Purchasing a fleece for the first time can be intimidating, but also full of opportunity!

There are a few things to know when looking to purchase fibre from a farmer or a wool show. Sometimes farmers know the qualities of their wool and can give you guidance, but some farmers have not ever worked with wool before, and you have an opportunity to help them understand the value of their fleece. Here is some helpful information when looking to purchase a fleece from sheep & alpaca below.

1) Not all sheep breeds are the same, plan your project and choose the wool accordingly.
Fine wool, long wool and down wool all offer different characteristics to your knitting, spinning, weaving and dyeing. Understanding what those characteristics are will inform your fibre arts practice and the end result. To learn more you can check out the Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook or field guide, or do some internet searching before choosing a breed.

2) How clean is the wool you are purchasing. A certain amount of VM (veggie matter) is to be expected, but if it is covered in hay, straw, burrs, wood chips or other plants it will probably be more work than it is worth. Some farmers will skirt the fleece before selling it (this means they remove the poorer quality wool, and try to remove any seriously contaminated sections) If they have not skirted it, then you may be purchasing parts of the fleece you cannot use. For more information about how to skirt wool check out this video here.

3) Is your fibre sound. The fibres should be strong and resilient. They should not break when you hold the ends and pull. Do this next to your ear - do you hear a crackle? A small amount of crackle is ok, but be sure you don’t hear too much. Occasionally the tips of a fleece will break off - but if there is a significant break you want to avoid that fleece. If you try to process weak fibre you will have inconsistent and uneven fibre or yarn.

4) Crimp and Staple length. You want to be sure that your fleece has even crimp throughout the entire staple (tip to tip of individual fibres). The crimp should be clearly defined - this will change from breed to breed. For example, fine wools will have many tight crimps, whereas long wools will have larger crimps, almost like ringlet curls.

Staple length should be consistent across the fleece, with the exception of some dual coated breeds such as icelandic where you have long outercoat fibre and shorter undercoat. Try to avoid fleeces that have lots of second cuts (this is where the shearer goes over the same section twice and makes two cuts of the wool and results in short pieces not suitable for processing).

5) Pricing. There is no consistent pricing structure for independent wool sales in Canada. Valuing the work of farmers is important, so be sure to pay them what it is worth. At the same time, producers need to understand that taking care of their wool and selling skirted fleece will fetch a higher price. Do not be surprised if you see prices ranging from $2 - $20/lb. You may want to search other farms selling similar breeds to gauge the worth of specific breeds.

For more information check out this ebook resource.