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Soft, rich, gorgeous Cotswold wool, fresh off the ewe.
Skirting a fleece is simply removing the debris (hay, straw, twigs) and cutting out matted parts. If your shearer does his job right, he’s cut away the belly wool while shearing. If not, cut away the belly wool now. (Our shearer did not cut away the belly wool, so we had to do it afterward. Lesson learned–sometimes shearers need instructions! In these parts, sheep raised for wool purposes are less common than sheep raised for meat. Shearers aren’t necessarily thinking about your use for the wool. They are, in fact, most likely only thinking about shearing the sheep.)
Jacob fleece.
Find a clean place to lay the fleece out. We used our back porch, which is gated off from the dogs and covered. After sweeping the porch clean, we laid each fleece, one a time, out on the floor to “skirt” it. (A special skirting table would be even better!) Lay the wool “inside” down, inside meaning the side of the wool that was next to the sheep’s skin. The inside is already clean. The “outside” is what needs skirting. The outside of wool is dirty–the sheep has been wearing it. The “inside” is amazingly clean and beautiful.
Incredible multi-colored Jacob wool, on the inside.
Once skirted (debris removed and matting cut away), with the fleece still “outside” on top, fold the fleece over, outside part against outside part. Now the pretty “inside” is out and you can roll the fleece up. (This process always keeps the dirtier “outside” separated from the clean inside and leaves the nice, clean inside out so you can see the lovely wool.
So, so pretty Cotswold wool.
For storage until further processing, place in breathable bags. We made bags out of cotton bedsheets and left the tops open for even more air.
The next step is washing! And drying, carding, spinning, knitting………..
Should I even try to do all that? I don’t know how. I just learned how to skirt out of a book. I could give all the wool to the birds. They need fodder for their spring nests, you know. Or I could see if anyone wants to buy the skirted, unprocessed wool. And maybe keep one fleece for myself….. To practice on and learn to do all the rest! Life is a bold adventure, right?
Annabelle: “Go for it, maa-maa.”
I just love her!
