The Fibre Garden : white
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white
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
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 – White (Rustic Roving)
Classification: MEDIUM WOOL
Thick and chunky rustic roving. Current batch has a moderate amount of vegetation.
An excellent choice for CORE WOOL for 3-D needle felting. Spinners might consider doing a lofty woolen-style spin. This roving is much different from the tidy combed New Zealand top we offer, but it's about the same softness.
Micron count for Corriedale can vary, but we are guessing this is in the 28 to 30 range. Staple length is around 3 inches. Wet-felting properties are very good. An excellent core wool for needle-felting.
PRODUCT of CANADA
Corriedale – White (Top)
Classification: MEDIUM WOOL
Very clean combed top, creamy-white in colour. We always highly recommend Corriedale for beginning spinners, because it's easy-to-handle and neither too short or too long. Well-suited for midrange, outerwear and non-garment uses.
Micron count for Corriedale can vary, but this supply is among the softest you will find, at 30, with a staple length of 3.5 to 4 inches. Felting properties are very good.
We carry many colours as well, see Fibres> Dyed Roving & Top> Wool> Ashford Corriedale.
PRODUCT of NEW ZEALAND
$5.00 – $38.59 $3.75 – $28.94
Dorset (Rustic Roving)
Classification: DOWN-TYPE WOOL
Thick and chunky rustic roving with a moderate amount of veg. Staple length is about 4 inches. A fairly soft and bouncy ivory-cream fibre with a medium staple and high crimp that lends itself best to woolen-style spinning for midrange and outerwear garments. Dorset and Suffolk-Dorset are one of the most common meat sheep breeds in Canada. The wool is often sent overseas before being made into yarn or felt and sold back to the North American market.
Micron count is usually in the 27 to 32 range. Wet-felting properties are very low, and because of that Dorset is sometimes recommended for garments where shrinkage could be a factor, particularly socks. A good core wool for needle-felting.
PRODUCT of CANADA
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.
Finn – White (Top)
Classification: MEDIUM WOOL
Combed top, very clean and a bright creamy-white. More formerly called Finnish Landrace or Finnsheep and indeed it originates in Finland. Finn has a fairly long staple as well as good crimp and is suitable for next-to-skin, midrange or outerwear uses
Micron count for Finn is 24 to 31 with a staple length of 3 to 6 inches. Felting properties are excellent.
Hemp – Bleached (Top)
100% Hemp.
This is beautiful stuff, the finest hemp we have ever seen and a local lady with a lot of experience spinning hemp tried it and agrees! If you want to dye your hemp fibre, this bleached version will give you nice, clear and bright colours.
Very clean combed top, bleached to an off-white. Staple length is 6 to 7 inches. Hemp is a bast (stem) fibre from a very tall plant, essentially a strain of marijuana developed for fibre instead of other uses. Spun in a manner much like flax, the two also share the attribute of being harsh at first and just getting better and better over time with wear and laundering. It can be spun all by itself or blended with wool and other fibres. This has a light characteristic hemp scent but it's not overwhelming and should not be offensive to the nose during spinning.
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. Hemp also works well in an indigo vat.
PRODUCT of CHINA
Lincoln (Top)
Classification: LONGWOOL
Combed top, very clean. This breed features smooth and long, lustrous fibre, our supply being an ivory-cream shade. Though often used to add strength in blends, Lincoln makes exceptionally beautiful lace-weight yarns that highlight the intricate stitchwork. Thicker spins are generally used for rugged outerwear.
Micron count for Lincoln is in the 34 to 41 range, with a staple length from 8 to 12 inches or more. Felting properties are very good.
Masham – White (Top)
Classification: LONGWOOL
Combed top with just a small amount of veg. Masham varies widely in quality, but our supply is exceptionally soft, in a lustrous ivory-cream colour. Though usually recommended for outerwear, this should be soft enough for midrange garments as well.
Micron count for Masham is in the 29 to 34 range, with a staple length from 6 to 14 inches. Felting properties are average.
Merino – Superwash White 22mic (Top)
SUPERWASH Merino. Classification: FINE WOOL
The most common fibre offered as Superwash, this is lovely combed Merino top in an ivory-white colour. Micron count is 22, which is plenty soft for against the skin wear and a multitude of other uses. 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.
Merino rates high for softness. Staple length is generally 2.5 to 4 inches. The Superwash treatment makes for a slippery feel during spinning when compared to untreated Merino, so it's not necessarily a good choice for beginners.
NOTE: Superwash fibre is NOT GOOD FOR FELTING.
PRODUCT of NEW ZEALAND
Merino – White 19.5 mic (Top)
Classification: FINE WOOL
Creamy-white natural combed top, this is always extremely clean and free of vegetation. Very popular with our spinning and felting customers.
Merino rates high for softness, and this 19.5 micron fibre is excellent for against-the-skin wear and a multitude of other uses. Felting properties are excellent. Staple length is in the 2.5 to 4 inch range.
NEW ZEALAND WOOL, processed in CHINA
Merino – White 22 mic (Top)
Classification: FINE WOOL
Creamy-white natural combed top, this is always extremely clean and free of vegetation. Very popular with our spinning and felting customers.
Merino rates high for softness, and this 22 micron fibre is excellent for against-the-skin wear and a multitude of other uses. Felting properties are excellent. Staple length is in the 2.5 to 4 inch range.
NOTE: our labels may indicate this as UNTREATED, which simply means it is not Superwash Merino.
NEW ZEALAND WOOL, processed in CHINA
Merino/Silk – Sorbet
80% Merino wool (22-micron) / 20% Mulberry silk from Ashford of New Zealand.
Combed top/sliver. A more subtle colourway, featuring streaks of soft pastel mauve, soft orange, spring green, soft pink and silvery white. This reminds us of pastel-dyed Easter eggs!
PRODUCT of NEW ZEALAND
Merino/Silk – Vanilla
80% Merino wool (22-micron) / 20% Mulberry silk from Ashford of New Zealand.
Combed top/sliver. Natural white Merino wool streaked with ribbons of silvery white silk. Gorgeous as is, but also amazing when dyed.
PRODUCT of NEW ZEALAND
Norwegian – White (Top)
Classification: DUAL-COATED
Nice and clean combed top. Norwegian sheep come in a range of tones, this top being a natural off-white. Like Icelandic, this is best used for rugged outerwear.
Micron count is hard to determine on double-coated blends. The staple length for this top is 4 to 5 inches. Wet felting qualities are excellent, and also good for needle felting.
PRODUCT of GREAT BRITAIN