Jo Nash Textiles - The Process

The process begins with blade shearing the sheep in the Spring and early Summer. This is a slow and gentle process, completed in the warm sunshine in the field on a dry day. The sheep love to have their fleeces removed, and removal of the long fibres reduces the risk of fly strike. Sheep must be shorn or they can suffer from many health problems.

Preparing the Wool Fibre

fleece from a sheep soaking in water contained in a white bucket. — Washing sheep fleece

After shearing, each fleece is individually sorted and washed. The washing system involves soaking in rainwater with an environmentally friendly wool wash, before rinsing to remove the dirt and some grease. The waste water is used on the garden, as it contains nutrients for the dye plants and my veggies. The waste wool (there is always some rubbish in with the good stuff) is used as a mulch and to protect my plants from slugs and other beasties.

Once the fibre is dry, I hand pick it, to remove short fibres and most of the vegetable matter (despite my best efforts some always seems to avoid being removed at this stage). This is followed by combing for softer yarn or carding for more coarse fibre.

hand combed nests of wool on a dark surface — hand combed nests of wool ready for spinning

Spinning and Naturally Dyeing

single spun thread of wool yarn on a bobbin

I now have loads of fluffy goodness ready for spinning. I have inherited a flock of 3 wheels and use all of them for different types of yarn or where I am spinning. They are individuals and spin slightly differently…. The yarn is washed again ready for weaving in the natural colours or is dyed.

I mostly use 3 dye plants, which have been used for thousands of years. It takes time to learn the differences you can achieve with each dye plant and to try to get consistency. I am pretty good with Weld for yellows and greens, Madder for reds, pinks and browns and, because I use the old mix for Woad, I am still learning to get reliable blues. You can find out more on the dye page.

pile of naturally dyed yarns, including red, orange, yellow and pale blue — pile of naturally dyed yarns

Weaving and Finishing

The range of colours I achieve on the yarn is so inspirational that I cannot wait to start to play! I love sitting at my 4-shaft floor loom. It is at least 100 years old, and I can feel the hands of others on the beater and their feet on the pedals. To create textiles on the loom is an honour. I also have a smaller 4-shaft table loom to try out different patterns, before moving onto the big loom, and to make the bookmarks. Additionally, I have a couple of smaller tapestry looms, so I can play with colour and shapes more.

The textiles are lovely when they are removed from the looms, but most need to be finished properly. This is the fulling process. They are washed again and then waulked or ‘beaten’ to get the fibres to felt a bit. This stabilises the fabric, so it will last longer and can be washed even in a washing machine on a wool wash. You can find out more about looking after your wool clothes and other articles on my caring for wool page.

a wooden 4 shaft loom with a piece of white wool weaving on it — white wool scarf on the loom

Time

It takes a long time to produce enough yarn for the looms. Back in the day, there were 8 combers to one spinner and 8 spinners to one weaver! That’s before we even think about dyeing or finishing the textiles. Therefore for a cheaper British wool option, I use commercially spun yarn to create some of my wool pieces.

If you have any specific questions or want to ask about a custom created piece especially for you then please contact me.
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