Skirting a Fleece
1640 South 600 East * Salt Lake City~ UT * 84105 * 801.668.0563
Skirting is the process of removing sections of the fleece which are dirty, coarse, or contaminated.
For Sheep Fleeces
We will try and help you know what fiber is preferable and which is not. The sketch on the right is a wool fleece. It has been marked with words to help you know a fleece better. This will help you understand the best parts of a fleece.
On shearing day, the belly, leg, face, and head wool are usually separated and discarded as they’re shorn by the shearer or shepherd. Most of the fleeces you buy should be skirted, but in the case it is not, here are some suggestions.
- Make or try and obtain a skirting table made from PVC or fencing material. The holes will allow the 2nds cuts and pieces shorter than 2" to fall out on the ground.
- Lay the fleece out like a pelt for examination with the shorn side down.
- Remove as much vegetable matter as possible separating the locks as you move along the fleece to find hard to spot burrs or other VM.
- Shake the table to allow any second cuts to fall out. Also pick out as much of the 2nd cuts that do not fall out with shaking.
- Remove any heavily vegetative fiber as this will only contaminate the fiber in the processing. You will most likely find these sections at the base of the neck and sometimes along the spine.
- Remove all manure tags which are wool coated with manure.
- Remove britch wool which is the coarse hair fiber from the tail end and lower thigh.
- Remove any belly wool it will be very dirty, short, and matted.
- Remove the head wool which will be coarse and could contain chaff and vegetable matter.
- Remove all weathered wool as it is dry and coarse due to sun damage, water staining, or harsh weather conditions, is usually found along the backbone of the sheep. *The backbone and back neck areas will only need to be removed if stained or tender due to weathering, ot contain lots of vegitable matter.
For Alpaca Fleeces
We will try and help you know what fiber is preferable and which is not. The sketch on the right is an alpaca. It has been marked with words to help you know a fleece better. This will help you understand the best parts of a fleece.
The prime clip or blanket area of the alpaca fleece can come off in one piece, other areas are taken off in sections. While the alpaca is being shorn, many alpaca owners will separate the blanket from seconds.
There are times when the neck area is of good quality and sometimes portions of it are similar in quality to the blanket, but usually it should be put in a second-grade bag. But if you find areas of the neck are of the same weight and quality as the blanket, put them in the blanket bag. The middle legs are usually also of good quality, and should go into the second-grade bag. Some people make a "third-grade" or "remainders" bag for fibres of less quality than seconds. Though most of the 2nds and 3rds are too short to process without the addition of wool. Please ask your shearer not to go back over the alpaca to clean up uneven areas until all of the good fiber has been collected. While second and 3rd grade fibers aren't a good choice for spinning yarn, they can be used for felting!
- Make or try and obtain a skirting table made from PVC or fencing material. The holes will allow the 2nds cuts and pieces shorter than 2" to fall out on the ground.
- Lay the fleece out like a pelt for examination with the shorn side down and the outside.
- Remove as much vegetable matter as possible separating the locks as you move along the fleece to find hard to spot burrs or other VM.
- Shake the table to allow any second cuts to fall out. Also pick out as much of the 2nd cuts that do not fall out with shaking.
- Remove all weathered fiber as most times it is dry and coarse due to sun damage. If it is strng, it cam add some depth of color to your final project.
- Cria fleeces are the hardest to process and though finer fibers, are generally too hard to remove any VM. They are like Velcro! Many times we tell people just to use them for compost, unless they are pretty veg free. We can run them through the de-hairing machine and they will come out pretty nice, it is just and extra cost to you.
For Mohair Fleeces
We will try and help you know what fiber is preferable and which is not. The sketch on the left is a mohair goat. It has been marked with words to help you know a fleece better. This will help you understand the best parts of a fleece.
There are a few different shearing methods used with Angora goats. One way is to leave the fleece in one piece which uses the same technique as sheep shearing. The 2nd method is called a "go-down" method of shearing. This is done to allow the fleece come off in sections with the end result being a collection of shorn locks on the floor. While the angora goat is being shorn, many owners will separate the prime clip from second- and third-grade fiber, and discard all waste.
- Make or try and obtain a skirting table made from PVC or fencing material. The holes will allow the 2nds cuts and pieces shorter than 2" to fall out on the ground.
- Lay the fleece out like a pelt for examination with the shorn side down and the outside.
- Remove as much vegetable matter as possible separating the locks as you move along the fleece to find hard to spot burrs or other VM.
- Shake the table to allow any second cuts to fall out. Also pick out as much of the 2nd cuts that do not fall out with shaking.
- Remove all sweaty, short, cotted, or kempy mohair. While the orange-brown stains cannot be washed out of mohair, you may wish to save any of these portions to create a variegated yarn..
- Remove all manure tags which are wool coated with manure.
- Remove britch wool which is the coarse hair fiber from the tail end and lower thigh.
- Remove any belly and flank fibers as it will be very dirty, short, and matted.
- Remove the head wool which will be coarse and could contain chaff and vegetable matter.
- Remove all weathered wool as it can be dry and coarse due to sun damage, water staining, or harsh weather conditions. This tyoe of fiber is usually found along the backbone of the sheep.
*The backbone and back neck areas will need to be removed if it is stained or weak due to weathering - Typically, fiber from the barrel area are of the highest quality, with fiber found in the neck and shoulder areas a close second.
- Areas along the topline and outer perimeters tend to have some areas of stain or kemp, but they are still usable. It is advisable to separate these from the better fibers in another bag.
An easily built skirting or drying table
We have included our intructions on building a skirting table or drying rack here. We do suggest building 2 of them, so when you are skirting, you can place
one on top of the other with the fleece sandwiched in between for shaking veg matter and 2nd cuts out.
- Go to your local home improvement store and buy some plastic fencing. The holes should be about 1". Our is a green color, but I think they come in orange and green.
- Pick up some cheap 1" x 2" wood for the frame.
- Jim cuts the wood to fit the size of the fencing material, but you can easily cut the fencing and make a narrower table.
- Build a rectangular frame with the wood and add a support down the center of the frame as well.
- Use a staple gun to attach the fencing to the wood.
- Place your frame on 2 saw horses, or you may chose to add legs for a drying rack.
- Here is a photo of one of ours.....
CONTACT:
Jim and Lynn Snell801.668.0563
1640 S. 600 E
SLC,UT 84105
email: spinderellas523@msn.com