Absolutely fantastic video! I'm very encouraged. I hope to inspire a local fibershed here to consider natural fibers and home processing 21st century useful. I love working with wool and hope to participate with that group of local crafters again soon but currently am working with plant fibers like milkweed and cattail and even loofa. In the past we could grow linen here, but the quality is down as the climate changes. I'm hoping to investigate nettle as a replacement. Friends among the fibershed have also talked about thatch, willow work and reed construction here in the midwest... Blessings, Thank you for your inspiration.
Perhaps someday I can do a video about that..... But I'd have to have the time first (Homeschooling 4 with a toddler underfoot takes about all my energy these days), and then I'd have to actually figure out a pattern. I'll give a few pointers here that may help you get started on your own without waiting for the dim probability of my getting to the task anytime soon! First of all, my own inspiration came partly from ideas I found online. If you do some searches, you may find good videos already out there to use! Next, I should say that wool is pretty stretchy. I crochet any shoes or slippers (instead of knitting as I do for socks) to make them firmer, but I still find that it's hard to get a good, sturdy shoe wall with crocheted wool. (It would be easier with a cotton yarn maybe?) Since I live in Africa with plenty of cheap, plastic slippers in town for purchase, I used them to start my sandals. A sharp knife sliced off the tops. Then I took a long, sharp, large-bore needle (which I found in the hardware section of the local, open-air market) to punch the holes where I wanted to place my anchoring stitches. To do the punches through the plastic/rubber, I heated the needle over a candle to make it slide more easily through the material for each punch. This should explain why you need a LONG needle! You want the far end to be cool so you can hold it! It also does need to be SHARP, and not a darning needle, because even with the heat, it can still take quite a bit of muscle to push it through depending on what you are working with. I didn't find a lot of options for different bore sizes, but the one I have works pretty well. It is still impossible to pull the hook, loaded with yarn, back up through the hole when I'm placing the anchor stitches, so for those I use a very small doily hook just to pull the loop up. Once that's through, then I put the loop over my regular hook and keep going until I need to pull up another anchor loop. For indoor slippers, I've used some locally-cured, heavy cow leather. Heavy leather needs to be punched with a leather punch, and I've learned that it's worth the price to get a good punch! Even good ones are tiring to use when I need to punch holes a cm apart around the entire adult-sized sole! Cheap ones are impossible. Then I usually just improvise all my shoe designs. I rarely make the same style, or size, twice. And even if I did, I'm using handspun wool which can have a good bit of variation in it, especially if I'm using wool I'd spun earlier without a plan in mind. I often spin for the joy of spinning, without a specific project in mind, and just spin different bunches at different weights, ready for a variety of projects when I decide to make something with it. To crochet "my way," meaning by trial-and-error, you must be willing to take out and re-do anything as many times as it takes to get something you are happy with. Not everyone enjoys that. So, if you don't like to use the trial-and-error method, here's where I really recommend your looking online for what others have done. I know there are more standard patterns out there, and much better ones than I could ever come up with! Also, our floors get painfully cold in African winters at this latitude and altitude. So cold that I find simple leather soles with a single layer of crocheted wool (even with thick yarn) too thin against the frigid tile floors. If you also live where it gets cold, you may want to do what I do and make some thick sheets of felted wool to cut into inner soles which you can then place between the crocheted layer and the leather layer. This really, really helps with warmth, especially if you make a good, thick felt sheet. (Plenty of good tutorials online for wet felting/sheet felting! That's where I learned to do it!) Some traditions, such as Mongolian, use felted wool for the entire slipper, but I feel that these wear through more quickly. I like the added durability of spun fiber for the layer that receives the most wear, so I just use the felt for increased insulation against the floor. I hope all this helps you in some way! Blessings on your wool adventures!
We found these hand carders in a few old cities in Morocco (after a lot of searching!) If you are not in Morocco, I won't be able to help you more than to say that you can find similar products online. What you find online will probably be much more expensive, but also much better made. The local ones I use are very rough. I have to watch out for splinters of wood which can end up in my hands. They also have a low point-per-area, which works fine for wool, but could be much higher for an even nicer card. However, I suppose I shouldn't complain. We've seen the place where these locally produced hand carders are made....by hand. If I were doing the points by hand, I think I'd opt for a low number per square inch too!
wonderful video. sure would like more. this is simple and to the point and full of good wool processing and spinning. loved this.
Absolutely fantastic video! I'm very encouraged. I hope to inspire a local fibershed here to consider natural fibers and home processing 21st century useful. I love working with wool and hope to participate with that group of local crafters again soon but currently am working with plant fibers like milkweed and cattail and even loofa. In the past we could grow linen here, but the quality is down as the climate changes. I'm hoping to investigate nettle as a replacement.
Friends among the fibershed have also talked about thatch, willow work and reed construction here in the midwest...
Blessings, Thank you for your inspiration.
Good Day to you! Thanks for the video. Could you make a video of making those sandals 🩴, Please 🙏🏻 Have a wonderful day!
Perhaps someday I can do a video about that..... But I'd have to have the time first (Homeschooling 4 with a toddler underfoot takes about all my energy these days), and then I'd have to actually figure out a pattern. I'll give a few pointers here that may help you get started on your own without waiting for the dim probability of my getting to the task anytime soon!
First of all, my own inspiration came partly from ideas I found online. If you do some searches, you may find good videos already out there to use!
Next, I should say that wool is pretty stretchy. I crochet any shoes or slippers (instead of knitting as I do for socks) to make them firmer, but I still find that it's hard to get a good, sturdy shoe wall with crocheted wool. (It would be easier with a cotton yarn maybe?)
Since I live in Africa with plenty of cheap, plastic slippers in town for purchase, I used them to start my sandals. A sharp knife sliced off the tops. Then I took a long, sharp, large-bore needle (which I found in the hardware section of the local, open-air market) to punch the holes where I wanted to place my anchoring stitches.
To do the punches through the plastic/rubber, I heated the needle over a candle to make it slide more easily through the material for each punch. This should explain why you need a LONG needle! You want the far end to be cool so you can hold it! It also does need to be SHARP, and not a darning needle, because even with the heat, it can still take quite a bit of muscle to push it through depending on what you are working with.
I didn't find a lot of options for different bore sizes, but the one I have works pretty well. It is still impossible to pull the hook, loaded with yarn, back up through the hole when I'm placing the anchor stitches, so for those I use a very small doily hook just to pull the loop up. Once that's through, then I put the loop over my regular hook and keep going until I need to pull up another anchor loop.
For indoor slippers, I've used some locally-cured, heavy cow leather. Heavy leather needs to be punched with a leather punch, and I've learned that it's worth the price to get a good punch! Even good ones are tiring to use when I need to punch holes a cm apart around the entire adult-sized sole! Cheap ones are impossible.
Then I usually just improvise all my shoe designs. I rarely make the same style, or size, twice. And even if I did, I'm using handspun wool which can have a good bit of variation in it, especially if I'm using wool I'd spun earlier without a plan in mind. I often spin for the joy of spinning, without a specific project in mind, and just spin different bunches at different weights, ready for a variety of projects when I decide to make something with it.
To crochet "my way," meaning by trial-and-error, you must be willing to take out and re-do anything as many times as it takes to get something you are happy with. Not everyone enjoys that.
So, if you don't like to use the trial-and-error method, here's where I really recommend your looking online for what others have done. I know there are more standard patterns out there, and much better ones than I could ever come up with!
Also, our floors get painfully cold in African winters at this latitude and altitude. So cold that I find simple leather soles with a single layer of crocheted wool (even with thick yarn) too thin against the frigid tile floors. If you also live where it gets cold, you may want to do what I do and make some thick sheets of felted wool to cut into inner soles which you can then place between the crocheted layer and the leather layer. This really, really helps with warmth, especially if you make a good, thick felt sheet. (Plenty of good tutorials online for wet felting/sheet felting! That's where I learned to do it!)
Some traditions, such as Mongolian, use felted wool for the entire slipper, but I feel that these wear through more quickly. I like the added durability of spun fiber for the layer that receives the most wear, so I just use the felt for increased insulation against the floor.
I hope all this helps you in some way!
Blessings on your wool adventures!
Technically, Hank is a measure of length or otherwise describe the quantity of yarn. It’s still a skein. It’s just a twisted up skein.
How awesome! Thank you for showing ways to not have to buy and use all the gadgets!!!!!
Wow 😲
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Althea, you never cease to amaze me! Incredible.
☺ Miss you, Girl!
Its a long process, i spinn to, danish sheep wool,.. Great video
amazing. You have such as golden hands
Oh my goodness you are so clever!
Love love love your procrss
I would love to know where you purchased the paddle hand cards.
great video.
without endless talking about odds and ends.
Subscribe!
💮🌼🏵️🌺🌸🌹
We found these hand carders in a few old cities in Morocco (after a lot of searching!) If you are not in Morocco, I won't be able to help you more than to say that you can find similar products online. What you find online will probably be much more expensive, but also much better made. The local ones I use are very rough. I have to watch out for splinters of wood which can end up in my hands. They also have a low point-per-area, which works fine for wool, but could be much higher for an even nicer card.
However, I suppose I shouldn't complain. We've seen the place where these locally produced hand carders are made....by hand. If I were doing the points by hand, I think I'd opt for a low number per square inch too!
Why wool from Afrika?
Wool from Africa because I live in Africa at the moment. 🙂 Trust me, I enjoy spinning cleaner wool when I'm in places with cleaner sheep!!
@@bylercreations ok. I was worried about the risk of anthraxcontaminated wool.