Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
During carding you can blend various fi bers, yielding interesting colors
and textures. The illustrations on page 342 show the basics of carding with
handcarders. Once your wool is prepared, it can be spun into yarn or used in
other handcraft projects.
Handcraft Uses of Fleece
There are several types of handcraft projects that can be created and mar-
keted. Some are from spun yarn and others are from carded wool. Weaving,
knitting, and crocheting are typical uses for yarn. A few possibilities for wool
are making it into furry stuffed animals, using it for batting in quilts, and
“tying” it for fi shing fl ies. Australian locker hooking (see below) also uses
fl eece locks or yarn.
Handspun Yarn
Spinning your own wool into yarn is one way to compound its value per
ounce. You can spin it for your own use in knitting, or you can practice on it
for home use and go on to sell it to other knitters or weavers when you get
good enough. You need to be a knitter in order to sell yarn knowledgeably
to other knitters, so you can advise them as to needle size, quantity of yarn,
and what size yarn to spin for a specifi c project. The same goes for weaving
yarn — unless you can advise your customer, you may be selling her a problem
and not know it.
Australian Locker Hooking
Australian locker hooking, using unspun fl eece, is a new version of the older
craft of locker hooking that used commercial rug yarn. The “locker hook” has
a large crochet hook on one end and an eye on the other end so that unspun
wool may be hooked into rug canvas and locked in with a binder yarn carried
by the locker hook. This technique offers to nonspinners a way of using their
wool in an attractive and profi table manner to create rugs, wall hangings, sad-
dle blankets, and heavy garments. (For instruction booklets, see Resources.)
Odd Uses of Wool
Even unprocessed fl eece has its place and can be used for the following:
■
Cleaning up oil spills around the shop — wool is even being put to that
use commercially in large-scale oil spills, like that of the
Exxon Valdez.
Wool can absorb up to 30 times its weight in oil!
