FIBER GROWERS

Sheep are probably the most common providers of animal fiber for fiber artists.

Most of the breeds below are available in New Mexico and the neighboring states. They come in white and a wide range of colors. there are also some rare breeds available nearby.

Breeds at the coarse end of the scale are the Churro, Karakul, Lincoln, Cotswold, and crosses of some of these. The Churro and Karakul have a double coat with a long outer hair coat and a shorter finer inner coat. The Lincoln and Cotswold have very long, silky fleeces that fall in ringlets. Wool from these sheep are most suited for use in rugs and hard wearing outerwear.

Breeds with fleeces in the middle range include, Romney, Colorado Red, California Variegated Mutants (CVM), Suffolk, Hampshire, Dorset, Jacob, Icelandic, Corriedale and Shetland. Their fleeces are suited to a wide variety of products.

The fine wool breeds are; Rambouillet, Debouillet, Merino and Cormo. These produce wool for soft, next to the skin garments

There are also a variety of fiber animals producing specialty fibers. These include

fiber goats, including Angoras who produce Mohair, Cashmere, and crosses including Cashgora (Cashnere x Angora), and Pygora (Pygmy x Angora).

There are Alpacas, and Llamas, and several Angora rabbit breeds.

The fiber from most of these animals is harvested by shearing them. Angora rabbits are frequently plucked at the normal shedding time which produces a superior product. Sheep (except the hair sheep) and Angora Goats do not shed, so must be shorn at least once a year. The Cashgora and Pygora do shed and are usually shorn at the appropriate time to give the best fiber. Llamas and Alpacas are usually shorn yearly if the fiber is the main interest. They can be shorn with electric shears or clippers, or with hand shears, or for rabbits and goats with scissors. Many fiber producers hire a professional shearer to do the job.

After shearing there are a number of steps taken to prepare the fiber for its final use. These include skirting to remove unusable portions, washing, picking and/or carding, dyeing and spinning.These steps may be done in a different order. Some spin the fleece without washing. Some do the dyeing before spinning and some do it after. The wool can also be taken to a custom spinning mill for all or art of the process.

I personally do everything myself. Raise the sheep, do the shearing, and process the fiber. Since my main focus is rugs, I use long wool from my Churro and Churro/Cotswold sheep. I hand spin, a hard twist two ply yarn for the warp, and a softer singles for the weft. Most rugs are woven to be weft faced, meaning they are beaten down tightly so the warp does not show.