Pocket Meadow Farm — Leicester Longwool spinning locks

	Shop hours	Tues thru Sat 11—6 Sunday 12—4 and by appointment

	Leicester Longwool hand-dyed spinning locks

	Lavender Sea A lovely mix of periwinkle, sea green and lavender.	Leicesters are a heritage/rare breed sheep that we keep here at Pocket Meadow Farm. Their locks are gently washed in hot water without soap or detergent, then hand dyed in small batches with Gaywool dyes. A bit of the natural lanolin remains with this method. All wools have unique breed-specific characteristics; Leicester longwool fleece is lustrous and long with a spiral curl, not the blocky crimped locks of many other wools. The fiber takes dyes beautifully, and makes excellent, durable outerwear. Locks will vary in length throughout the entire clip, but lengths will be reasonably consistant per bag. Please allow one week plus shipping time for dyeing your fiber. This breed is classified as "critically rare" by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.

Intense Peacock
Deep, saturated blue-green. Note — this is a solid color, the variation you see in this photo is from the luster of the fiber.

Hand Selected Dyed Locks
2 oz. $9.50
4 oz. $17.00
8 oz $30.00

Spinning Tips

I suggest using minimal processing to spin loose worsted style directly from the locks. First, lightly flick card the ends to open the staple, or comb out the locks, working each end at a time. You can use simple, inexpensive dog grooming combs and brushes, or invest in dedicated fiber tools. A quick and easy “snap” of the locks while holding each end will drop out bits of vegetable matter (hay).

You can save your ends and bits from combing and flicking for drum carding “kitchen sink” batts, doll stuffing or needle felting.

Spring Iris
Rich cobalt blues and purples with a touch of aqua

Coral Reef
Coral, warm red, orange, and peach.

Ashford Flick Carder
Nicely crafted flick carder for opening up locks and removing debris from tips of fiber.

Ashford Flick Carder

$17.50