# Anybody familiar with pricing for raw fleeces?



## freemotion (Dec 30, 2009)

This was a reply to my query regarding a CL ad on fleeces for sale:

"These are whole fleece, some have been skirted. There is minal vegation. The fleeces are desirable by 
hand spinners,medium length and good cripping.

The fleeces are $ 60.00 each." 

Good, average, or high price?  Anyone know?  How much yarn comes from a fleece?  Enough to make a sweater, or more?


----------



## jhm47 (Dec 30, 2009)

Impossible to know without knowing how many pounds each fleece weighs.  What breed of sheep did they come from?  There are breeds that have very coarse wool, like Suffolk, Hampshire, Lincoln, etc, and breeds that have very fine wool, like Merino, Ramboullet, and Columbia.  It all depends upon what you plan to make with the wool.  The finer it is, the better for sweaters or other clothing.  The coarse wool is good for little other than felting.  There is also the factor of wool length.  The longer stuff is much easier to spin, and the shorter stuff is quite difficult.  Also beware of "recuts".  The recuts can practically ruin a fleece.  You would be wise to find someone who really knows wool, and request a sample from the seller before spending that much on a fleece.


----------



## freemotion (Dec 30, 2009)

This is the ad:  http://westernmass.craigslist.org/grd/1519558208.html

So it sounds like an outrageous price, huh?

I just got my grandmother's carders, well-worn from years of use, and I want to get a drop spindle and make some yarn and make something to wear with it.  Just for fun.  

My grandparents all died when I was young, and I am doing some things the way they did (as much as I can peice together information) and really enjoying it.


----------



## jhm47 (Dec 30, 2009)

No---I'm not saying that it is an outrageous price, I'm just saying that there are many variables in fleeces, and you need to know what you are buying.  I know that some excellent fleeces sell for substantially more than that.  However, these sheep are bred for fleece quality, they are only fed on the ground to prevent contamination with hay in their wool, and the shearer is specially trained to handle the fleece.  I only wanted you to ask these questions that need to be aswered in order to correctly value these fleeces.  

I have not kept up on the price of generic wool for many years now, but when we left the sheep business (our last child left for college), it barely paid for the shearer.  If I remember correctly, it was about $.25 / pound.  At 10 lbs per ewe, we got $2.50 for the wool, and the shearer got $2.00 per head.


----------



## freemotion (Mar 23, 2010)

I met a sheep shearing family today, and I will be picking up a fleece on Monday (hopefully) for only $5!  In the upscale part of CT where many people keep animals merely as pasture ornaments, they give the fleeces to the shearer.  If I like spinning, it will be a great source of fleeces for me.  He said he'd pick out the best one for me.  I asked for a dark one, since I don't want to dye it....this time....


----------



## patandchickens (Mar 23, 2010)

As others have said, it depends ENTIRELY on what type of fleece it is and what quality.

From the description I am suspicious that it is pretty average-to-'enh' stuff, which around here would be a rather high price. But maybe I am reading too much (or too little) into the description.

To know how much yield you'd get from it you'd have to know the weight, also how much if any will need to be discarded due to excessive cruddiness.

Pat, not a wool or spinning person but my m-i-l is (she's been part of a group that has more than once won first prize in the Royal Winter Fair sheep-to-shawl competition, etc etc) and so I get to hear a *lot* about fleeces and yarn and all that


----------



## freemotion (Mar 23, 2010)

Yeah, but for $5, my only goal is to see if I enjoy the project at all.  I don't want to spend $60 for something that will sit in a bag or that I will struggle with tearfully because I don't want to waste the money I spent.  If I love working with the wool, I can eventually get pickier about what I buy.  Or buy a sheep or two....   Or some angora goats...   

I am expecting to make some VERY rough yarn, and will make something very rustic with it...either some lined mittens or a vest.  I really have no clue as to what a fleece will produce.  I am hoping that what covers a full-grown sheep will yield enough for a barn vest to keep me warm in the winter.

Will you ask your MIL for me, Pat?  This guy said he would choose the best fleece for me.  He saves them up and sells them to a larger place that processes wool into yarn.


----------



## freemotion (Mar 23, 2010)

My grandmother stuffed quilts with it.  They were WONDERFUL quilts, heavy and warm.  At $5 a fleece, I just may have to make a quilt for our bed.  A duvet with a washable cover.


----------



## ksalvagno (Mar 23, 2010)

$5 for a whole sheep fleece is a good price around here.


----------



## freemotion (Mar 23, 2010)

Yeah, my head is now spinning  with ideas for hundreds of fleeces.....uh-oh.... Why bother having sheep if these fleeces are halfway decent?

I am meeting up with this guy when I go to this town in CT to do massage therapy on horses.  All the horses I work on in this town are on an every other week standing appointment.  Does that tell you a bit about the income level there?   So there is a good chance that I will get a decent fleece.  Some landowners here keep easy livestock in order to get a tax break on their land.  It is not about the animals making a profit.  Their mere existance makes them profitable.

We will see.  I wouldn't know a good fleece if it jumped up and bit me....but I just remembered I had a former massage therapy student who spins and has sheep.  She donates her fleeces to a blanket project charity, where they process fleeces and sell the roving and blankets, and the donaters of fleeces get a discount based on the number and quality of fleeces they donate.  She will be able to look at the fleece and tell me a bit about it.  Can't wait!!!!


----------



## ksalvagno (Mar 23, 2010)

Good luck with the fleece. Spinning can be very relaxing. Especially when you have a nice fleece to spin.


----------



## jen6265 (Apr 13, 2010)

I sell raw fiber for $1/oz, so my fleeces usually end up costing anywhere from $40 - 60.

However

I won't sell them raw if they are excessively dirty or were damaged by the shearer.  In those cases I process them myself and then sell as roving.

I have been given fleeces for free, and sometimes they are ok, other times they are a nightmare.  If you get a nightmare one, and its your first fleece, please don't get discouraged and give up on the entire craft, there are some wonderful fleeces out there that are a joy to process and spin.

Good luck!
Jen


----------



## freemotion (Apr 13, 2010)

Thanks, I'm enjoying it so far.  It is still drying, but I am pulling some dry bits out to card.  I carded a bunch last night.  I really enjoy feeling the texture of the fibers.


----------

