TDF 2025 Fleece Fluff

I started July with big hopes to spin a little each day or at least prepare some of the fiber I’ve been holding onto. While I didn’t manage to spin every day, I did accomplish quite a bit and I’m proud of that. 

First off, the heat. July was hot. I couldn’t bring myself to boil water inside the house at all. I really miss my old water heater, which could reach 150°F and was perfect for scouring fleece. In our new place, it barely gets to 120°F. So I’ve been boiling water on the stove, carrying it outside, mixing it, and repeating that process for two washes and up to three rinses. It was just too much in the summer heat.

Still, I managed to wash two smaller batches of fleece. One was from a Finn lamb fleece a neighbor farmer gave me last month. It was lovely to wash, with just a bit of VM, which is expected. The second batch came from a Rambouillet, Targhee, and Finn cross. I'll talk about those fleeces in this post.

Here are the photos of the fleece when I first unrolled it and it was a big one, weighing in over 5 pounds! I immediately fell in love with the staple length and the beautiful crimp. It’s a bit longer than what I’m used to working with, but I am excited to try something new for sure.

It did seem a little dirty at first, then I found it more dusty than anything, but it washed up beautifully. The section I washed had a lot of vegetable matter (VM), though. I spent a solid hour picking and carding, then picking some more. There were tons of tiny bits of hay and grass throughout. Maybe it was just the area I started with, so I’m curious to see if the rest is cleaner.

Here are some photos of the first picked and carded fluff from my initial wash batch. I still have more to pick and card, but these two batts already total 4.1 ounces. It’s so spring and the bounce is incredible!

I only ran it through the drum carder twice. I could have given it another pass to smooth it out a bit more, but honestly, I kind of love the texture as it is. The photos don’t quite capture it, but trust me, it’s dreamy.

I can’t wait to spin it up! I’m not sure yet which method I’ll use, so I plan to do a bit of research first. My default style might not be the best choice for this fiber. It’s white, fluffy, and super soft, with just a few little bits of seeds or grain left and those should spin right out.

My neighbor with the Finn sheep had a few lambs from last year, and I got my hands on their first shearing. It’s been a fun spin! On July 3rd, I washed a small bit to test it out—because let’s be honest, I can never resist trying a new fleece right away. I made two one-ounce batts and spun them up as a texture sample.

It wasn’t quite as squishy or soft as the Shetland I spun in June, but it was still a really enjoyable spin. I’m curious to see how it will take dye. The two photos below show the sample batts I made.