Processing Wool at Custom Woolen Mills...

Our wool is produced on machines dating back to 1886. Custom Woolen Mills started in 1975 as a small family business and has grown from 40,000 lb/year to 100,000 lb/year production. (Photo: Card Inscription c.1886)

 

Wool Washing

Producers bring raw wool to us to process. We call it raw wool because it has just been shorn off of the sheep. (Producers sheer the sheep about once a year; the result is a fleece which weighs about 5 to 10 pounds, and has fibers between 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches in length. Wool that contains a small amount of vegetable matter can be cleaned without chemicals.

At Custom Woolen Mills we use a two bowl system - a wash with detergent and a rinse with water. Wool grease (or lanolin when refined) is a secretion from the sheep's sebaceous glands that is present in raw wool. Most of the grease (about 95%) is washed out by heating the wash water past the lanolin melting point (120 F.) (Photo: Rinse Bowl)

Once the wool is washed it is put in a centrifuge and then dried.

 

Dyeing

Chemical dyes were not used until 1856. Prior to that, natural dyes were used. Black sheep were important for their unique wool, but were also unusual as a black sheep is a genetic throw-back. Baa Baa Black Sheep was something to sing about; on the other hand, being the "black sheep of the family" was a mixed blessing!

At Custom Woolen Mills we still use natural greys and blacks in our craft wools and yarns. In addition, we dye the wool, and produce over 25 different colors of wool which can be carded and spun into craft wools and yarns. (Photo: Dyed Washed Wool)

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Carding

Wool carding is the process of brushing the wool fibers with wire teeth to align the fibers. Wool carding machines were developed in 1748. Before that time wool processing was done by hand as a "cottage industry." The beginning of these machines marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The carding machinery at Custom Woolen Mills dates from the 1880's to 1910.

Batt Card 1886	Spinning Roll Card 1910
4-Ply Spinning Roll Card 1910	Spinning Roll Card Inscription

 

Spinning

Custom Woolen Mills is the only mill in Canada that still uses a "spinning mule" for yarn processing. Developed during the last half of the eighteenth century, and contributing greatly to the Industrial Revolution, the spinning mule was the mainstay of commercial spinning for over one hundred years. Our spinning mule was built in 1910, and spins 192 bobbins at a time. (Photo: Spinning Mule)

Mule spun yarns have a characteristic all their own. Yarns spun on frames have a constant tension, and are spun and wound continuously, while mule spun yarns are drawn, spun, relaxed, then wound about six feet at a time. The draw allows for a more uniform product, and the relaxation of the tension allows the yarn to fluff up more. Many experts consider the mule to make the very highest quality of hand work yarns. (Photo: Spooler)

We also spin on a roving frame which is based on a continuous motion spinning machine developed around 1769.

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Knitting

The knitting hand frame was invented in 1859 and framework knitting was a small industry right up to the 1900's. The first recognized double cylinder knitting machine was around 1900. Prior to 1900, woolen mills would pay hand knitters to knit their own brand of goods and give them special "knitting recipes" to knit to.

Custom Woolen Mills uses a William Spiers model knitter built prior to 1917 as a demonstration machine and we do all of our production on a 1960's model Komet. The Komet can produce a sock in a little over three minutes. (Photo: Komet Knitting Machine)

Custom Woolen Mills also demonstrates the home knitting machines built in the early 1900's. These machines were made available in Canada through the war effort. People could use the machines to make socks for the war effort, and after they filled a certain quota, they could keep the machine. (Photo: Knitting Yarn)

 

 

Comforter Sewing

Custom Woolen Mills comforters have been sewn in the same way for over 50 years. The sewing machine and stitching pattern are unique. We produce 10 to 12 comforters per day. (Photo: Comforter Sewing Frame)

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