Listen here:
Sandi Luck (from Purlescence Yarns) discusses selecting fleeces.
When picking a fleece:
1- Smell it. Does it smell wrong? Sour? Ill. That's a "no" sign.
2- Has it been jacketed? They are less likely to grow mold or have sunbunt tips.
3- Is there a whole lot of vegetable matter?
4- Has the fleece been skirted?
5- How do the fibers look? Is there a noticeably damaged location?
6- Snap the lock by your ear. Does it sound like a guitar string? That's good. Crackling is bad.
7) Look out for short cuts.
If you can't touch the fleece, listen closely to the judging.
Judging is done by:
1) Staple length, by breed
2) Color quality
3) Strength of fiber
4) Damaged tips
5) quality of Shearing
With micron count: Low numbers are soft, high numbers are coarse.
