The Many Stages Of Hand Preparation & Production
Shearing – The Beginning of the Story
Shearing marks the beginning of our wool processing journey, but more importantly, it plays a vital role in maintaining the health and wellbeing of our animals. Both goats and sheep should be shorn twice a year to ensure their comfort and overall condition. With fewer than 100 Australian Heritage Angora goats remaining worldwide, their fleece is incredibly rare—making every piece created from it not only beautiful, but truly exceptional.
Skirting & Selection – Choosing the Exceptional
Once shorn, each fleece is carefully laid out and skirted by hand. During this process, we remove debris and separate the fibres, paying close attention to the natural variations within the fleece. It’s a deliberate and considered step that ensures only clean, workable fibre moves forward.
We then assess each section for quality—looking at fineness, strength, and overall character. Every fleece is unique, shaped by the animal and its environment, and we honour those differences in how we handle it.
Washing (Scouring) – Revealing the True Fibre
Washing (Scouring) – Revealing the True Fibre
Sheep fleece is generally washed or scoured prior to processing, depending on the desired outcome. Washing will remove most of the dirt while retaining some of the lanolin, ideal for creating items requiring a level of moisture resistance due to the oil content. Scouring will remove most of the lanolin and dirt, a vital part of the process required for carding or dyeing.
Dyeing
Washing (Scouring) – Revealing the True Fibre
Dyeing fleece happens at this point in the process should you decide that you want to work with vibrant colours. You could choose tones of natural hues of browns, greys and other earthy colours or you have your heart set on vibrant colours that turn heads, we partner with Gaywool Dyes to bring you one of the largest and best quality wool blends most of which are available all year around.
Carding or Combing
You might want to card your fibre in to batts ready for smooth and seamless hand spinning – this is a step recommended if your fleece is a little matted, you want to blend your colours, or you are looking for a very smooth even hand spin. Most remaining imperfections are removed at this stage, and your fibre will all be aligned in the one direction
Spinning
Every fleece is different, and every result will be unique. Some fleece will be easy to pull apart, some will be challenging. Most will have their own irregularities (love bumps…) and particularly if the fleece is dyed before spinning, the wonderful randomness of how it turns out as a finished product which is impossible to fully recreate.
Knitting
Finishing – The Final Touch
Design & Creation
The ancient art of using sticks to loop spun wool into works of art, handed down from our female ancestors to create items of warmth, comfort and beauty. Whether you have the skills to knit up your desired project or you want to engage our team to help create your vision, we can make it work for you.
Design & Creation
Finishing – The Final Touch
Design & Creation
Whether you are looking for a specific article of clothing to add to your wardrobe or you have an item in mind but don't know how to knit or crochet yourself; our team can help. Whether you are after a jumper for ski season, some gloves for your next trip, a one of a kind scarf to keep you super warm while working or a gift for someone who has everything; Whatever it is, we can help you create the article of your dreams.
Finishing – The Final Touch
Finishing – The Final Touch
Finishing – The Final Touch
When custom making a piece, it is treated like a work of art. You will receive your masterpiece in a package which it can be stored in during the warmer months, with an infused felted scent ball to ward off any unwanted squatters, and some spare yarn should you need to make any repairs over time. So long as you follow the included recommended care instructions, your piece of art will remain with you for a very long time.
Some of our commonly requested items:
Beanies
Larger wardrobe Items
Skeins of wool
Beanies – Skullcaps, standard beanies, or our very popular reversible ski hoodies are available in a variety of colour tones as requested by our clients. The color palette can be selected from our Gaywool line, found below:.
Skeins of wool
Larger wardrobe Items
Skeins of wool
At the Rustic Ram, we specialise in creating unique yarn from our primary source, Rare Flocks Farm. Our yarns are usually dyed at fleece stage, then spun to provide enough to create whatever your work of art requires. It is important to ensure you consider how much you need, as each dye batch will give different results – we can help with your estimation, based on what we produce ourselves.
Larger wardrobe Items
Larger wardrobe Items
Larger wardrobe Items
If you are looking for a jumper, vest or coat, let us know – we can utilise all of the processes outlined to ensure you are going to receive a unique piece that you will treasure for many years. If you have an item in mind feel free to reach out – we can work with you to make your custom piece come to life.