Wool roving dreads FAQ - wool newbs, read me!
Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 1:47 pm
Questions 1-4:buying the right wool
1) What do I buy?
100% Merino Wool Roving Tops. Be sure it is NOT superwash and NOT pencil roving. (Superwash means it won't shrink when felting. Pencil roving is very very thin; making dreads from it would produce tiny results.)
2) Where do I buy?
Instore: If you live in an area with lots of sheep, lots of other woolen products, or lots of crafts stores, chances are you can buy roving at a storefront. Just call around and ask for 100% Merino Wool Roving--NOT superwash, NOT pencil.
Online USA: http://www.BlueGooseGlen.com (my favorite); Etsy.com; Ebay.com
Online UK*: Ebay.co.uk ; Etsy.com ; http://www.winghamwoolwork.co.uk ; http://sarastexturecrafts.wordpress.com/ * http://www.vikingloom.co.uk/ [also a storefront in York*] (UKers if you have more to add, let me know)
Online AUS: Ebay.com; Etsy.com; ??? (Ozzies please help me build this list!)
3) How expensive is it?
USA: $1.25-$2 per ounce of solid colored dyed roving is what I normally pay.
UK*: approximately £2.45 for 100g
AUS: er??? anyone
4) How much do I buy?
If you've never ever felted before, I suggest buying a small amount (1 to 3 oz). Work with that small amount and see if this is an activity you really want to do.
Once you're comfortable, I suggest buying 1 pound (16oz) of roving to do a full head of medium length DEs install or decent falls. If you need more, you can always get more. There is more information regarding this here, including an equation: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=8675&p=139792#p139792
Questions 5-6:prepping the wool
5) How do I get them the right length?
When you get your roving, you'll notice that it's like a thick, long snake. But you need to turn it into individual dreads. Start with length. If you want 20 inch long DEs, then measure out a 40 inch piece of roving. Grip tightly on either side of the 40 inch mark and tug--the roving should rip, leaving wispy ends. These wispy bits will be your tapered ends.
6) Dread width/thickness?
Once you've got your lengths cut, you'll probably notice that the roving is quite thick. Most people making dreads from it will split the wool length wise into two parts (sometimes 3). Definitely do this after determining length. If you want very huge roving, then don't split it. Keep in mind this means more difficult felting because of the thickness, but produces great results similar to FraggleLox (seen here).*
Questions 7-8:making dreads
7)How do I felt?
RivetLicker has made a video tutorial seen here. There's also a text/picture tutorial by Abz here. I suggest reading and looking through Abz's, then watching RivetLickers. When felting you'll probably get sopping wet, burned a little bit, and massively cramped--but it's well worth it!
8) Transition dying, Rainbow Dying, Hand Painted, UV Colors, and more generally making them pretty colors?
Visit this thread to learn about dying wool with Food Coloring and visit this one to learn about UV colors and and this one about using Jacquard iDye and this one for more about Jacquard iDye & transition dying.
Other concerns:
Help! My dreads have ugly cracks in them? viewtopic.php?f=18&t=6532&p=109070&hilit=cracks#p109070
Crinkly/Curly/Wiggly wool dreads? viewtopic.php?f=18&t=7433
Striped wool dreads? viewtopic.php?f=65&t=337 OR viewtopic.php?f=65&t=153
Candy cane wool dreads? viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2752
Other types of wool (alpaca, corriedale, camel, etc)? Other wools like corriedale and alpaca are usable. Often times, they are more difficult to felt, but that all depends on the fineness of the wool. The finer the wool, the faster it will felt--to tell how fine any wool roving is look at the micron count OR Bradford Spinning Count System #. The micron count measures the diameter of the individual wool fibers. 20 and below will be easy to felt. The Bradford Spinning Count System predicts the # of 560 yard skeins you could spin from 1lb of clean fleece. The higher the #, the finer the wool. Your average merino is a 64 count on the Bradford system*. For more info on micron count & Bradford system, click here* viewtopic.php?f=18&t=241
Best soap to felt with? viewtopic.php?f=18&t=6226 OR viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3549
Micron count? What's that about? viewtopic.php?f=18&t=241
*Special Thanks to: CyberWench
*Special Thanks to: Jane Doe
*Special Thanks to: Squidgy
*Special Thanks to: Glitter Bat
*Special Thanks to: Elokin
1) What do I buy?
100% Merino Wool Roving Tops. Be sure it is NOT superwash and NOT pencil roving. (Superwash means it won't shrink when felting. Pencil roving is very very thin; making dreads from it would produce tiny results.)
2) Where do I buy?
Instore: If you live in an area with lots of sheep, lots of other woolen products, or lots of crafts stores, chances are you can buy roving at a storefront. Just call around and ask for 100% Merino Wool Roving--NOT superwash, NOT pencil.
Online USA: http://www.BlueGooseGlen.com (my favorite); Etsy.com; Ebay.com
Online UK*: Ebay.co.uk ; Etsy.com ; http://www.winghamwoolwork.co.uk ; http://sarastexturecrafts.wordpress.com/ * http://www.vikingloom.co.uk/ [also a storefront in York*] (UKers if you have more to add, let me know)
Online AUS: Ebay.com; Etsy.com; ??? (Ozzies please help me build this list!)
3) How expensive is it?
USA: $1.25-$2 per ounce of solid colored dyed roving is what I normally pay.
UK*: approximately £2.45 for 100g
AUS: er??? anyone
4) How much do I buy?
If you've never ever felted before, I suggest buying a small amount (1 to 3 oz). Work with that small amount and see if this is an activity you really want to do.
Once you're comfortable, I suggest buying 1 pound (16oz) of roving to do a full head of medium length DEs install or decent falls. If you need more, you can always get more. There is more information regarding this here, including an equation: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=8675&p=139792#p139792
Questions 5-6:prepping the wool
5) How do I get them the right length?
When you get your roving, you'll notice that it's like a thick, long snake. But you need to turn it into individual dreads. Start with length. If you want 20 inch long DEs, then measure out a 40 inch piece of roving. Grip tightly on either side of the 40 inch mark and tug--the roving should rip, leaving wispy ends. These wispy bits will be your tapered ends.
6) Dread width/thickness?
Once you've got your lengths cut, you'll probably notice that the roving is quite thick. Most people making dreads from it will split the wool length wise into two parts (sometimes 3). Definitely do this after determining length. If you want very huge roving, then don't split it. Keep in mind this means more difficult felting because of the thickness, but produces great results similar to FraggleLox (seen here).*
Questions 7-8:making dreads
7)How do I felt?
RivetLicker has made a video tutorial seen here. There's also a text/picture tutorial by Abz here. I suggest reading and looking through Abz's, then watching RivetLickers. When felting you'll probably get sopping wet, burned a little bit, and massively cramped--but it's well worth it!
8) Transition dying, Rainbow Dying, Hand Painted, UV Colors, and more generally making them pretty colors?
Visit this thread to learn about dying wool with Food Coloring and visit this one to learn about UV colors and and this one about using Jacquard iDye and this one for more about Jacquard iDye & transition dying.
Other concerns:
Help! My dreads have ugly cracks in them? viewtopic.php?f=18&t=6532&p=109070&hilit=cracks#p109070
Crinkly/Curly/Wiggly wool dreads? viewtopic.php?f=18&t=7433
Striped wool dreads? viewtopic.php?f=65&t=337 OR viewtopic.php?f=65&t=153
Candy cane wool dreads? viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2752
Other types of wool (alpaca, corriedale, camel, etc)? Other wools like corriedale and alpaca are usable. Often times, they are more difficult to felt, but that all depends on the fineness of the wool. The finer the wool, the faster it will felt--to tell how fine any wool roving is look at the micron count OR Bradford Spinning Count System #. The micron count measures the diameter of the individual wool fibers. 20 and below will be easy to felt. The Bradford Spinning Count System predicts the # of 560 yard skeins you could spin from 1lb of clean fleece. The higher the #, the finer the wool. Your average merino is a 64 count on the Bradford system*. For more info on micron count & Bradford system, click here* viewtopic.php?f=18&t=241
Best soap to felt with? viewtopic.php?f=18&t=6226 OR viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3549
Micron count? What's that about? viewtopic.php?f=18&t=241
*Special Thanks to: CyberWench
*Special Thanks to: Jane Doe
*Special Thanks to: Squidgy
*Special Thanks to: Glitter Bat
*Special Thanks to: Elokin