The Fibre Garden : natural roving
Showing 1–18 of 52 results
natural roving
Bamboo Bast (Top)
100% Bamboo bast fibre.
Clean and tidy combed top. This type of Bamboo comes from the stem fibres, produced in a way similar to flax or hemp. It's different from the more common viscose or rayon type of Bamboo. To our hands it feels finer than hemp or flax, more akin to Ramie. The natural colour is ivory-cream, with a medium lustre. Staple length is around 4 to 5 inches.
PRODUCT of CHINA
BFL – Superwash White (Top)
BFL = Blue-faced Leicester. Classification: LONGWOOL
It's difficult to find any Superwash top other than Merino, but here you have BFL! Perfect for knitting items that require easy laundering. Wool is conditioned through an enzyme process that strips off the outer scales, which prevents felting. This also makes for a different effect during the dyeing process, because Superwash fibre sucks up the dye quickly. This fibre is creamy-white in colour with plenty of lustre.
BFL rates high for softness. Depending on spinning method, this breed can create a soft and smooth fabric with excellent drape. Micron count is generally in the mid-20s with a staple length from 3 to 6 inches.
NOTE: Superwash fibre is NOT GOOD FOR FELTING.
PRODUCT of UNITED KINGDOM
BFL – White (Top)
BFL = Blue-faced Leicester. Classification: LONGWOOL
Creamy-white natural combed top, lustrous and soft! Excellent for dyeing at any stage of the spinning process.
BFL rates high for softness. Felting properties are average. Depending on spinning method, this breed can create a soft and smooth fabric with excellent drape. Micron count is generally in the mid-20s with a staple length from 3 to 6 inches.
NOTE: our labels may indicate this as UNTREATED, which simply means it is not Superwash BFL.
PRODUCT of UNITED KINGDOM
Cheviot (Top)
Classification: DOWN-TYPE WOOL
Nice clean combed top with very little veg, in a bright off-white tone. There are different regional variations on Cheviot, but they have similar fibre. Cheviot is known for having bulky and springy staples of medium length with very little lustre. Its traditional uses range from blankets and carpets to midrange and outerwear clothing. It's a strong fibre and can be useful for socks.
Micron count is usually in the 27 to 33 range. This supply has excellent long staple in the 5 to 7 inch range. Felting properties are low.
PRODUCT of UNITED KINGDOM
Columbia (Rustic Roving)
Classification: FINEWOOL
Thick and chunky Rustic Roving. Current batch contains a fair amount of vegetation.
A North American breed, fairly widely raised in the western US and Canada. The locks are blocky with a high crimp and fairly fine fibre diameter. Adapts well to both woolen and worsted styles of spinning, used for midrange and outerwear garments, including socks, sweaters and functional items.
Micron count is usually in the 23 to 31 range (comparable to Corriedale) with a staple length of 3 to 6 inches. Wet-felting properties are good. A good core wool for needle-felting.
PRODUCT of CANADA
Coopworth – Dark (Roving)
Classification: LONGWOOL
Carded roving with very minor amounts of veg. Coopworth was developed in New Zealand in the late 1960s and sports a lustrous fleece with good crimp. This roving is dark brown in colour, sprinkled with lighter tones. Most often used for midrange, outerwear or non-garment items.
Micron count for Coopworth can vary, but this supply is among the softest you will find, at 33, with a staple length of 6 to 8 inches. Wet felting properties are good. Excellent for needle felting.
PRODUCT of NEW ZEALAND
Coopworth – Light (Roving)
Classification: LONGWOOL
Carded roving with very minor amounts of veg. Coopworth was developed in New Zealand in the late 1960s and sports a lustrous fleece with good crimp. This roving is medium grey-brown in colour, sprinkled with lighter tones. Most often used for midrange, outerwear or non-garment items.
Micron count for Coopworth can vary, but this supply is among the softest you will find, at 33, with a staple length of 6 to 8 inches. Wet felting properties are good. Excellent for needle felting.
PRODUCT of NEW ZEALAND
Coopworth – White (Roving)
Classification: LONGWOOL
Carded roving with very minor amounts of veg. Coopworth was developed in New Zealand in the late 1960s and sports a lustrous fleece with good crimp. This roving is creamy-white in colour. Most often used for midrange, outerwear or non-garment items.
Micron count for Coopworth can vary, but this supply is among the softest you will find, at 33, with a staple length of 6 to 8 inches. Felting properties are good.
PRODUCT of NEW ZEALAND
Corn Fibre (Top)
100% Corn Fibre. Also known as Ingeo.
Extremely clean combed top. Pristine, true white in colour. Staple length is 4 to 5 inches.
One of the "new" man-made fibres, and apparently it stands up pretty well to any "green" claims about its manufacture. As a spinning or knitting fibre, it is soft and lustrous, breathes and absorbs moisture well, has good drape and warmth and is easy to care for. Corn is machine washable but should be air or tumble dried only. Do not iron!
Considered a plant or cellulose fibre but neither acid nor fibre reactive dyes will work on corn fibre. Natural dyers could try using techniques used on cotton, such as alum-tannin premordanting, or Aluminum acetate. We do not know yet how corn behaves in an indigo bath.
That being said, when blended with protein fibres, acid dyes will leave the corn alone during dyeing, which makes for some wonderful streaky or heathered effects, depending on how well the fibres are blended.
Corriedale – Natural Fusion (Top)
100% 30-micron Corriedale wool sliver, easy to spin and very clean. Ashford produces this streaky bland with lengthwise stripes of natural white, light, medium and dark Corriedale. Excellent for spinning or felting.
PRODUCT of NEW ZEALAND
Falkland (Top)
Classification: MEDIUM WOOL
Combed top, very clean. Falkland is similar to Corriedale in character, creamy white in colour with a soft hand. Not always considered a true breed, but more of a crossbreed that has developed on the Falkland Islands due to isolation over many years. Suitable for midrange, outerwear and non-garment uses.
Micron count for Falkland is 26 to 34 with a staple length of 4 to 5 inches. We can't find a listing for felting properties but it's probably good.
Flax Top – Bleached
100% Flax (linen) fibre.
Very clean combed top in a fairly narrow sliver, bleached to a bright ivory white. Staple length is 5 to 6 inches.
This may be a good choice for those curious to try spinning flax for the first time. Our supplier suggests it can be either dry or wet-spun and no distaff is needed since it's already in a well-prepared form. It feels pretty soft for flax. Anybody up for the challenge?
The various dyed colourways we carry begin with bleached flax, since it provides a good white base that won't lend the brown or tan tones that natural flax would give. Since this is a plant or cellulose fibre dyers must use fibre reactive dyes. Natural dyers must resort to techniques used on cotton, such as alum-tannin premordanting, or Aluminum acetate. Flax strikes just fine in an indigo vat.
That being said, when blended with protein fibres, acid dyes will leave the flax alone during dyeing, which makes for some wonderful streaky or heathered effects, depending on how well the fibres are blended.
PRODUCT of ITALY
Gotland – Grey (Top)
Classification: LONGWOOL
Combed top, very clean. This breed originated on the Island of Gotland, in the Baltic Sea and is widely raised in Sweden. It features lustrous and silky fibre, our supply being a blend of medium brown and creamy grey. Most often used for outerwear.
Micron count for Gotland is in the 48 to 52 range (though ours seems softer), with a staple length from 3 to 5 inches, relatively short for a Longwool. Felting properties are excellent.
Icelandic – Black (Top)
Classification: DUAL-COATED
Clean combed top with minimal to no veg. Icelandic sheep have a double coat, and nearly always both types of hair have been carded together. This top is very dark brown-black, sprinkled with lighter tones. Best suited for outerwear or non-garment items.
Micron count is difficult to assign because of the double coat. Wet felting properties are excellent, also great for needle felting.
PRODUCT of UNITED KINGDOM
Icelandic – Grey (Top)
Classification: DUAL-COATED
Clean combed top with minimal to no veg. Icelandic sheep have a double coat, and nearly always both types of hair have been carded together. This top is dark charcoal grey, liberally sprinkled with lighter grey. Makes a heathered yarn and gives intersting results when dyed. Best suited for outerwear and non-garment items.
Micron count is difficult to assign because of the double coat. Felting properties are excellent.
PRODUCT of UNITED KINGDOM
Ile-de-France (Rustic Roving)
Classification: FINEWOOL
Thick and chunky rustic roving. Our current batch has a moderate amount of vegetation.
Ivory-cream in colour, with lots of bounce and loft. Ile-de-France was intentionally bred as a meat sheep in France in the early to mid 1800s and is a relatively new introduction to North American shepherds. With Merino in the bloodlines, this fibre should be interesting to experiment with. This source is not as fine as most Merino but could be ideal for warm and cozy socks, midrange or outerwear.
Staple length of this roving is around 2.5 to 3 inches. Likely in the 25 to 30 micron range. Excellent felting properties. An excellent core wool for needle-felting.
Jacob – Black (Top)
Classification: PRIMITIVE
Combed top with little to no veg. Jacob are one of the few multicolour (and multihorned) sheep, of ancient origin. This top is a deep and rich black-brown peppered lightly with grey. Certainly soft enough to use for sweaters and a scarf or three.
Micron count is typically in the 27 to 35 range, with a staple length of 5 to 6 inches. Felting properties are good.
PRODUCT of UNITED KINGDOM
Karakul – Grey (Top)
Classification: DUAL-COATED
Combed top with little to no veg. It's said that Karakul is one of the oldest-known breeds of sheep, and pelts from the lambs are what made those Persian lamb coats our grandmothers all wore. This lovely top is ash grey liberally sprinkled with darker grey and black hairs. We suspect this is among the softest Karakul fibre around, making it useful for outerwear and scarves as well as the typical carpets and household items.
Micron count is typically in the 30s or higher, with a staple length of 6 to 12 inches. Felting properties are good.
PRODUCT of UNITED KINGDOM