• All fiber must be clean of all lanoline before processing.   The machine will remove a limited amount of vegetable matter but all burrs, sticks, manure tags and other gross contamination must be picked out first.
• We are limited in our ability to wash wool for customers.   We would prefer that wool sent us be washed first. Instructions for washing your wool at home can be found at Washing Wool.  
• Running dirty fiber through the mill gums up the machinery badly so we must be strict on this. Please remove as much foreign material as possible including manure, burrs, straw, bits of twine and weed seed. Small bits of chaff & dust are not a problem as that will fall out naturally during processing.  
• We reserve the right to refuse to process any fiber sent us to that has not been satisfactorily cleaned.
• Generally fiber from sheep, goats, alpaca, llama, camels and other large animals that have a large amount of natural grease will require washing.  Dog hair, Angora rabbit and other fluffy, clean fiber need not be washed although it still must be cleaned of foreign material.
• Expect a loss of 10-25% in total weight after processing. This is mostly due to chaff, second cuts, mats, etc. The cleaner the fiber sent to us, the less the loss.
• Wool has to have a staple length of at least 1.5" and no longer than 6".
• Minimum millruns are 2 lb./batch for straight run and 3 lb./batch for blends.   Short runs will be charged at the minimum weight price.
• There are several variables that add up to the total cost of processing your fiber including any extra scouring, skirting and de-burring we may have to do.   We charge actual shipping only, no handling fee.   If you call or e-mail us before sending your wool we can give you a fairly good estimate of the total cost of your order.   We will also call or e-mail you if we run into any unexpected expenses.   In no case would we go ahead and process an order that exceeded our first estimate by more than 5% without first getting your OK.

Instructions for Washing Wool

click above link
 

Washing wool:  $15/load, (5 lbs)

Processing 100% Wool & Wool Blends

Picking & carding into rovings or batts

$6.00 / pound

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Picking, carding & felting into 3' x 4' sheets

$21.50 / pound

Exotic fibers, Wool/exotic blends & Ultra-fine fibers

Ideally all exotic fibers should be blended with wool.   Wool gives these fibers more elasticity and your finished product will not be as likely to stretch out of shape.   Wool is also stronger than most other fibers, giving items a longer life.   Lastly, wool allows the finished yarn to work smoothly, without clumping up like pure exotic fibers will.

• We can blend your fiber in any proportion you desire, however we do not recommend a greater than 60% exotic/ 40% wool blend.  
• Blends do not always hold together well in roving.   You may wish to have it processed into batts and spin from that.
• Unfortunately we do not have enough Angora or other exotic fiber in stock to sell for blending.   If you desire exotic blends, you must provide us the fiber.
• Processing Angora rabbit represents a particular challenge, requiring specialized attention and running the machinery very slowly.  Hence we must charge a premium price to compensate us for our time and materials.  Any blend containing more than 10% Angora will be charged at the Angora rate and we will not accept anything containing more than 50% Angora by weight.   We regret the inconvenience to our valued customers but at the same time it is just not economical for us for us to continue processing Angora at $6/lb.

Picking & carding exotics & exotic blends

into rovings or batts

$7.00 / pound

Angora rabbit

$12.50/pound

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Picking, carding & felting exotics 

and exotic blends into 3' x 4' sheets

$35.00 / pound