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Yak, Mongolian, Churro and Zwartbles Fibers

Yak, Mongolian, Churro and Zwartbles Fibers

Our Guest Artist/Author today is Zara Tuulikki Rooke sharing her experience with some exotic fiber samples.

The Felting and Fiber Studio Forum is an excellent place to exchange ideas and experiences with other felters and fiber enthusiasts around the world. In addition, I have also done a couple of fiber swaps with other members on the forum. I have sent wool from our Swedish sheep breeds and have, in return, received a wonderful variety of fabrics and different types of wool and other fibers that can be used for felting. Now I have tried felting some of the exotic wool that I have received from Nada, Zed and Marilyn.

Nada, who lives in Slovenia, very kindly sent me Yak wool, which she got directly from nomads from Tibet. Apparently, Yaks have three different types of fibers; long and thick hairs forming the outer coat (79-90 microns), an intermediate type (20-50 microns), and a very fine and dense wooly undercoat (16-20 microns). The softness/fineness of the yak undercoat is comparable to the better known cashmere wool (which is a fine undercoat of goats). This particular carded batt also included some coarser fibers, but most of it was very fine wool. I laid out two thin layers of wool, on a 20 cm x 20 cm ( 7.87 x 7.87″) surface, put on a piece of cotton gauze, and attempted to felt it.
1 Yak

The Yak wool was surprisingly easy to felt. It quickly shrank down to a compact square of 10 cm x 10 cm (3.94 x 3.94″), and the fabric has felted in firmly. The coarser fibers give the felted piece a hairy appearance and reduce the softness, but I can imagine how luxurious pure, soft undercoat wool from Yak must be.

2 Yak

Zed, who lives in England, sent me some carded wool labeled “Mongolian.” A search on the Internet showed that there are quite a few local breeds of sheep in Mongolia, and crosses with imported breeds with finer wool. I found an article titled Sheep breeds of Mongolia describing 15 of their indigenous breeds of fat-tailed carpet-wool sheep. Our Swedish native breeds belong to the group Northern short-tailed sheep, while the sheep in the group fat-tailed sheep are adapted to harsh environmental conditions and are common in Africa and Asia.
Sheep breeds of Mongolia link:  http://www.fao.org/docrep/U4900T/u4900T07.htm#TopOfPage

I didn’t get any closer than that in the identification of the wool, but the carded wool feels like a mixture of coarse and slightly finer fibers, mostly black or dark brown (perhaps sun-bleached) with occasional white fibers. To be able to compare this to other wool, I chose the same method as I have used to make previous samples, i.e. 10 g of wool laid out in four thin layers to cover an area of 20 cm x 20 cm, and on top of it a piece of gauze. The wool was very easy to felt and full, and shrank to 12.5 cm x 12.5 cm (4.92 x 4.92″). Compared to Swedish wool, the felted piece feels similar to those I felted with wool from our landrace breeds Klövsjö and Åsen, although slightly rougher to the touch.

Previous samples can be seen here:  http://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2015/11/25/different-types-of-wool-from-a-swedish-felters-perspective/

3 Mongolian

Marilyn, who lives in the US, sent me wool from the American breed Navajo-Churro. The breed has its origin in the Spanish breed Churra, which the Spaniards brought with them when they colonized, what is now, the southwest of USA. Navajo Indians got hold of the sheep and saw a value in the wool, from which they made carpets and other weaved textiles. The breed’s origins, near disappearance and subsequent rescue, and its significance for Navajo culture and textile crafts, is a really interesting read. More on that can be found at The Navajo-Churro Sheep Association and The Navajo Sheep Project.

The Navajo-Churro Sheep Association link:  http://www.navajo-churrosheep.com/sheep-origin.html
The Navajo Sheep Project link:  http://navajosheepproject.com/churrohistory.html

The Navajo-Churro have a variety of colors, and three types of fibers. About 80% of the fleece consists of undercoat wool (10-35 microns), and the rest is coarser outer coat hairs (35+ microns) and less than 5% kemp (65+ microns). This wool was also easy to felt and full, although it didn’t shrink quite as much as the above. The final size was 15 cm x 15 cm  (5.9 x 5.9″), and it has quite a hairy appearance. In the photos below you can see the pure white kemp fibers that do not felt. But I like the rustic look and the different tones in the brown wool.
4 Churro

Zed also sent me some wool from Zwartbles sheep, which is a breed from the Netherlands, primarily used as meat and dairy sheep. The wool is black to sun-bleached brown, and the sheep have a white blaze on the face (hence the name “black” + “blaze”) and white socks on 2-4 legs. Pictures and more information about the breed can, for example, be found on The Zwartbles Sheep Association link.

http://www.zwartbles.org/

The wool is described as medium to fine (around 27 microns), thick and springy with a good crimp, and popular for spinning and felting. The latter surprised me, because to me this wool personifies all the descriptions I have read about wool from meat breeds, which are generally considered difficult to felt. It is really spongy and bulky, without any shine, and even makes a slightly crunchy sound when you handle it. I would describe this wool as something that should be excellent to use as pillow stuffing. But maybe it works well for needle-felting, and I actually found some examples on the internet where people vowed that it was good for wet-felting. So, I had to give it a try. It was not easy to press the wool down and start the felting process with soap and water, but after a while, the fibers began latching into each other. Then I tried fulling, with a little rougher handling, and then it started to disintegrate completely. The very loosely felted and spongy piece is the same size as it was from the beginning, and I am astonished that piece keeps together at all. Different types of wool definitely have their different uses, and this would not be my first choice for wet-felting.
5 ZwartblesZara, thank you for your insightful and detailed analysis of these fibers!

To Sample or Not to Sample

To Sample or Not to Sample

This isn’t as exotic as sampling Swedish wools, but it was a lesson in the benefits of sampling.

A while ago I had showed you a pile of scarves, blouses and remnants I had purchased to try nuno felting.

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While they all passed the “blow”  test or looked or felt like they would felt well, there were a couple of big surprises.

When I make samples, I usually use prefelt and small samples of each of the fabrics on the same piece.  This way they are all felted the same way in the same amount of time in the same way.

Here is a picture of a couple of them before felting.  The upper left was an open cotton weave, the upper right was a scarf of unknown origin.  The lower left was a remnant that was sparkly with some embroidery and the lower right was part of a silk blouse.

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This isn’t a very clear picture below,  but the second from the left was the one scarf I purchased I thought was perfect for nuno and was looking forward to using it on something special.  To the left of that on top was a scarf that felt like it had some lycra in it below was a piece of lace and sequin on some type of mesh. The third from the left was an organza with sparkle.

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Boy was I mistaken.  After all the others were felted I continued to work on the flower and sparkly pieces, but they wouldn’t felt.  I was really glad I didn’t invest in a big project to use the flower scarf.  I even tried it on another piece of felt. You probably recognize the purple on the left that I used for my jewelry roll.  The scarf on the right also felted nicely.  I even used some wisps of wool on top of the flowers, but they clumped together and there were only a couple of threads on the flower piece that caught.

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Here’s a closeup of the right one.

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The other samples turned out nicely. The blue green and red were silk and the gold a polyester organza.

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The one on the right below was a burnout fabric which surprised me it felted so well. On the left a silver gray polyester organza.

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The blue on the left was a piece of lycra which didn’t do well either, but I wasn’t surprised at that. Above that was a piece of acrylic yarn that felted nicely.

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The blouse felted very nicely and I’m sure I’ll use that for a special project in the future.

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I was also surprised at the sequin and mesh.  I thought that also had a lycra base.  I loved how the mystery blue scarf turned out.  It has a shine and felt like a polyester with something else.  It has a very nice texture.

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My favorite was the brightly colored scarf.  Now, I wish I had yards of it instead only part of a scarf.

20150509_131214I don’t always do samples, but if I want to use something for an important project I’ve learned its best to take the time to do it.

Now I know what to expect when I use these fabrics and which ones not to use for felting. Although a couple of them might work with coarser wools.  But that’s for another time.

More WOW Samples

More WOW Samples

I tried more samples of the fibers Cathy and I had ordered from World of Wool back in February.

I chose six of the fibers to try.  Three dark, three light. I used two layers in each of them.

2015-05-15 14.05.03Its not obvious from the fiber layout, but there were some big differences in the feel of each.

From the top left to right:

Black Welsh                            White South American with Rose Fiber embellishment

Light Gray Swaldale               White Faced Woodland

Gray Massam                            White South Down Top

The Black Welsh was coarse to the touch. White South American  was very soft with a longer staple. The Swaledale was soft and variegated.   The White Faced Woodland was soft. The Grey Massam was soft as roving.  The White South Down top was soft and had some black fibers running through it.

After felting to a prefelt stage:

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The Black Welsh was softer  and lighter than expected.  The White South American was soft, and more compacted than the others.  It felt more like merino. The Rose fiber melted right into it.

The Swaledale was bristly to the touch, but light and only slightly spongy. It wasn’t as variegated once felted. The Woodland was the thickest of the samples slightly coarse and very spongy.

The Massam was flatter and firmer than all of the samples and coarse but had soft finish, very hairy. The South Down Top  was spongy and not as soft as the White South American. This was the only one to show any shrinkage during the process.

Grey Massam
Grey Massam
South American with Rose Fiber
South American with Rose Fiber
Grey Swaldale
Grey Swaledale
Black Welsh
Black Welsh

I haven’t used any of these fibers in a project yet, but am curious if any of you have and what for.  I purposely made prefelt so I could use it later and not waste the fiber.

I’m currently traveling, so if I don’t respond immediately please be patient.

 

Sampling with New WOW Fibers

Sampling with New WOW Fibers

Cathy Wycliff (Luvswool) and I placed an order with WOW last month.  A real treasure  of new fibers to try.  But we had a dilemma, do we make samples or wait for a project.  Cathy had a good idea to make samples to the prefelt stage. This way we’d have an idea of what the properties were of each of the fibers, but could still use them in future projects.

Cathy did the first few samples.  The first photo shows all 3 samples — White Woodland, Jacobs Fleece and South Down.

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The second photo is Jacob’s fleece with rose fiber embellishment. The fleece is coarse and scratchy and not an easy felter. It reminds me very much of the Hebridean wool roving I purchased in the Scotland isles. The rose fiber easily felted and finished with a brilliant sheen. It’s gorgeous against the dark brown/black Jacob’s wool.

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South Down  is next and the and beneath is Whiteface Woodland–very little difference in look or feel or felting ability. Both were were medium coarse felters. All three base fibers were felted only to the pre-felt stage.

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I decided to try different fibers since we had a variety to choose from.  I was very surprised at the differences between the feel of the fiber and the end results.  Here are all four before felting.  Top left is White Eider, top right is White Norwegian, lower left is Oatmeal Blue Faced Leicester and lower right is Manx.

2015-04-01 15.55.12The Manx ( top) had a staple of about 4-6 inches and was soft with a very slight crimp or coarseness.  I used a half ounce of fiber for each sample. The Oatmeal BFL (bottom) was similar to merino during the layout.

2015-04-02 15.08.11 2015-04-02 16.42.25 2015-04-02 16.40.40Sorry the photos aren’t great.  I use my phone.  After felting, the Manx was spongy and coarser than expected.  The BFL was slightly spongy and wiry than before felting.  It wasnt as coarse as the Manx.

The White Norwegian had a slight coarse feel and a staple of about 4-5 inches.  The White Eider top was coarse to the touch with a staple of 3-4 inches.  It also felt a bit clumpier.

2015-04-02 15.07.47The Eider is on the left and  was very spongy and coarse to the touch.  The White Norwegian was coarse after felting and somewhat spongy.

It was fun experimenting, but I’m not sure how I’ll use these fibers.  Cathy uses more of the coarser fibers than I do.  Any suggestions?  Have you used any of these fibers before?

 

Lots of Felting on the Go

Lots of Felting on the Go

I’ve been very busy since my last post but I do not have a lot done.

I did teach a hat making class and I will have more about that in another post

I started a new bubble hat…..not finished

bubble hat start

I started a pill box hat…..not finished

pill box

I started a yarn bag…..not finished

yarn bag

And lastly not finished is my postcard to send for the Christmas exchange on the forum. I cant show you that until it is sent and received.

I broke down and pretended I was Zed and did a sample. I almost never do samples but I have a long dress worth of beaded and sequined shear fabric.  I wanted to know how it would work as nuno felt and thought why not see how it works on different colours while I am at it.

beaded sample

The white migrated through more than the black. The white coved many of the beads. The black didn’t do that. Normally I would shave a piece if I had the migrating wool hiding something but I can’t do that  here because it would damage the sequins and maybe the beads too.

The other thing I finished today was these flower pins. They are not very exiting but look great on the side of a hat.

flower pins

I thought I would share some pictures of what I woke up to this morning.

snowy morning 2 snowy morning 1

Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow to put your name in for our second Birthday Giveaway.

 

Wool Supplies and Samples

Wool Supplies and Samples

While I was laying out my white texture felt piece the other week, I had all my bags of white and light grey wools spread out on my floor, along with my stash of raw wool locks, so I thought I may aswell go ahead and do an inventory of my white wools, to see if I’m running low on any and need to order more. I usually keep a small stash of each wool breed (or colour) out in my felting boxes and put the rest away in my supplies bags and boxes, it makes it easier to have a large selection of breeds or colours to choose from without taking up as much room. These are the white wool tops, scoured and carded wools I most commonly use.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMy favourite raw wool locks are Gotland, Teeswater and Wensleydale. There’s also some raw mohair locks here.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAfter scribbling down the names of all the different wools I commonly use, I checked whether there was a good amount in my felting box and whether I was low in my supplies and needed to order more. This took a while, and it suddenly occured to me that if I made myself a document on Word, I could print it out any time I needed to do another stock check. It’s only taken me about 4 years of felting to think of that 🙂

WHITE WOOLS INVENTORY

A few years ago, I spotted some really inexpensive index card holders in our local supermarket. I thought they would be perfect to use for wool samples, so I bought a few and made myself a cover for one.

4635492385_23f0e04d9f_oI like to pull off a small sample of wool tops and staple it to the index card with the name of the shade or blend. I buy almost all of my supplies from World of Wool, but on the rare occasion I buy something elsewhere, I make a note of that too.

coloursIt’s really handy for natural wools too, the texture and staple length can be seen as well as the colour.

naturalsDo you have a system for storing your wools and fibres or keeping track if supplies are getting low? How about storage? I know that is always a favourite topic for fibre artists! 🙂

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