Kerry Hill Sheep catches attention due to its distinct color pattern resembling that of a giant panda. These sturdy, robust, and adaptable animals with a friendly and docile predisposition originated on the hills of Kerry in Powys county of Wales, United Kingdom in the 19th century. Kerry Hill sheep faced extinction, but only temporarily. The population quickly recovered thanks to the efforts and enthusiasm of small farmers. These medium-sized sheep can be found on farms of their origin in Wales and throughout the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. They have recently been exported to the United States.
Kerry Hill Sheep
No wonder this dual-purpose breed is becoming increasingly popular! This hardy sheep has a sturdy body with deeply fleshed hindquarters and muscular necks. The mature ram weighs 140 to 155 pounds. The ewe weighs between 120 and 140 pounds. Both ewes and rams are hornless. They have white faces with black noses, black areas around the eyes, and black high-set ears. The faces and ears do not grow wool. The legs also have distinctive black markings.
Diagram of Kerry Hill sheep markings.Kerry Hill sheep at the show.
Kerry Hill sheep are very adaptable to their environment and farming styles. They have good foraging abilities and low cost winter requirements. They are ideal for small farms and homesteaders in the climates that permit a good amount of grass. Because of their calm and friendly nature, these animals are suitable even for a novice farmer. They are disease-resistant and prolific with a lambing percentage of about 175%. They are often crossed with Hill and Longwool breeds.
Kerry Hill sheep are excellent mothers.
Kerry Hill ewes are attentive and protective mothers. They produce milk in abundance. Lambs grow quickly reaching 35 pounds at 12 to 14 weeks of age.
Kerry Hill ewe with the lambs.
Shearing of Kerry Hill sheep produces 6 pound of fleece.
Kerry Hill sheep.Kerry Hill lambs are incredibly cute.
These cute creatures also make excellent pets. If I had a petting zoo, I would definitely own Kerry Hill lambs. Because of the pandemic though, a petting zoo is not an option for me at this time.
FLEECE
Raw Kerry Hill fleece.
Kerry Hill sheep is classified as Down breed.
Kerry Hill fleece is high quality, short, dense, and almost free of kemp. It is normally white or cream in color and 31.5 – 33 microns in diameter with a Bradford count of 54 to 56.
Scoured Kerry Hill fleece.
The fleece is among the softest of British wools being described as medium / soft. The wool is springy with a mild crimp.
The fleece handles very well by spinners. The staple length varies from 2 ¼ to 4 ¾ inches (6 – 12 cm).
Kerry Hill fleece staples.
Raw Kerry Hill fleece is low in lanolin and scores easily. Any length of fleece can be spun from the lock. It can also be combed, carded, or flicked prior to spinning. I usually card shorter fibers. Worsted style will produce a subtle shine while maintaining its loft and good insulating qualities. Woolen style will result in a matte-appearing yarn with even better air-trapping capacity.
Kerry Hill fleece rovings.
FIBER
This wool is white and very uniform, which makes it suitable for dyeing. It takes colors nicely.
Kerry Hill yarn in skeins.
The fiber makes a high-bulk yarn suitable for many weights and multiple techniques. The yarn will be relatively light weight with high grist numbers.
Kerry Hill yarn.
Kerry Hill fiber becomes spinners’ and knitters’ favorite very quickly. The fibers from the same sheep have a narrow range of diameters making them very uniform.
FABRIC
This friendly clear white fabric is soft enough and durable enough for a wide range of garments including sweaters and vests, caps and hats, mittens and socks. It is also suitable for household textiles, such as blankets or pillow cases.
FASHION
Bed throw made with Kerry Hill wool.Hand made stocking cap with Kerry Hill yarn.Felted vest made with Kerry Hill fleece.
Romney sheep originated in marshy areas of Kent, England. Being native to the area’s cold, humid, and rainy climate, Romney sheep is distinguished by its remarkable fitness and hardiness. The sheep is very disease resistant. It is especially known for its resistance to foot rot and liver flukes.
Romney sheep has a quiet predisposition and easy trainability making it a popular small flock breed. In spite of its great features, the breed continues to improve. Crossbreeding it with Leicester makes Romney even better.
Uses of Romney Sheep
Romney lamb.
After its export to New Zealand, this dual-purpose sheep became one of the most important sources of wool and meat export in the country’s economy comprising about 40% of New Zealand’s flock.
Romney flocks are very prolific and fast-growing. The yearling rams weigh from 175 to 275 pounds. The ideal market weight of 110-120 pounds is reached in four-to-six months.
Romney meat is known for its low fat and delicate flavor. The fleece has great luster and long parallel fibers with the minimal crossing of the locks.
Romney Fleece
Romney fleece has uniform and parallel fibers, medium crimp, and curled tips.
Raw Romney fleece.
Rainy and windy conditions created sheep with durable and weather-resistant wool.
Romney wool, measuring 29-36 microns in diameter (50s-44s), is the finest fiber among the longwool breeds. The crimp is uniform from butt to tip. Romney wool is a fiber of choice for hand spinners and a perfect fiber for beginners.
The wool has minimal shrinking with washing due to low grease content, making it a high-yielding fleece. It is sheared once or twice per year. Ewes shear 8 or more pounds per year and rams produce 12 or more pounds of fleece per year. The annual staple length is four to six inches.
White Romney fleece.
Romney wool is used for coats and sweaters, drapes, carpets, and upholstery. It’s not soft like Merino, but it is very durable. The durability makes it ideal for hard working conditions.
A lamb fleece of 30 microns or less may be used for sweaters on its own or as a blend with finer fibers for added luster.
The color of Romney fleece varies from white to gray, black, brown, or variegated.
Romney Marsh is a parent breed to Coopworth, Perendale, Romeldale, and California Variegated Mutant.
The Perendale breed was one of the numerous achievements of Sir Geoffrey Peren, the professor, the Principle, and the Chair of Agriculture at Massey Agricultural College. The school later became a part of Massey University in New Zealand.
Professor Peren took a major part in the creation of the breed by crossing Border Cheviot rams over Romney ewes. He continued to closely monitor the development of the Perendale breed.
The breed was developed post-World War II, in response to the declining production of Romney sheep and worsening soil conditions in the steep hills of North Island. The Perendale is a hardy dual-purpose sheep, which is well adapted for the mild and rainy oceanic climate.
Perendale Sheep Farming
The Perendale is a prolific breeder with excellent mothering skills, parasite resistance, thriftiness, and meat quality. Being a cross-breed, Perendale sheep have characteristics that vary between Cheviot and Romney.
North Island hills, New Zealand.
The breed is medium in size with adult ewes averaging 120-150 lb and rams 200-250 lb.
A cross with Merino produces exceptional offspring. The mature body weight of a ram is 220-260 pounds and a ewe – 120-150 pounds. The animals are easy to farm as they have a good predisposition, high fertility, and excellent maternal instinct. Dogging or excessive noise is not required in handling these sheep.
Perendale ewe with lambs.
Fleece
Ewe wool is super white in color. The fleece is 28-37 microns in diameter with fine and regular crimp. The annual sheering produces a staple measuring 100-150 mm (~4-6 in) in length. The fleece weight is 3.0-4.5 kg (6.6-10 Lb). The fiber is perfect for spinning and felting. It is excellent for beginners.
Raw Perendale fleece, natural white.
The fiber is low in luster, springy and crisp, but not harsh. It is free of kemp and black fibers. Although tensile soundness is an important characteristic of wool, the Perendale wool may be tender due to the low in nutrients vegetation under the harsh farming conditions of New Zealand’s hill country.
Raw Perendale fleece, gray.
Perendale wool is bouncy. And the spun fibers have a loft and spring to them. This characteristic of wool is different from the compact and sleep fibers of most English longwools. The lofty quality adds warmth to garments or cushioning quality to rugs and upholstery.
Perendale sheep fleece varies from white to red to gray in color.
The fleece with very fine crimp can be spun lightly to produce bulky garments with shape retention and good insulation properties. A tighter spin produces a round and hard-wearing yarn with the same properties. A true worsted yarn that is smooth and dense cannot be produced from the Perendale fleece.
References:
Teara; The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Story: Peren, Geoffrey Sylvester. [Internet]. [cited 2022 Mar 29]. Available at: https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4p8/peren-geoffrey-sylvester
North American Perendale Association. [Internet]. [cited 2022 Mar 29]. Available at: https://perendale.org/perendale-characteristics/
Association of New Zealand. Perendale – a spinner’s notes. [Internet]. [cited 2018 Sep 9].
The Spinning Loft. Perendale. [Internet]. [cited 2014 Sep 14].
Perendale Sheep Society of New Zealand. The Perendale… [Internet]. [cited 2014 Sep 14].
What is vicuna and why is it so popular in the world of fashion? Vicuna (or Vicugna) is a slender wild animal living in South America. It is famous for its very desirable and expensive wool. Why is Vicuna fleece expensive? Vicuna wool is some of the finest in the world along with Shahtooch, or the wool of chiru, a Tibetan antelope.
The other reason for the high price is its scarcity. Vicuna wool is rare for three reasons:
The vicuna hair grows very slowly and can be shorn only once every three years. Averaging 3.3 pounds per sheering, only a very small amount of wool can be obtained from a single animal.
The population of vicunas is very low. Vicunas were heavily hunted in the 1960s reducing the population to near extinction. Only because of the preservation efforts, the vicuna population grew from 6,000 in the 1970s to 350,000 adult animals today (2023).
The vicuna is the only animal of its type that cannot be domesticated because of its unusual mating behavior and brazen predisposition. Since farming vicunas is out of the question, the only way to collect its wool is to catch, sheer, and release the animals.
Facts about Vicuna
So what kind of animal is vicuna? Sometimes, people ask if vicuna is a type of goat or antelope without horns or a dainty little giraffe without spots. No, it’s none of those. The vicuna is the smallest member of the camel family. Genetically, vicuna is shown to be a predecessor of alpaca. Its genus name is Lama vicugna (aka Vicugna vicugna). Unlike alpaca, however, vicuna has never been domesticated.
Vicunas in the Andes
Vicuna Taxonomy and Evolution
Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Camelidae Genus: Lama Species: Lama vicugna
Vicunas’ Habitat
Unlike other camels, the vicuna lives in South America exclusively. Andean native, vicuna chooses the semi-desert environment of the Central Andes at altitudes from about 10,000 to 16,000 feet (3,000 to 5,000 meters) above sea level. The highest population of vicunas is in Peru. They are also found in the mountains of Bolivia, northern parts of Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador.
One of the reasons for choosing mountainous habitat is an escape from predation. Puma is the main predator of vicunas. Half of the calf deaths and 91% of adult mortality are attributed to puma predation. Other predators are Andean foxes, and occasionally domestic dogs.
During daylight, the vicunas graze on the slopes and in valleys at lower elevations. They can see a predator at a distance in the open fields. When a predator is spotted, they will either escape or “team up” and threaten the animal. At night, vicunas move to higher altitudes. Their unprecedented agility on the rocks and avoidance of the active nocturnal pumas assure some safety in the darkness.
Fortunately, humans do not present a threat to vicunas anymore. Since signing the Convention for the Conservation of the Vicuña, the hosting countries protect this animal and promote its population recovery. In fact, the vicuna is the national animal of Peru representing the country’s natural wealth by virtue of its world-famous finest wool.
Vicunas’ Diet
A seasoned alpaca farmer once taught me to feed less alfalfa to my alpacas if I want them to have fine and soft wool. The logic behind this makes perfect sense. Hair is made of mostly protein (amino acid chains). If you want hair to grow thicker, you increase protein in the diet. If you feed low protein to your animals, their hair grows thinner. Alfalfa (aka Lucerne) is a legume that is very high in protein. In addition, alfalfa does not grow in the alpaca’s natural habitat.
Similarly, the vicuna’s diet is comprised of vegetation that is relatively low in protein. Their diet includes dry- and wet-grassland grasses and other plants such as graminoids and forbs. Because this vegetation is high in cellulose and poor in nutrients, the vicunas developed a specialized, so-called pseudo-ruminant, digestive system.
But, just like cows, sheep, and other ruminants, they also eat in 2 different stages. First, they graze in the morning and then rest and ruminate the cud in the afternoon. Their highly specialized digestive system allows them to consume fibrous and resilient desert plants.
Behavior and Reproduction
Vicunas are social and territorial animals. They form three types of groups: family, bachelor, and solitary herds. A family herd will occupy about 40 acres of land. Each family has one male and 5 to 15 females along with their offspring. Vicunas keep their grounds clean. They deposit their excrement in one spot just like alpacas. The male protects the territory and its residents from predators and other intruders year round. They are especially protective of their females during mating periods between January and April. Since the male is the main safe keeper, the females are not very protective of their young. They will leave their progeny in moments of danger.
The Golden Fleece of Vicuna
The appreciation of vicuna wool dates back to the ancient Incas who captured, sheared, and released the animals back to their habitat. The Incan tradition continues in modern times. The famous round-up festivals in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina play a very important role in the countries’ economies.
During these events, the local Serranos, or the villagers of the Andes, gather in large groups to round up and capture the elusive vicunas. They shear the valuable fleece and release the animals. The wool is then shipped to Europe for processing and turning into exorbitantly-priced garments only suitable for the extravagance of the rich.
The roundup process is laborious and unpredictable. Small mistakes can lead to big failures. Frustrating for the catchers, vicuna fleece harvesting contributes to the local economy. For example, Peru exported seven tons of vicuna fleece and profited by three million US dollars. In comparison, the export of the farmed alpaca fleece yielded a hundred times higher profits that year.
The largest profits are gained through processing the fleece and making garments. Seasonal vicuna wool processing facilities are costly and not justifiable within the local economies.
Mastering how to weave had been a dream of mine for a long time. A few weeks ago, I finally took my first weaving lesson. After finishing my study practice, and mastering a few skills and designs on my own, I decided to create a sham sari silk pillow.
A couple of years ago, I was on a shopping spree for bright and colorful Indian saris. Some have very intricate prints, and some are more simple and elegant. I use them for tunics, curtains, ribbons, and various decorative items. When you purchase things on line, however, you don’t always get what you think you are buying. So, two of the saris I bought looked a little different in real life. The colors weren’t exactly what I expected, and the fabric had very little drape. Drape, by the way, is a quality of fabric describing how fluid or rigid the fabric is. The more drape the more fluid and silky the fabric. Well, these saris didn’t have the desired drape for my purposes. See the picture of the two saris below.
Silk saris from India
Each sari is about five yards long. I decided to cut them into 3/4 inch-wide strips lengthwise, and use them for as a weft in my weaving project. Woven fabric has two basic components, warp and weft. Warp is a longitudinal yarn/thread, and weft is made of crosswise fibers. I decided to use mercerized cotton for my stationary warp fibers.
The colors of the saris are very bright and saturated. I needed to dilute them with something light and neutral. White cotton was my color of choice in this case.
I put the mercerized cotton warp on the loom and started weaving with the silk sari strips in alternating colors.
One-inch-wide silk strips are being converted to a new woven fabric.
This is what I fashioned for the decorative top of my silk sari pillow.
My raw fabric.
Although, I have introduced a good amount of white in this colorful combination, I felt that I still didn’t have enough light-colored neutrals. So, I decided to break the pattern with an off-white cotton lace. The photo below shows the close up of the lace embellishments stitched to the silk. You will see later how the stitching was done.
Cotton-silk woven fabric embellished with off-white cotton lace.
The silk sham is lined with another fabric for added durability and a sleek luxurious feel. The material I found is a very smooth and silky liner fabric.
This liner, by the way, is an example of a fabric with a very good drape. See how smoothly it folds without creases or crinkles?
Pillowcase liner.
Weaving this sari silk changed its texture altogether. It became very soft and warm to touch. The drape was greatly improved. It feels almost like a knitted silk fabric.
Because the sari silk top and the liner are both very sleek and flowing, they float easily past each other when being handled. I had to use this special contraption called walking presser foot. It is so complicated that it comes with its own user manual.
Walking presser foot is used for quilting.
This presser foot is designed specifically for quilting or sewing multiple layers of very sleek fabrics. It advances all layers of fabric equally with each stitch. Sorry for getting too technical here. I just wanted you to know that this lace adornment was handled very slowly and with surgical precision. The liner fabric was being quilted to the sham at the same time. It is on the bottom of the assembly and not seen in the picture below.
Quilting the sham and the liner and adding lace at the same time.
You can see the back side of the sham in the photo below. An unfinished matching sham is in the background.
Back side of the quilted pillowcase.
Below is the finished and lined top part of the pillowcase.
Finished cotton and sari silk pillowcase top with cotton lace.
The type of weave and the liner had transformed very crispy saris into a very soft and luxurious piece.
Silk sari pillowcase is ready to be assembled.
I am happy with my work and with the result. The next step is to make a matching sham to complete the decorative pillow.
Mercerized cotton (warp) and silk sari strips (weft) on a rigid heddle loom.
Move on to Part II of my sari silk pillow project to see the final result.
Alpaca clothing are made on different levels ranging from large fashion manufacturers to individual artisans. Every process of turning Alpaca wool into fabric or a knitted garment is essentially the same with some variations regardless of who makes it.
The steps in alpaca fleece transformation into clothing include
Sheering alpaca;
Skirting: the removal of debris from alpaca fleece;
Washing and dyeing fleece (dyeing is an option);
Picking clean alpaca fleece;
Carding or combing the fleece;
Spinning and plying alpaca fleece into yarn;
Washing yarn. (Dyeing can be done at this stage if the fleece wasn’t dyed earlier.)
Making knitted, woven, crocheted, or felted fabric and clothes from the yarn.
Washing fabric or garment. (And again, dyeing or printing can be done at this stage as well.)
Blocking fabric or garment.
These basic steps of turning alpaca fleece into a garment can have some variations depending on the clothing design and purpose. For example, the dyeing process may happen after washing the fleece or after spinning fleece into yarn. Alternatively, fabric or even the garment itself can be dyed or printed much later in this process.
Oftentimes, you can skip dyeing wool if you want to have natural colors. That’s what I did this time in my project. I selected my fleece based on the natural color of the animal itself. My project resulted in a very rich chestnut-brown piece.
Once a year, in early spring, farmers sheer their alpacas. The animals feel very good after this alpaca sheering. It’s like taking your pet to a groomer or going to a spa.
Removal of Debris from Dry Alpaca Fleece
Skirting and Cleaning Raw Alpaca Fleece
When a alpaca farmers sheer the animals they obtain so called raw fleece. Raw basically means that the fleece is in its virgin state before washing. This fleece has plenty of dust, debris from vegetation that the animals rub on, dirt or staining under the tail, grains or feed grass on the neck and chest areas, etc.
While the alpaca runs around happily from feeling light and liberated after sheering, the farmer does the dirty work of skirting. Skirting is manual removal of soiled and stained parts of the fleece. Typically, it’s the farmer, the family members, farm employees, seasonal or outsourced laborers, or any other helpers do this part of fleece cleaning.
I always imagined that skirting work is very tedious and monotonous. But, when I watched private small farmers do this work I was amazed how quickly and efficiently they go through one fleece after another.
Farmers’ goal in this process is to remove the smelly and unattractive stuff and large pieces of vegetation from the raw fleece to make it presentable on the market.
Drum-Cleaning Alpaca Fleece
The next step of this cleaning process is to remove as much dust, seeds, and vegetation from alpaca wool as possible. This process also takes place on the alpaca farm. A farmer places dry skirted alpaca fleece into a large drum. It’s a cylinder made of metal mesh. The drum spins just like clothes dryer with the alpaca wool inside. If you have seen a raw sheep fleece you know that it looks like a carpet. Alpaca fleece, on the other hand, looks like separated locks of wool. When it tumbles in the drum, small vegetation and dirt particles separate and fall through the metal mesh while the wool stays in the drum.
This is where the farmer’s work ends. Normally, farmers don’t wash their fleeces unless they also spin yarns and make clothing. A yarn spinner typically does the fleece laundry.
Purchasing Alpaca Fleeces
A spinner is a person who spins fleece into yarn. I buy my fleeces from farmers and go through the entire process of turning alpaca fleece into garments and other items.
I went to a small family owned and operated alpaca farm. Judy and Ron have a picturesque setup on grassy rolling hills with a pond in the middle. The farm hosts 23 alpacas that roam, play, and interact with curious visitors. When the visitors are not around, two vigilant Great Pyrenees dogs guard the fancy alpacas. Every alpaca has a name. And every bag of sheered fleece has the animal’s name on it so that the owner knows exactly the origin of any specific fleece.
So, I bought two fleeces from Ron and Judy and brought them to my Wool Barn to transform this natural beauty into something to wear for me and my family.
Below is the photo of the alpaca fleece that I bought from my friends. This fleece is sitting on a drying rack covered with a breathable burlap after all night of drying. I already washed this batch. Raw alpaca fleece looks almost exactly the same.
The Scouring Process
The next step in this alpaca wool journey is to wash the fleece or scour the fleece to be precise. Scouring is the process of washing raw fleece.
Scouring Sheep Fleece
I think that the reason for the word “scour” is that we use a very strong detergent to wash sheep fleeces. That’s because raw sheep wool contains lanolin. Lanolin is a wax that lubricates sheep’s coat and protects it from matting. Removing lanolin is not an easy process.
Scouring Alpaca Fleece
On the contrary, alpaca fleece does not have lanolin or any other fats. Raw alpaca fleece feels very dry to touch. But regardless, alpaca’s wool still needs washing from dirt and vegetation (vegetable matter or VM).
Some fiber artists combine fleece scouring with dyeing. By doing so, they eliminate an extra drying and re-wetting step and reducing the risk of felting. Any animal fibers should be washed with great care.
A combination of water, soap, and agitation can easily turn fleece into a felt. In fact, that’s one of the felting methods. A soapy wet fleece is evenly spread on a large table. This table has a lid made of a flat metal sheet of the same size and shape as the table top. If you turn the switch, this sandwich contraption starts to vibrate. The rubbing motion of the metal plates against each other felts the fleece into a felt fabric.
So when you wash wool, and it can be any wool, you always have to think about felting and how to avoid it. (The only exception is superwash wool, but we won’t talk about it in this post.) Each time you make your wool wet, you encounter a risk of felting.
In my case, however, I selected fleeces from a very deep red alpacas so that I could use their natural colors without having to dye my wool.
Picking and Carding alpaca Fleece
This is really like a wool spa. After washing and drying your fleece you want to align the individual fibers to prepare them for spinning. There are different tools for this depending on what you want to get in the end. The first step in separating the fibers is picking.
A picker is a tool that separates fibers without lining them up. The long box in the foreground of the picture below with nails sticking in two directions is the picker. The fleece on the right dry and clean alpaca fleece after scouring. The fluffy bunch on the left is the fleece of alpaca fibers after picking.
In the same picture above, the contraption with the belt behind the alpaca fleece is the drum carder. Carding will be the next step in preparing my alpaca fleece for spinning.
After I finished picking, a pile of alpaca fleece turned into quite a mount of fluffy fleece (below).
Carding Alpaca Fleece
Just like in pet grooming, you would brush your pets after giving them a bath. The same holds true with fleeces. The only difference is in the name. We call it carding. When you card wool, you feed small portions of fleece into the small drum of the drum carder and let the tool do its work.
The result after the first run may be still quite lumpy. If that’s the case, you need to repeat the carding until it looks smooth and lined up.
Preparing Alpaca Fleece for Woolen Spinning Method
If you take a close look at a carded alpaca wool, you will see that the fibers are not strictly parallel, but rather with some degree of freedom. That’s because I prepared my alpaca fleece for a so called woolen spinning method.
This blanket of carded fleece is called a batt.
At the end of the carding stage, I rolled the batts into wool burritos called rolags. We make rolags for the woolen type of spinning and top rovings for worsted spinning. I will describe the difference between woolen and worsted spinning in a different post. Please see the Glossary of Spinning Terms for definitions.
Washed and picked alpaca fleece in the background and the resulting rolags in the front.
I prepared my alpaca wool for spinning in woolen fashion for a very warm but delicate lace cowl.
Spinning Alpaca Fleece into Fiber
Alpaca yarn on the bobbin of the spinning wheel.
As you can see, when the fleece is fluffy, it looks light, but when it is condensed in a spun fiber it becomes very rich chestnut brown in color. After spinning yarn, I usually let it stay on the bobbin for 24 hours before removing it from the bobbin. The newly-spun yarn sets by the tension during this time.
Sometimes, I feel very inpatient when the yarn is setting that I want to keep working on it. But a day of rest is very important for the yarn quality. When the yarn was finally ready for plying, I double plied the treads with an intention of keeping my yarn very thin.
After plying, I transferred my two-ply yarn onto a niddy-noddy, washed and dried the yarn, and wound it into a ball with the yarn winder. You can see this section of the process in my earlier post, White-and-Blue Romney Wool Rugged Mittens.
Unlike the yarn in my mitten project, this 100% alpaca yarn is very fine as you can see it on the photo below. This lace-weight yarn is ready for knitting.
Knitting my Lace Cowl
The pattern for my cowl is very intricate. Usually, I don’t use commercial patterns. I design my own garments instead. Knitting this cowl was a laborious process. I used circular knitting needles for the body of the cowl. Then, I crocheted the border with a very fine wooden crochet hook made of Sorbus (Rowan or European Ash) tree.
I was very happy with my resulting project. See how happy I am in the photo below?
