Monterey >> Somewhere in a field in Northern California, there’s a sheep munching away on grass and clover, its coat poofy and ready for shearing.
And somewhere on the Central Coast is a hand-spinner just waiting to turn that fleece into a knitted coat or woven rug.
How it gets from A to B is the story of wool.
You can see the process for yourself at the 35th annual Wool Show at the Monterey County Fair, which runs through Monday. The competition is one of only two in the California fair network, and this year it received the Western Fair Association’s Blue Ribbon Award.
The show is organized by Anne’s Web, a group of about 60 spinners — people who turn wool into yarn — from Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
In a room lined on one wall with about 50 bundles of wool and filled throughout with tools, exhibits and knitted or woven items, show co-chair Claudia Ward explains the steps that transform wool into clothing and more.
Shear the sheep
A sheep’s wool is called fleece, and it’s sheared off in one piece. Many of the farmers who submitted fleece for the show hail from Orland, between Sacramento and Redding.
“Sheep shearers are a rare breed,” said Ward. “They’re hard to find.”
The breed of sheep and how they’re raised will depend on the target buyer. Fleece bound for factories must be white.
“But in the hand-spinning world, we enjoy spinning a gorgeous black fleece,” Ward said.
White Cormo and Merino sheep are popular. Jacobs are prized for being multicolored. Shetlands cover all bases — they can be solid white or black or multicolored.
Wool is sold as-is, so the cleaner the fleece, the higher the price. For that reason, many farmers will put coats on their sheep to protect the wool from sun or dirt.
The average price for wool at the fair is $15 to $18 per pound, but about five years ago, fleece sold for $50 per pound.
“That’s really rare, but it happened,” said Ward. “It made news around the wool world in California.”
Wash and prepare the wool
Washing is pretty straight-forward: You try to get as much of the dirt and vegetable matter as possible out of the fleece.
After that, spinners will either card or comb the wool to get it ready to be turned into yarn. The goal is to separate the fibers and get them pointed in one direction.
“Wool, unlike a lot of other fibers, if you look at it under the microscope, it has little hooks,” Ward said.
Hand cards, which look like flat paddles with a bunch of small spikes, grab hold of the hooks and create something called a rolag. “It’s just a nicely ordered wool clump,” Ward said.
Cards are used to make coarser yarn for sweaters and the like.
Combs are T-shaped, the head lined with nails. “They’re wicked-looking things. Their nails are about as long as your finger,” Ward said. “I mean, you could kill somebody with them.”
Combs get rid of the little fibers and leave the long ones behind, which makes for a smooth yarn that could be used in something like a man’s suit.
From there, the wool can be dyed or left natural.
Spin the wool
Spinning the wool is the process of turning it into yarn, using either spinning wheels or handheld drop spindles, which look like long, skinny tops.
“From the beginning of time, people have spun with basically a rock and a stick,” Ward said. “All you need is a weight.”
Spinning wheels come in a variety of styles, their general appearance being that of a large wheel on a bench. Their parts can be arranged horizontally, like the popular Saxony wheel, or vertically. Some can fold up for traveling. Some are electric.
“There’s always a big debate — which is more efficient,” the spindle or the wheel, Ward said.
The spinning wheel didn’t come into Western Europe until about the 1200s, via India, she said. The drop spindle, conversely, has been around for thousands of years, and there are places around the world where that method is still preferred, like in the Andes.
“It’s so a part of them,” she said. “They can spin like you wouldn’t believe.”
Weave it, knit it, crochet it
The yarn is made — time to use it.
The handmade entries in the Wool Room show off the endless possibilities, from coats and hats to rugs and even to small teddy bears.
“Most people who get started in spinning start out as knitters, so they already have an appreciation of yarn,” Ward said.
You can see the whole process in action as members of Anne’s Web spin wool during the fair; one woman is weaving a rug. The wool entries will be auctioned off at 12:30 p.m. Monday.
Contact Jeannie Evers at 831-726-4340.
