mindful approach to wool that is presented in the challenge. In addition to that, a lot of the students who accepted the challenge say they have gained a new way to look at fleece after the challenge.

The hand spinner’s advantage

As hand spinners we have the opportunity to look for the essence of a fleece and make the most of it. We can choose to divide the fleece on the basis of colour, fiber type or staple type or make one yarn quality from the whole fleece. We can investigate and find the superpowers of the fleece and make it shine.

We have an advantage, a privilege and an opportunity to get to know the fleece. By exploring a fleece we can make choices for preparation and spinning that are based on our knowledge and experience as spinners.

To me, this is a happy place. I want to be with my hands and my mind in the fleece and discover its hidden treasures. The joy of finding the soul, the essence of a fleece is what drives me to create this course. To me, working with a fleece gives me as much joy and peace of mind as spinning. It is not just something I go through to get to the spinning part. The degree to which I get to know the fleece determines how well I can portray it in a way that makes it justice. The sheep has given me the fleece and I want to make it shine. This perspective is what I want to share with you.

New online course: Know your fleece

Know your fleece, a new online course. Enrollment opens on September 19th.
Know your fleece, a new online course. Enrollment opens on September 19th.

In the course Know your fleece you will join me on my journey from fleece to yarn with the help of five Swedish sheep breeds –Gotland sheep, Gute sheep, Klövsjö sheep, Helsinge sheep and Dalapäls sheep. I invite you to investigate a fleece of your choice through five assignments. This means a lot of work for you but at the same time lots of opportunities to learn more and get a deeper understanding of working with fleece in general and your fleece in particular. I invite you to explore, investigate and be curious about the fleece you have in front of you. There is no right or wrong in this. Your fleece is unique, just as your skill level and the wool preparation and spinning tools you have available.

The purpose of this course is for you to feel more confident in handling raw fleece and planning the process from fleece to textile. The goal is to produce a wool board to use as a guide for preparing and spinning your chosen fleece.

The course is organized in five themed modules with assignments where you work with your fleece and document your findings. After the course you will be able to use your wool board as a guide when you process the rest of the fleece. The work and time you invest in exploring the fleece now will bring you closer to the essence of your fleece and to making it shine.

Requirements

To take the course you need to feel comfortable in spinning yarn and you need basic knowledge in wool preparation. This is not a spinning course and not a course in wool preparation. It is a course in wool knowledge.

Material

You need:

  • a washed* fleece to work with during the course
  • Tools for wool processing – hand cards, combs, flick cards etc. You don’t need all of the tools and not from the start. Perhaps you can borrow some from a spinning friend or from a nearby guild or buy along the way.
  • Knitting needles
  • An area to work by where you have room for your fleece.
  • Time! Invest time in this course to work with your fleece.

*You can by all means choose to work with an unwashed fleece. However, the course doesn’t cover fleece washing.

What you will get

When you enroll in the course you will get

  • videos with five Swedish sheep breeds
  • a video tour of the Swedish fleece championships
  • a video where I visit a shepherdess
  • five assignments
  • an ebook version of the course
  • downloadable assignment checklists
  • useful links to further reading.

The total playing time of the videos is over 5 hours. The videos are fully captioned in English.

Launch webinar

Two yarn types in ten colours from one single fleece. The hand spinner has the advantage to find the superpowers in a fleece and make it shine. Register for The hand spinner’s advantage – a live webinar about what a fleece can teach us.

(the webinar has already taken place)

The course launches on September 19th, which also happens to be World wide spin in public Day! To celebrate the launch and the special day I will host a live webinar for you! The theme is The hand spinner’s advantage. In the webinar I will talk about

  • what a fleece can teach us
  • how we as hand spinners can make the superpowers of a fleece shine
  • a mindful approach to working with fleece.

I will also talk about the online course Know your fleece. There will be a special course offer in the webinar. The offer is time-limited and you might want to stick around until the end of the webinar to get access to the offer. But regardless of whether you buy the course or not I hope you will enjoy the theme of the webinar!

The webinar streams live on September 19th at 5 pm CET.

The webinar has already taken place

So, to sum up– here are ways to help you decide whether you want to buy the course or not:

I hope to see you on the webinar!

Happy spinning!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram. I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
Posted on

Finull wool

Two-end knitted mittens from finull yarn. Photo by Dan Waltin

The first wool I ever dug my hands into was the fleece of Pia-Lotta the finull sheep (Swedish finewool). Finull wool is my home wool, the wool I feel I know the the best. Finull sheep is one of only three wool breeds in Sweden – breeds where wool is an important part of the breed standards. In this sixth part of my breed study of Swedish sheep breeds from the spinner’s perspective I will share my experience with finull wool. Previous posts have been about Gotland wool, Gute wool, Dalapäls wool, Värmland wool and Jämtland wool.

This Sunday, June 7th at 5 pm CET I will host a free live breed study webinar on Swedish finull wool! I will share my experiences with the wool from a spinner’s perspective.

Wool staples from the finull sheep Karin from Glada fåret sheep farm.
Wool staples from the finull sheep Karin from Glada fåret sheep farm.

About finull sheep

Finull sheep is the first sheep I got to know as a spinner. To me, it is the way a sheep looks, the mother of sheep if you will. I’m sure you have a “home” breed too that you measure all other sheep against.

Finull sheep stem from the Swedish landrace that has grazed Swedish pastures for centuries. It didn’t become it’s own defined breed until the 1980’s. Therefore it shares the common history of the Swedish landraces.

Finull lambs.
Sweet finull lambs in a small-scale shepherding course I took in 2014.

A bit of Swedish sheep history

The landraces

The Swedish landraces were the only sheep in Sweden until the early 16th century. They most probably originate from the North European short-tailed sheep. They had different kinds of wool with both soft undercoat and coarser outercoat and provided Swedish farmers with carpets, vadmal and coarser textiles. Finer textiles couldn’t be produced with wool from the Swedish landraces. King Gustav Vasa ordered import of “bum sheep (rumpefår) which would mean the fat-tailed sheep from Germany, Great Britain and later Spain, with finer wool. For 300 years Sweden imported these breeds to varying degrees of success. The aim was to exterminate the “harmful Swedish sheep”, but the attempts failed. The farmers needed the coarse wool for the necessary textiles they had always produced.

Decrease, more decrease and increase

During the industrial revolution sheep farming decreased – Sweden imported cheap wool and especially cotton to the spinning mills. Many of the imported breeds and their crosses were removed and replaced with cows. During the First World War the demand for wool from the Swedish landraces increased again. The mills in Sweden couldn’t produce the same kind of lustrous textiles that were found in the museum collections. Breeding was then aimed at saving the old landrace and isolated flocks of Swedish landraces were found in remote areas of Sweden.

Some of these refound flocks had fine wool with lots of shine. They may be a result of crossing the landrace sheep with imported Spanish Merino sheep in the 18th century. The finer wool was also found in Finland (which at the time was part of Sweden). Thetra sheep with finer wool were crossed, first and foremost with Finnish landrace sheep, the first time in 1938. During the Second World War the demand for meat breeds increased and the pure-bred landraces decreased again. In the 1970’s the interest in Swedish landraces increased again and the Swedish finull sheep association was founded in the 1980’s.

Finull sheep. Photo by Dan Waltin
Finull sheep. Photo by Dan Waltin

Finull sheep today

Swedish finull sheep are fertile and usually get between 2 and 5 lambs. They are quite friendly and calm. The ewes weigh 50–70 kg and the rams 80–100 kg. The statistics from 2019 say 2115 breeding ewes in 161 flocks, but there are lots of finull flocks outside of the sheep breeder’s association too. A lot of finull sheep are also crossed with other breeds – Gotland sheep, texel sheep, rya sheep, Dorset sheep (Findor) and East Frisean milk sheep are common.

Finull sheep are white (61 %), black (23 %) and brown (17 %). The brown sheep have a higher resemblance to the Finnish landrace with a bigger variety in wool fibers, coarser wool and wool on the top of the head.

Wool characteristics

Finull sheep is one of the three Swedish wool breeds – breeds where wool is an important part of the breed standards. The other two are Jämtland sheep and Rya sheep (coming up soon). It is also one of the breeds that has a part in the new breed Jämtland sheep.

The shepherd intern and I go through the finull lambs and look for the best fleeces.
A shepherd apprentice and I go through finull lambs and look for the best fleeces. Photo by Dan Waltin.

Finull wool is soft, fine and shiny with a high crimp. The difference between undercoat and outercoat is very small. Swedish finull is popular among both hand spinners and Swedish spinning mills. The mills use finull for soft finull yarn but also to mix with Gotland wool since Gotland wool is too slippery to go through the carding machines unmixed.

Finull wool. Photo by Dan Waltin

Since finull is a wool breed there are standards and statistics for the wool. The staples are around 5–9 cm (when shorn twice a year) with an average crimp count of 8 crimps per 3 cm. The shine is around 4 of a scale of 1–5. The standards for the breed encourage breeding for shine, staple and crimp evenness. The micron count should be 20–30 microns and the wool should be even across the body of the sheep.

Most finull sheep are shorn twice a year. I have seen one or two whole-year finull fleeces, but that is an exception. A whole-year fleece will most probably break or felt.

Me shearing the Swedish finewool (finull) sheep Pia-Lotta.
Me shearing the finull sheep Pia-Lotta, whose lamb’s fleece was my very first wool.

At a course in small-scale shepherding I took back in 2014 I got to shear Pia-Lotta the finull sheep, the sheep whose lamb’s wool was that first wool I spun. You can see more of the wool from this shearing in one of my earliest videos Slow Fashion – from sheep to sweater.

Main characteristics

The main characteristics, the superpowers, of finull wool that I want to enhance in a yarn are the shine, softness and crimp.

  • Finull wool has a clear and soft shine that I find unusual in a wool with such a high crimp. It takes dye beautifully and reflects the light in a lovely way.
  • The fineness and softness of the fibers make finull wool a perfect wool for next-to-skin textiles.
  • The high crimp gives the finished yarn an appealing elasticity.
Sweet staples of finull wool.
Sweet staples of finull wool.

Preparing

Finull wool is a perfect candidate for carding – the short and crimpy finull staples make plush rolags that are screaming to be long-drawn.

Teasing and carding

I never card unteased wool. I could tease by hand, with combs or with a flick card. As much as I love teasing by hand and with combs, my method for teasing finull wool will be with the flick card. The tips of the fine fibers can be brittle and break in the carding process (especially if there is dirt in the tips), and leave unwanted nepps. If I tease the staples with the flick card, any breaks will stay in the flick card.

Brittle and/or dirty finull tips break and stay in the flick card. The teased wool is quality controlled and ready for carding.
Brittle and/or dirty finull tips break and stay in the flick card. The teased wool is quality controlled and ready for carding.

This process may seem tedious (and it is), especially considering the short and very thin staples that can be a bit fiddly. However, the time spent flick carding is definitely worth the effort. I end up with soft, even and consistent rolags.

When I have teased the staples I card the cloud as I usually do.

  • I load the stationary card with the wool, using only the amount of wool that will stick to the carding pad. I remove any excess.
  • To make sure all the wool gets carded I leave a 2 cm frame of the carding pad empty. If I load all the way to the edge there is a risk that the wool “leaks” out on the side and doesn’t get carded at all.
  • I card three passes using very light strokes.
  • When the wool is carded I make a rolag of the batt with the help of the free card and the back of my free hand. I make a last roll of the rolag between the cards.

Spinning

I spin finull with a longdraw. Finull fleeces are consistent throughout the body of the sheep and I can make a larger project from one single fleece. Since the wool is so fine and quite short I try to spin with a higher twist than I usually do.

Finull wool spun with English long draw from hand-carded rolags and 3-plied.
Finull wool spun on a spinning wheel with English long draw from hand-carded rolags and 3-plied.

I spin finull wool with a supported spindle, a Navajo spindle (for singles) or a spinning wheel. The draft is smooth and viscous in the loveliest way. Again, this is the wool I feel the most at home with.

Finull singles spun on a Navajo spindle.

Use

I use finull yarn for lots of things, but most preferably next-to-skin garments. Since the wool is so fine I don’t usually use it for more resilient products. I have tried, though. And failed.

Two-end knitted mittens from finull yarn. Photo by Dan Waltin
Two-end knitted mittens from finull yarn. Photo by Dan Waltin

One of the first “real” yarns I spun was a Z-plied yarn for a pair of two-end knitted mittens. The yarn was way too loosely spun and the yarn broke a number of times during the knitting process. I did felt the finished mittens to make them sturdier. They have worn out on the thumbs now, though, and been carefully mended.

One of my favourite garments is my Sides and stripes sweater (design by Veera Välimäki). The yarn is the blue 3-ply above spun from a truly beautiful finull fleece. I spun the yarn with English longdraw from hand-carded rolags and the yarn turned out amazingly consistent.

Sides and stripes sweater, knitted in 3-ply handspun finull yarn. The orange stripes are handspun from Jämtland wool.

Live webinar!

This Sunday, June 7th at 5 pm CET (world clock here) I will host a live breed study webinar about Swedish finull from a spinner’s perspective. In the webinar I will talk briefly about the breed in Sweden, wool characteristics and how I prepare, spin and use finull. I will use finull during the webinar and show you glimpses of how I prepare and spin the wool.

Even if you think you will never come across Swedish finull this is still an opportunity to learn more about wool and wool processing in general. The breed study webinar will give you tools to understand different wool types and apply your knowledge to breeds and wool types closer to you.

This is a wonderful chance for me to meet you (in the chat window at least, I won’t be able to see you) and for you to see me live and unedited. The previous live breed study webinars I have done have been great successes. I really look forward to seeing you again in this webinar.

You can register even if you can’t make it to the live event. I will send the replay link to everyone who registers for the webinar. Remember, the only way to get access to the webinar (live or replay) is to register.

The event has already taken place

Stay safe and happy spinning!

You can follow me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
Posted on

Webinars

This weekend I live streamed a webinar – a breed study of the Swedish breed Jämtland sheep from the spinner’s perspective. Webinars are powerful tools to meet and share information and skills. Today I invite you to my studio and the making of a breed study webinar.

This webinar is about Jämtland wool.

Webinar content creation

A webinar is a seminar or other presentation that takes place on the Internet, allowing participants in different locations to see and hear the presenter, ask questions and comment.

The first thing to think about in the making of a webinar is the content: What should the webinar be about? At the moment I am making a webinar series of breed studies of Swedish sheep breeds from the spinner’s perspective.

Subject and crafting

I pick the breed I want to talk about. Preferably a breed I have worked with and have fleece available for. I also want it to be a breed from which I have made something of the yarn to show you. If I haven’t I need to prepare that too – I want to be able to show you the whole process from fleece to a finished textile or at least a sample of some sort.

A woman working on a computer by an office desk.
There is lots of preparation work to create the content for a webinar.

I also take photos for the blog post. The photos, especially the close-ups, are important for both the blog post and the live stream. I have only one camera in the webinar and it doesn’t do close-ups very well. With the close-up photos in the blog post my viewers can go back to the blog post if they missed details in the webinar.

Outline

I have the same basic outline for all my webinars – I talk briefly about the breed and then I go on to preparation, spinning and use of the wool of that breed. I want to show the steps in the process from fleece to project. To me the preparation of wool is the most important thing – the steps I take early in the process have consequences for the end result. I show different ways to prepare and spin the wool and how they affect the end result.

The content I fill my outline with is the base of that week’s blog post and is also the starting point of my webinar script. My hope is that the video webinar together with the written blog post will fit as many learning styles as possible.

Administration and tech

There is a lot of administration and tech to be done before a webinar, but I’m slowly getting the hang of it now.

  • I write emails to invite followers to the webinar. I also write emails to those who register. A couple of days before the webinar I write reminders. To have everything ready I also compose the emails to send after the webinar – the link to the replay and a feedback email. During this period I also answer a lot of emails from followers. For one webinar I send roughly 2500 emails. I use an email marketing and automation platform to help me with this.
  • I set up the registration – a registration page, registration form and automations to send the right emails to the right people in the right order.
  • To show glimpses of what you can expect from the webinar I make a promo video with the most important information.
  • I also publish a blog post that covers the topic of the webinar.

Rehearsing

I want to have control of what I am doing and usually rehearse three times before a webinar. I do this as if it were a real webinar – I set up my studio and record a private live stream. This way I rehearse both the webinar and the studio set-up. It also means that I can watch the live stream afterwords to see if I need to make any adjustments. In the rehearsing phase I can fine tune the order of things and placement of tools in the studio.

As part of the rehearsing I decide on what to wear for the live stream. I want to wear something handspun, preferable from the breed I talk about in the webinar. It should also be in a colour that contrasts to the yarn I’m spinning. A light sweater behind white fiber wouldn’t be a good idea. As a former Sign Language interpreter I am always aware of the importance of good contrast between my hands, the wool and the background behind them (=what I wear).

I chose a shawl in Jämtland wool for the Jämtland webinar. I carefully planned how I wore the shawl so that the tail wouldn’t be in the way of or cover the fiber hand.

The webinar studio

I use a king size bed sheet for a backdrop, a studio light, some extra lights and a microphone. That’s it. It seems like a very simple studio set-up, and it is. However, every time I need to transform my home office to a live stream studio it is quite a lot to remember.

A room with a desk with computer screens, studio light, script holders and baskets of wool and spinning tools.
The studio is set up for a live stream!

The image above seems like your ordinary messy home office. All of the things and gadgets in the image have a purpose in the live stream, though. Let’s go through it:

The studio map.
  • The backdrop provides a calm background. It also covers the busy shelf and whiteboard behind it. A while ago I bought real grown-up curtains to keep the sun out. The window faces west and in the light months I need to pull the blinds down as well. In May or June I even place a parasol outside the window to block the sunlight.
  • The microphone is essential for a good and comfortable sound. Do pay attention to the fancy pop filter. I used to have a bug with a chord, but I didn’t like being attached to the computer while at the same time spinning. Just imagine the amount of things that could go wrong! I bought this new microphone for money I got from my patrons. My 17-ear-old is very envious.
  • Light is of course essential too. I have light from above and from the front plus my studio ring light from the side. These three light sources together minimize the shadows and give a pleasant picture.
  • I place the chair as far back as I can so that my lap shows. In my webinars I do a lot of carding and if I should sit closer to the screen you wouldn’t be able to see the cards. I need to sit quite high for my lap to show and therefore I need a foot support.
  • During the webinar I use lots of tools like cards and combs and I need them organized and close at hand. I keep the wool in a basket, my tools in another basket, the knits under the stool and processed wool in a bowl on the table. I use a felt board to display wool and yarn on.
  • The script is of course important too. I make one page for each section of the webinar and everything is organized in mind maps.
  • The computer screen is where I can see myself as you see me. I can also see the chat window where you write nice things and clever questions.
Mindmap script for my Värmland webinar.

And we’re live!

Ok, it’s Webinar Day. This means that I spend all day in a daze. I am a nervous wreck and quite annoying to the rest of the family. I go through the Imposter syndrome over and over and again. Who am I to do this? Why should people listen to me? But I also tell myself that I know what I am doing and that I am well prepared.

I set up the studio one hour before show time, which is way too early. But it helps me deal with my emotions which skip up and down like balls in a pinball machine. Hopefully I remember to spend the extra time meditating to ground myself. Ten minutes before the webinar starts I start the live stream to check sound and video. It also gives me a chance to chat with the early birds and get comfortable in the studio.

I come early to the webinar and spin with the first viewers.

When I start the webinar I am totally there, with you. It is a great feeling to have you there with me while at the same time in so many different parts of the world.

By the time I do the live webinar I am quite familiar with the script and I’m not nervous. I have prepared enough to know what I am talking about and how to make smooth transitions between different sections. What I am not prepared for, though, are your questions. You can ask me anything live and I quickly need to find a reasonably intelligent and suitable reply. Everybody doesn’t have the same frame of reference and I may need to explain and elaborate on terms or concepts I present. This is quite an adventure and I learn something new every time.

The chat window is full of love and dedicated spinners.

It’s funny, the hour before I start goes so slowly and once it’s webinar o’clock time flies. I have such a lovely time with you, doing what I love. All the hours I have spent up to this moment have had a purpose and paid off. The feedback I get from you is overwhelming.

When things go wrong

Sometimes things don’t go as I have planned. Everything is rehearsed and structured, but when something happens during the live stream I need to make fast decisions. Usually it is the tech that goes wrong. For every webinar I make the nagging sensation is always there: Will the tech goddesses treat me well this time? The very thing that makes this kind of production even possible is also the thing that can totally ruin it.

On one of my first webinars I couldn’t for the life of me find the go live button when the webinar was supposed to start. I got really frustrated and didn’t know what to do. I ended up postponing the webinar 24 hours and by then I knew what to do.

In the Jämtland webinar this past Sunday all started well. I got in early and chatted with people. Three minutes before scheduled time the webinar was shut down by YouTube due to “Violation of community guidelines”. I still don’t know why. I tried to get back and to move the webinar to Facebook, but with no luck. Instead I scheduled a new webinar for 24 hours later. To be on the safe side I recorded a private live stream (Monday morning 6:30 am) to send if the second try would fail. But everything worked out and we had a lovely Monday webinar.

It’s a wrap! The webinar is finished and I am full of endorphins.

Post production

When the webinar is over I am totally exhausted and at the same time overjoyed and full of endorphins. I finish the replay email and add links I have mentioned in the webinar or that viewers have asked for. I answer more emails, usually lovely ones. A week or two later I send out the last email asking for feedback to make future webinars better.

I hope to see you in upcoming webinars! I plan to make at least one more before summer.

Happy spinning!

You can follow me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
    If you like what I do, please tell all your fiber friends and share these links!
Posted on

Jämtland wool

The newest sheep breed in Sweden is Jämtland sheep. The purpose of the breed is to have a meat sheep with wool that can be a Swedish alternative to the tons of merino wool we import from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. This is the fifth part of my breed study of Swedish sheep breeds from the spinner’s perspective. Previous posts have been about Gotland wool, Gute wool, Dalapäls wool and Värmland wool.

This Sunday, March 22nd at 5 pm CET I will host a free live breed study webinar on Jämtland wool! I will share my experiences with the wool from a spinner’s perspective.

I am aware that this is very short notice. However, considering the situation in the world, I think we need a live webinar now more than ever.

A framed board with a wool staple and a tuft of carded wool. Letters saying Jämtland wool at the top of the board.
Whole year’ staple of Jämtland wool.

About Jämtland sheep

Stop the waste

A lot of Swedish wool is being wasted. At the same time we import tons of merino wool from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. The owner of a Swedish wool manufacturer in Jämtland in Sweden questioned this system and wondered if there was a way to use Swedish wool for his products. The problem, though, was that Swedish wool was coarser and would be scratchy in the next-to-skin garments that his company made. The idea of a Swedish alternative to wool import was born.

A new breed

As a result of this, a project started in 2004 where merino ewes were imported and crossed with fine fibered Svea ewes. Svea sheep is a Swedish meat breed which is a cross between the meat breed Texel and the Swedish landrace finewool sheep. Swedish finewool does have some merino in them from crossing with the merino sheep that we had in Sweden in the 18th century. In 2010 the Jämtland sheep was presented as a new breed at the world merino conference.

A pile of fine fibered white wool with high crimp.
Unwashed Jämtland wool.

Jämtland sheep has increased in popularity as both a meat bread and a wool breed. Statistics say that there were 382 breeding ewes in 20 flocks in 2019. Rams weigh 90–120 kg and ewes 80–110 kg. This is a lot heavier than the landraces and conservation breeds I have presented in earlier breed studies. The micron count lies between 17 and 23.

Long locks of very fine wool and lots of crimp.
Jämtland wool has the crimpiest crimp.

Fashion industry

Jämtland wool has become very sought after in the fashion industry. Several companies have produced clothes made in Jämtland wool. One problem is that the demand is bigger than the supply. A clothes manufacturer may want larger quantities than the sheep farmers can provide. The garments that have been sold have been produced in small quantities with social, environmental and ethical aspects considered.

Knitters and spinners

Many of the Swedish spinning mills today produce yarn with Jämtland wool and the products are popular among knitters.

Jämtland fleece is also very popular among handspinners in Sweden. In the past few Fleece Championships Jämtland wool has been placed in its own category. The shepherdess I usually buy my Jämtland fleeces from probably has more championship medals than she can count.

Jämtland wool characteristics

Two hands holding a grey long fine fibered staple of wool. Two piles of fleece in the background.
Jämtland wool at the 2019 Swedish fleece championships. Whole year’s fleece to the left, autumn shearing to the right. The white fleece got a silver medal in the Jämtland category.

Jämtland wool is very fine fibered and has high crimp. In contrast to most merino, Jämtland wool also has a beautiful shine. The staples are uniform over the length of the staple and over the body of the sheep.

A microscope picture of wool fibers. Fine and even.
Jämtland fibers enlarged.

Since Jämtland sheep has a lot of merino in them the fleece is generally very high in lanolin, at least compared to the Swedish landraces I’m used to.

I have bought all my Jämtland wool from Birgitta Ericsson, a shepherdess who covers her sheep and shears them once a year. The cover is probably necessary to be able to manage a whole year’s fleece, especially considering the high degree of lanolin.

A dark grey fleece wit fine fibers.
Unwashed staples of grey whole year’s Jämtland wool. Photo by Dan Waltin.

The superpowers

When I see a fleece I want to get to know it and find its superpowers. I look at the different characteristics and choose three that I feel represent the fleece and that I want to let shine in a yarn and garment. The main characteristics I see in Jämtland wool are:

  • The softness of the fibers. They are dying to be worn next to your skin.
  • The crimp. It is hard to take your eyes off the crimp of these staples and I want to make the crimp justice in the yarn I spin.
  • The shine. Jämtland wool generally has a lovely shine that in my experience is unusual in this fine type of wool.

Preparation and spinning Jämtland wool

Washing

Before I go into wool preparation I need to talk a bit about washing. I wash Jämtland wool a lot more brutally than any of the other breeds I spin (I wash other Swedish breeds in water only). Now that I have learned the terminology in English I can safely say that I scour Jämtland wool. I bundle up the long staples and tie them with yarn and put them in a pot. I use lots of detergent and hot water. When the wool is dry I can remove the yarn ties. This method takes away enough lanolin for me to be able to handle the fibers without too much fuss.

Combing and worsted spinning

The first fleeces of Jämtland wool I processed I combed. To avoid breakage I flick carded the ends of the staples first and hand-combed with my mini-combs. This resulted in beautiful, lofty bird’s nests with lots of bounce. I spun these fluffy balls worsted on my spinning wheel.

One issue with fine fibers like these in combination with the dry air in large parts of Sweden is static electricity. When I comb the long fibers they point in every direction possible and make the aligning of the fibers very difficult. I solve this by spraying a mixture of water, coconut oil and a drop of detergent on the staples. This calms them down a bit. The coconut oil is soluble in low temperatures and comes off easily when you wash the yarn.

If there is still a lot of lanolin in the fibers I place the bird’s nests near the fireplace to make it more fluid and cooperative.

2-ply laceweight Jämtland yarn, combed and worsted spun.

From the fold magic

One day I decided to try to spin the long Jämtland staples from the fold. The length was perfect and I thought why not? The second the fibers merged into the drafting triangle from its folded position over my index finger it dawned on me: This is how this Jämtland wool wants to be spun.

A hand holding fibers folded over the index finger. Fibers are going from both sides of the fiber into the spinning twist.
Spinning from the fold. The fibers come into the twist in a wider angle. Since they come into the twist from the middle of the fibers they strive to unfold.

When you spin from the fold you double the staple over your index finger and spin from the middle if the fibers. What happens when you spin from the fold is this:

  • The fibers come into the drafting triangle from a wider angle. In this, more air coms into the yarn.
  • The folded fibers strive to unfold, which also results in more air in the yarn.
Flick carded staples of whole year’s Jämtland wool spun from the fold on a supported spindle and 2-plied.

Spinning from the fold is not a spinning technique, it is just a different way to hold the yarn. Thus, you can spin both woolen and worsted from the fold.

Five pieces of yarn on a board and a staple of wool. The leftmost yarn is sleek and thin. The yarns become more fuzzy and airy towards the right.
Different preparation and spinning of Jämtland wool. From the left: 2-ply combed and spun worsted on a suspended spindle, 2-ply spun worsted from the fold on a suspended spindle, 2-ply spun woolen from the fold on a supported spindle, 3-ply spun woolen from the fold on a supported spindle, 2-ply spun woolen from hand-carded rolag on a supported spindle.

Carding and woolen spinning

I would not recommend carding fibers in this whole year’s length. The fine fibers would most probably break and result in nepps in the yarn. Shorter fibers would be excellent to hand-card with fine cards. The fine fibers and high crimp would be excellent for a soft woolen spun yarn.

Use

I have used Jämtland wool for lots of different purposes – sweaters, half-mitts and shawls. It is perfect for next-to-skin garments and accessories. Due to the fine fibers Jämtland wool is not suitable for projects that will wear a lot.

A woman standing against a tree. She is wearing a grey sweater with white sleeve ends and white hem. The yoke has a stranded knitting spinning wheel pattern.
Grey yarn from the grey Jämtland fleece above. White yarn from Swedish fihewool. Photo by Dan Waltin

The dark grey yarn in the sweater above is worsted spun from hand-combed tops of Jämtland wool. You can see the whole process in this video (available in Swedish too). I knit the sweater in 2015 and I recently had to mend the elbows.

A woman walking on a path. She is wearing a thin asymmetrical turquoise shawl with drape.
Laceweight worsted spun Jämtland yarn in Martina Behm’s Viajante design. Photo by Dan Waltin

In my experience Jämtland wool looks best in fine yarns – lace weight or fingering weight. The shawl above is spun as a lace weight. The shawl below is the leftover yarn from the shawl above.

A girl holding up a turquoise lace shawl. The shawl has a spider at the top.
I got some lace weight yarn left and made a spider shawl for my daughter back in 2015. Photo by Dan Waltin

Live webinar!

This Sunday, March 22nd at 5 pm CET (world clock here) I will host a live breed study webinar about Jämtland wool from a spinner’s perspective. In the webinar I will talk briefly about the breed in Sweden, wool characteristics and how I process, spin and use Jämtland wool. I will use Jämtland wool during the webinar and show you glimpses of how I process and spin the wool.

Even if you think you will never come across Jämtland wool this is still an opportunity to learn more about wool in general. The breed study webinar will give you tools to understand different wool types and apply your knowledge to breeds and wool types closer to you.

This is a wonderful chance for me to meet you (in the chat window at least, I won’t be able to see you) and for you to see me live and unedited. The previous live breed study webinars I have done have been great successes. I really look forward to seeing you again in this webinar.

You can register even if you can’t make it to the live event. I will send the replay link to everyone who registers for the webinar. Remember, the only way to get access to the webinar (live or replay) is to register.

Register for the webinar here!

Happy spinning!

You can follow me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
    If you like what I do, please tell all your fiber friends and share these links!
Posted on

Spindle ergonomics

A woman spinning on a supported spindle.

In March this year I launched my online course Spin on a supported spindle. On launch night I hosted a live webinar on spindle ergonomics. I have now edited the webinar and it is available for free in my online school.

Take me to the spindle ergonomics webinar!

As a spinning teacher I want my students to be able to spin comfortably. Sometimes it is difficult to understand why something hurts or feels uncomfortable. In the webinar I take you through some of the most common problems in spindle spinning in general and supported spindle spinning in particular. The webinar is an excellent way to learn more about my course Spin on a supported spindle and to see what my teaching style is like.

  • In the webinar I talk about the difference between pushing and pulling the spindle and what effects it has on your spinning process.
  • I talk about sharing the strain so that you can spin for a long time without pain.
  • I also talk about the online course Spin on a supported spindle – the content, course outline and practical information.
  • The offers and prices in the webinar are no longer valid.
A woman holding up a spindle.She is wearing a knitted sweater with spinning wheels on it.
In the webinar I talk about pushing and pulling the spindle and about sharing the strain.

The video quality is not what you are used to from my videos. It has to do with the fact that the webinar was a live stream and that I did it indoors with less than optimal lighting. This was my live webinar world premiere. However, in the editing I have improved both light and sound to the best of my ability.

Captioning

The whole webinar is captioned (subtitled) so that you can read what I say. My only choice was to burn in the captions, so if you are annoyed by them there is nothing I can do about it. The captions are very important to me because they make my content accessible to a larger audience. Several students have told me that they wouldn’t have been able to take my courses without the captioning.

Patron pledges

Captioning courses is the single most time consuming part of my business. I would say that one video minute takes at least ten minutes to caption, probably more. However, thanks to the pledges from my patrons I have now been able to pay a captioning service to caption my courses and webinars for me. This takes a huge load off my shoulders while at the same time it makes my videos accessible to a wider audience.

I have also been able to buy a proper studio light for the Patreon pledges to give you a better visual experience in my upcoming online courses and webinars. A big thank you to all my patrons! Your contributions are really important for the development of my business.

If you are not already a patron and want to contribute to this, have a look at my Patreon page! You can choose different levels with different patron rewards. I have also added a couple of higher tiers if you want to pledge more, but with no extra rewards.

A bundle of joy

Now you have a whole bundle of resources to dive into regarding supported spindle spinning:

  • The free online course in How to pick a supported spindle and bowl. The course gives you tools to decide which supported spindle that is the best one for you. In the course you will also get a pdf with a list of spindle makers that I can recommend.
  • This webinar. You will learn about spindle ergonomics, particularly in supported spindle spinning. I don’t want my students to be uncomfortable when they spin. You will also learn more about the paid course (see below) and see what my teaching style is like.
  • The course Spin on a supported spindle. It has three different pricing tiers. Find the one that suits you the best.
  • If you are not sure if you want to invest in my paid course you can buy the ebook that is based on the course Spin on a supported spindle. It has no video or audio, but it is a start.
  • Videos and blog posts.

Spindle ergonomics webinar

A woman spinning on a supported spindle.
Enjoying the spindle ergonomics webinar!

Happy spinning!

You can follow me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
    If you like what I do, please tell all your fiber friends and share these links!
Posted on

Gute wool

2-ply yarn of Gute wool, spun with longdraw from hand-carded rolags.

In the spring 2019 issue of Spin-off magazine I wrote an article on sorting fleeces of Gute and Gotland wool. A few weeks ago I covered Gotland wool in a blog post and a live webinar. In this post I will look a bit closer at Gute wool.

This is the second part in a breed study series with live webinars. I look at Swedish breeds to start with and from the spinner’s point of view. A bit about the breed, the characteristics of the wool, how I prepare and spin it and what I want to do with the finished yarn.

Next Saturday, May 25th at 5 pm CET I will host a live webinar where I share my thoughts and experiences on Gute wool.

Gute sheep

Gute ewe at the Skansen outdoor museum
Gute ewe at the Skansen outdoor museum in Stockholm. I love how Gute sheep look almost like an oil painting in their faces.

History

The Gute sheep is a rustic breed and the oldest sheep breed in Sweden. It derives from the horn sheep or Gotland outdoor sheep in Gotland. In the 1920’s a breeding program started, aiming for a hornless sheep that was adapted to meat and pretty skins. This resulted in the Gotland sheep. Around 10 horned sheep were saved, though, and were used to restore the old horn sheep. Some of these sheep were moved to Skansen outdoor museum in Stockholm and their descendants are still at the museum today.

The name was changed to Gute sheep. Gute is an abbreviation of the Gotland outdoor sheep (Gotländskt utegångsfår), and it also refers to a person that has lived in Gotland for at least three generations.

Gute sheep today

A major part of the conservation program for Gute sheep was to keep the genetic variation of the breed. This means that the breed has not been improved. Gut sheep have a big genetic variation. The breeding standards emphasize breeding for all the breed specific characteristics and discourage breeding for or against specific characteristics.

There are around 1500 lambing Gute ewes in Sweden today in 107 flocks according to the Swedish sheep breeders’ association (2018).

The Gute sheep is a symbol of the island of Gotland. Gute ram parking barriers are a common sight in the medieval city of Visby in Gotland. Photo by Dan Waltin.

Wool characteristics

Gute wool has a wide variety of qualities, from very fine undercoat to black kemp. There is a wide variation between individuals and also over the body of one individual. This makes Gute sheep ideal for a small household. Go back a hundred years and see yourself as a small farmer with lots of different kinds of wool for lots of purposes from only a small flock of Gute sheep.

Gute wool has a long outer coat of around 40 micron, a very fine undercoat of around 17 micron and kemp. All these fiber types are present all over the fleece, but to varying degrees. The long and strong outer coat protects the sheep from wind and rain and the fine undercoat keeps the sheep warm. Kemp keeps the staple open and perpendicular to the body of the sheep. This protects the sheep even further from wind and rain and lets even more air in to the staple to keep the sheep warm. There is basically no crimp in the wool. The colour can vary over the body and over the staple.

Gute wool from one individual. The sheep has long and strong overcoat, fine undercoat and kemp over the whole body, but to varying degrees.
Gute wool from one individual. The sheep has long and strong overcoat, fine undercoat and kemp over the whole body, but to varying degrees.

Gute sheep have some primitive characteristics left, one of which being rooing. This means that they naturally shed their wool once a year, usually in the spring or early summer. The fiber thins out and eventually breaks to pave the way for a new fiber. The different fiber types are rooed at different times. A shepherd who knows this can choose to shear the sheep at a specific time depending on which fiber type is being rooed.

Processing

I like to find the superpowers of a fleece and take advantage of these when I prepare and spin it. When I wrote the article for Spin-off I played with different preparation and spinning methods to find the best yarn for the Gute fleece I had.

Since the kemp keeps the staples open, Gute wool is light. I wanted to keep this lightness in the yarn that I spun. I could comb the fiber to make a strong yarn, but when I tried that I just enhanced the coarseness of the wool and it felt more like rope. That may have made a wonderfully strong and rustic rug yarn, but that was not what I was after.

Sampling and swatching

Since the three different fiber types are depending on each other for their respective characteristics, I wanted to keep them together. Therefore I wanted to card them and spin a woolen yarn. For extra lightness I wanted to spin with low twist and 2-ply it. This resulted in a very pleasant sample with a rustic feeling. Below are the samples I made for the Spin-off arcticle. The felted swatch comes from a 10×10 cm woven sample. I love how the yarn felted – very evenly and with a nice touch to it.

Samples and swatches of Gute wool.
Samples and swatches of Gute wool.

Flicking tips

To tease the wool before carding I flick carded the tip and cut ends. When I looked at the staples after flick carding I saw something interesting. I found a lot less kemp in the flicked staples, especially at the cut end. A lot of kemp was stuck in the flick card.

After flick carding the staples a lot of the kemp was left in the flick card.
After flick carding the staples a lot of the kemp was left in the flick card.

This means that the kemp alone had been shed. If you look at the picture above with all the staples in length order you can see the shedding point (the rise) at around 2 cm from the cut end.

In a previous blog post I used my combs to tease the locks before carding. I think using combs for teasing would take away too much of the fine undercoat. By using the flick card I only open up the staples and remove some of the kemp.

Rise and yield

So, the cut end of the kemp was now in the flick card. Left in the staple was the rooed end and the tip end, both thinly tapered rather than straight angle cut. This means that my yarn would be less itchy than a Gute yarn with the cut ends in the yarn. How come? Well, a yarn is itchy if it makes the skin yield to the fiber. If instead the fiber yields to the surface of the skin, the yarn doesn’t itch. Since the kemp ends are thinly tapered, the fibers will yield to the skin. By all means, this is still a rustic yarn that is more itchy than, say, a merino yarn, but the yarn I spun is surprisingly comfortable against my skin.

Carding

After having flicked the staples I carded rolags. Gute wool is wonderful to card, It feels light and airy, but still rustic. There is sort of a fudge-like feeling to carding Gute wool – slow but still smooth. I did use the wrong hand cards, though. Since I card mostly fine wools I have a pair of 108 tpi (teeth per square inch) cards. I contacted my supplier, but the 72 tpi cards were out of stock. The 108 tpi cards are not ideal for Gute wool, but they do a decent enough job.

I carded the flicked staples and made rolags. Photo by Isak Waltin.
I carded the flicked staples and made rolags.

There was a lot of kemp waste on the floor after I had carded the flicked staples. The kemp has quite a prominent medulla (the central core of the fiber, consisting of air-filled cells) and therefore breaks easily.

Ok, my 16-year-old just read this post over my shoulder and was convinced I had made half of the words up. He basically rofl-ed.

How I card

To load the stationary card, I just gently pull them onto the teeth of the card. I gently stroke the wool with the active card. I make 6 strokes for each pass, transfer the wool and make another two passes. I roll the carded batt off the stationary card and make a rolag with the help of the back of my hand. One final roll of between the cards and a baby rolag is born.

Newborn Gute rolags.
Newborn Gute rolags.

If you want to dive into carding, here is a video where I card rolags, start at 4:12.

Spinning

Spinning Gute wool in the morning sun. Photo by Isak Waltin.
Spinning Gute wool in the morning sun. Photo by Isak Waltin.

I wanted a yarn that had as much air as possible in it. I also wanted a yarn that would resemble the function of the wool on the sheep as much as possible – strong and durable, yet still light and airy. Therefore I spun the carded rolags with longdraw at a low ratio for a low twist yarn. The longdraw captures a lot of air between the fibers and the low twist makes sure the air isn’t squeezed out in a tight twist.

2-ply yarn of Gute wool, spun with longdraw from hand-carded rolags.
2-ply yarn of Gute wool, spun with longdraw from hand-carded rolags.

I got the result I wanted – a remarkably light and airy yarn that is still strong and has a really rustic feeling.

A quick comparison with Gotland wool

Let’s go back a few steps here. Remember I told you that Gute sheep and Gotland sheep have the same mother, the horn sheep? The breeding of Gotland sheep was aimed at pretty skins with lots of shiny outercoat and very little undercoat. This makes Gotland wool very dense. Aiming to find the superpowers of a wool, I spun the Gotland wool into a shiny, dense and thin yarn and the Gute wool into a light, strong and rustic yarn.

Below are the Gute and Gotland yarns side by side. They are the same length and the same weight. Gute wool has a lot more undercoat than Gotland wool, but still less undercoat than outercoat. The kemp helps keeping the Gute yarn open and airy.

Gute and Gotland yarn. Both are around 100 m and 45 g.
Gute and Gotland yarn. Both are around 100 m and 45 g.

Looking at these two skeins makes me wonder if the breeds have anything to do with each other at all. But they do. And the picture tells me that it is possible to find the superpowers of a fleece and make them truly shine in a yarn.

Use

I used the Gotland wool in a project that would show the shine and the drape of the yarn. With Gute wool I want to enhance the sturdiness, the lightness and the warmth.

Knitted swatch of Gute yarn.
Knitted swatch of Gute yarn.

While the Gute yarn knits up evenly and very appealing, I was really intrigued by its felting abilities.

A woven and felted swatch from Gute wool.
A woven and felted swatch from Gute wool.

The Gute fleece I bought consists of many qualities and lengths. Dividing the fleece to suit different purposes is appealing. But my plan now is to spin it all up like I have with this first skein and weave a simple tabby pattern. I want to take advantage of the splendid felting abilities and full the fabric into a vadmal material, hopefully in a fulling mill. I can’t imagine I will get enough fulled fabric for a jacket, but perhaps a vest! With handsewn buttonholes. Wouldn’t that be something?

Live webinar!

This Saturday, May 25th at 5 pm CET (world clock here) I will host a live breed study webinar about Gute wool from a spinner’s perspective. I will talk briefly about the breed in Sweden, wool characteristics and how I process, spin and use Gute wool. I will use my Gute fleece as a case study and show you glimpses of how I process the wool.

This is a chance for me to meet you (in the chat at least, I won’t be able to see you) and for you to see me live and unedited. The previous live breed study webinar I did was a great success. I can’t wait to see you again in this webinar.

You can register even if you can’t make it to the live event (I’m sorry Australia and New Zealand, I know it is in the middle of the night for you). I will send the replay link to everyone who registers for the webinar. So register now!

The event has passed

Happy spinning!

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