It's all about the fiber!

1. Skirt the fiber* - This is done by laying the fiber out with the cut side up. Remove any unwanted fiber that contains an excess amount of vegetable matter, back end of the sheep, belly wool, along the legs and spine area, any manure, second cuts, sweat tags and check for moths or moth casings. Fleece with excessive vegetable matter will not be processed. If you are unsure contact me.
2. Turn the fiber over and repeat step one.
3. Staple Length - Average length of 3-5 inches.  There will be a handling fee on any fiber sent to the mill that doesn't fall within these parameters.
4. Fiber strength – Test by stretching a lock between a finger and
   thumb of each hand. Snapping the fiber, if the fiber pulls apart it is to weak to process. This should be done 5 to 8 different places on each fleece. You want to hear a nice “ping” sound when this is done close to the your ear.
5. Make sure you include the Fiber Processing Order Form with your fiber.  Located above this section.

If we feel your fleece has an excess amount of lanolin or dirt your fiber will go through an additional washing cycle.  You will be charged the “Wash Only” fee of $7.00 per lb for the additional service.  

There will be a $20.00 handling fee for any fiber that is returned due to not meeting the fiber length guidelines 

Skirting – Your fleece must be thoroughly skirted before sending it to us, refer to the Fiber Preparation tab on our web site. Your finished produce will reflect the quality of the fleece you send us. Also, remember that all processes are based on incoming weight, it is in your best interest to only send us well skirted fleece. However, fiber that comes to us without first being skirting will be assessed a $20.00 fee per fleece for us to do this step.

Fiber with moths, larvae or casings - DO NOT SEND this fiber, it will be returned at your expense and you may be charged a fumigation fee.

50% of the cost of your order MUST accompany your fleece, check or money order. When the order is complete we will contact you with the total remaining including postage. Once we have received payment we will ship your fiber. We accept check or credit card. Fleece must be shipped in a plastic bag. Removing as much air as possible will enable you to use a smaller shipping box thus cutting down on the price of shipping. The returned product will also have as much air removed as possible, again to reduce the return shipping cost.

If you are sending fibers to be blended make sure they are NOT in roving form. If your blending fiber is in roving form simply pull the roving apart into small sections before sending it in. If you are sending dyed wool to be blended make suer the excess dye is thoroughly rinsed out.

At Shear Wool we take every precaution to ensure a quality product is returned to you. However, unforeseen circumstances can impact the quality of your roving. If this should happen we will contact you right away. Please understand that your fleece came from a live critter that roams in a the field all day long and as a result any number of things can happen to the fleece that is not detectable until it’s processed. As a result Shear Wool can not be held responsible.

*** Contact us for pricing.