Description
I don’t know about you, but I love hydrangeas. They’re just so big and lush, I just had to hand dye some wool top to celebrate their riot of blues, pinks and purples.
This Polwarth wool top (sometimes mistakenly called a roving, read below) was hand dyed by me here in my tiny Edinburgh studio. It is a one-of-a-kind colourway.
If you’re looking for wool for felting and spinning but want something other than Merino, this super soft Polwarth is perfect for your needs. It’s a still medium staple fibre, but it has a lot more bounce and more volume than Merino. Polwarth wool is truly a joy to work with.
There is a whole 100 grams (or 3.5 ounces) for you to play with as you wish.
What is the difference between wool top and wool roving?
I’m sure you’ve seen this type of wool referred as either wool top or wool roving, but which is this and what makes them different?
I’m glad you asked (well ok, I asked for you…)
Wool top is a type of mill processing which removes all the shorter staples and combs the remaining fibres in the same direction. The result is a smooth-looking continuous length of wool like the one you see in the photos above.
Wool roving is a little different, a lot of the shorter staples are left in and the fibres aren’t all combed in the same direction, so the appearance of the wool will be slightly fuzzier and less shiny in appearance.
Two different types of wool preparation, both with their merits, but definitely not the same and will yield different results if you’re using the wool for spinning and felting. Now you know!
A colour disclaimer
Although I have done my very best to convey the true colours of this wool, please note that my monitor settings may vary from yours.
