Blog Archives

Warm, Warmer, Warmest: 4 Non-Sheep Fibers to Try This Fall

Posted on September 17, 2019 by Otto

Don’t get us wrong – we love wool and learning about the many breeds of sheep that grow beautiful fleece for us to enjoy. But when it comes to staying warm during the chilly months ahead, there are several non-sheep fibers that … Continue reading →

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Guide to Fiber Producing Animals

Posted on August 15, 2019 by Otto

As a fiber artist, there is no shortage of exciting fibers to explore! Especially if you are working with a raw fleece, these fibers benefit from proper preparation, and our drum carders can process virtually any fiber into beautiful batts. … Continue reading →

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6 Ways to Prep for the Tour de Fleece

Posted on June 25, 2019 by Otto

Each July, spinners around the globe take part in the Tour de Fleece, a spin-along that challenges participants to spin every day that the athletes in the Tour de France ride. This is a fun way to practice your spinning skills and … Continue reading →

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Cleaning & Storing Fleece and Fiber

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Otto

The spring fiber festival season is just around the corner! For fiber artists who delight in sourcing fleece and fibers straight from the source, these events are the perfect opportunity to replenish your stash with unique fibers you may not … Continue reading →

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How to Card a Three-Color Heathered Batt

Posted on July 12, 2018 by Otto

Each July, the Tour de Fleece has us thinking about fun new ways to combine stashed fibers to make easy-spinning batts. This year’s event is no different, and today we’ll show you how to make a 3-color heathered batt! If … Continue reading →

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Blue Ridge Fiber Festival Recap

Posted on June 21, 2018 by Otto

At the start of this month, we attended a brand new event called the Blue Ridge Fiber Festival, which took place in a small mountain town in North Carolina. As you know, we have attended many fiber-related events over the … Continue reading →

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Free PDF Guide: Drum Carding 101

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Otto

Using a drum carder to process your fiber is not difficult by any stretch of the imagination – but it does require a little bit of knowledge and know-how to produce consistently excellent results. Like any new skill, practice makes … Continue reading →

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Fiber to FO: Planning & Spinning for a Specific Project

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Otto

Welcome back to the third installment of our Fiber to FO blog series. Previously, we talked about how to turn “forgotten” fibers lurking in your stash into beautiful, spin-worthy batts. Next, we covered some approaches for working with the resulting … Continue reading →

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Fiber to FO: Sampling & How to Spin From Batts

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Otto

In our previous post, we showed you how to turn “forgotten” fibers into beautiful batts (click here if you missed it). Today, we’ll talk about how to spin from the batts you’ve created, and also cover why and how you should sample spin before starting your … Continue reading →

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How to Blend a Winter Inspired Batt

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Otto

Winter is here, and we’re closing out our 2017 series of seasonal batt projects with this project inspired by a familiar winter sight: icicles. You can find our previous project tutorials by clicking here. Here’s what you’ll need: A Strauch Drum Carder (we used … Continue reading →

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