Working With Karakul Wool

Letty Klein has been raising Karakul sheep for almost 40 years and offers her advice on working with this rare wool. 

Karakul fiber comes in many colors; it is a coarse strong double-coated rug wool that felts in the blink of an eye! In fact I think this fast-felting trait is half the problem people have when washing a raw Karakul fleece.

It is not next-to-skin soft and it’s not meant for use in a blanket, unless a saddle blanket. Karakul is rug wool from perhaps the oldest breed of sheep -- think Persian Carpets. They have worn well for hundreds of years.

Braiding a rug from the roving is the best use of the fiber.

To spin from roving just draft a bit, treadle slowly, don’t over-spin, and in fact practice your long-draw!

So many possibilities to cherish, work with the color variations, don’t hide them. The yarn on the left has orange noils carded into the roving; this was used as the weft in an award-winning woven rug.

To spin-in-the-grease, which is my favorite, tease the raw locks apart with your fingers. Just fluff it, and let the wheel pull the fibers in as they come.

If you are spinning a lamb fleece, just leave the little birth-curls on the ends of the locks to stick out adding a unique texture and color variation to the yarn. If the wool seems a little sticky, a few seconds in the microwave will soften the grease, a tip told me by the late Glen Eidman.

Washing a raw fleece

Be careful! No agitation and no water temperature changes! For a small amount just lay the locks in a salad spinner or strainer, immerse in hot soapy water for a few minutes, then spin out the soapy water and move the basket to rinse water of the same temperature, spin again and dump onto a towel to dry.