I've been working through a bag of Bowmont fleece recently - it's heavenly stuff, soft as merino with good crimp and an absurdly long staple length. I'm finding it ideal for very fine spinning - I flick open each lock and spin it for 15-20 minutes before moving on to the next.
Using this method, I've ended up with some waste fiber - short cuts and neps, the usual waste, but also just clumps of fiber without good lock definition unsuitable for this spinning method or that came out while I was flicking the locks. I'm loath to throw out perfectly good fiber - so I put these bits aside into a little pile.
![British wool Bowmont fleece carded into rolags and spun into yarn](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_ulTJ8JdV90WPhBvIH8df7plVzYNvFrKPcqV8u38cpr-HYV7Ra_IrPGXxKevm6GOTuXXWmoxF9gor_iTu5Fgznfw7CVRApB5I8pdDFr_dbKYZCiFlLNkoZc_eJ-gEwm5WU=s0-d)
I carded my motley assortment of fiber into rolags and began spinning. They weren't perfectly smooth or uniform, and neither was my spinning, but I didn't worry too much. I took these singles and used the bracelet method to wind them on themselves once, and then again. Then, I plied my little ball of yarn.
![4-ply Bowmont merino/shetland cross handspun wool natural white](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vuOOssIGjWTpb2bjfypbOMRGVgut3Ob7WdPIH1dMjbnTjQ9lqRwcHCGGgu_PH41aHakVF8blop8IHB5Z394_5P2x1HCmNRMTGYPaC_R5jF7kHEa3RZpaSLjbua2ZPmRvuY=s0-d)
The resulting yarn ended up soft and round, reasonably smooth, and with
lots of character. Each ply is a bit thick-and-thin, but when plied together the inconsistencies meld into each other.
![Skein of spindle-spun wool from Bowmont sheep](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_totoGXmSaZjsZ7iD5feSdvX-W5mEz2r4Z3dkzLYczV8x-XaU9_syMElPf9jaNj2x95oZplKX-Vfms4pcOGZaHHOH-Hoei8EUDpo4gvQmgsYDNOLbbUJyDqfLTUlndVqkMV=s0-d)
The 4 plies create a really round yarn which is just beautiful, and hopefully durable too. The only disadvantage to 4-plied yarn? It
is a lot of spinning, even for a tiny amount. My little skein of Bowmont is a scant 55 yards - enough for the project I'm planning, but even this much seemed to take forever.
~
Joyuna
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