Some questions to ask a fleece seller before you buy

Buying a raw fleece?  

Here are some questions to ask the seller

1. When was the fleece sheared?  The longer a fleece sits the more potential for lanolin to oxidize or harden a bit. It's not a huge issue and can be scoured out with proper scouring techniques.   

2.  Send me a photo of the "sunny side" of the fleece and the part next to the body.  Most times sellers only show the cut end which is the money shot when selling fleeces. You want to see the tips (or sunny side)  to see how much vm or dirt might be in there.  Is it something you can, or want to, deal with.  If you see any yellow stained-like areas this may indicate a bacterial issue. This bacteria is called Canary staining and can continue to grow if the wool is not scoured.

3.  Does the fleece have any signs of moths?  Moths are very easy to spot because they look like, well, moths.  If the fleece has moths the seller should know.  I've been sent only one fleece in 11 years that I have been working with wool,  that had moths.  I promptly boxed it back up and shipped it back to the seller. If you do get a fleece with moths tell the seller as they need to check their other fleeces for contamination.  If they say yes, there is an indication of moths, that is a hard pass.

4.   Does the fleece have any signs of scurf?  In the seller's defense scurf is often not seen until the fiber is scoured.  Scurf is often not the entire fleece, but sections.  Scurf is a sticky substance caused by the sheep that has.....  Once the fleece is sheared the .....are not an issue.  Scurf is really difficult to remove and I usually pitch the wool. This is another thing where you would want to tell the seller as they may need to check herd health.

5.  Was the sheep coated or not? Coated sheep are typically cleaner because the sheep is wearing a coat. Coated wool is more expensive due to the effort to keep coats in good shape, on the sheep and changing out sizes as the wool grows.  Uncoated sheep are exposed to the elements, rain, sun, hay, bushes, etc.  Uncoated sheep are not bad at all and I've gotten many uncoated sheep that were in excellent condition. Then I've gotten some that were not.  It's all about communication between seller and buyer and your skills to deal with issues.

6.  How long is the staple length?  Why would this matter? Well, if it's a very short staple, and you wanted to comb it you might not be able to.  Just know that staple length can vary throughout the fleece so the buyer will give you an estimated length.

7.  Is the fleece skirted?  Skirting means pulling out all the poopy parts, anything that may be felted or full of burrs, for instance.  This is pretty much unusable fiber for the home fiber processor.  Usually, fleeces are skirted prior to selling, but some sellers don't do this and it's always good to clarify with the seller.  If you get an unskirted fleece, which you agreed upon with the seller, head to YouTube and learn how to skirt.  

8. Is the fleece raw or scoured?  Raw means shorn off the sheep in its natural lanolin-filled state. Scoured means washed and clean.  Scoured fiber is always more expensive than raw.

9.  Are there any breaks in the staple?  Breaks mean you give a prolonged, light pull on the staple and it breaks. There are three different types of staple breaks: 

        a.   The tips break off, this is most likely a lamb fleece.
        b.   There is a break in the middle, for instance. This is due to something that happened                to the sheep during that year timeline. Maybe it was sick, or there was a bad storm                and the sheep were not able to be fed.  Whatever, the stressor it caused that                           moment in growth to weaken the fiber, hence the break. 

        c.    The entire staple is weak and breaks. 

note:  Breaks are not a bad thing, they are just a thing that is nice to know so the home processor can take that into account when processing.

10.  How much vegetable matter does it have.  Vegetable matter is things water will not dissolve such as hay, pebbles, grass, burrs, etc.  Most fleeces have some VM and I’m well equipped to handle it.  As a home processed you should also educate yourself on how to handle VM.  Sheep live outside and it is what it is.  With that said there are the situations where the VM is just too much for the time I want to spend processing it out.   You decide what you want to handle. 

Now that you are armed with the correct questions to ask, educate yourself on how to best manage these issues.  Sheep are outside, in the elements for their lifetime.  There is no such thing as a 100% clean fleece.  Unless you get a Sharlea fleece in which they keep them in a very small indoor pen their entire life, however, this is VERY expensive and hard to find.  I want my sheep to not be free and run and live a sheepy life and not be captive in a small, cramped pen just so I can have clean wool.

The past 11 years I did not know what questions to ask because I did not know how to correctly process so I got what I got.  Sometimes good and sometimes not good. Now I know better.  I have a handful of steller wool growers that I have come to know and love and they supply me with the most delicious fiber I could ever imagine.

The book The Art of Washing Wool, Mohair and Alpaca by Mary Egbert and the online workshop Camaj Fiber Arts Spinning and Fiber Extravaganza workshop or the Scouring Certification course at the Camaj School of Fiber arts will arm you with exactly what you need to not only scour but manage issues that may arise and come out smelling like a rose.