Fleece to Roving

摘要

Have you ever wondered about the process which converts filthy fleece to tactile roving? The basic process is the same for large and small batches of fleece: here it is described for the fleece of the North Ronaldsay sheep found on the Orkney island of the same name. The process is in the charge of Jane Donnelly, born and bred on the island, and the manager of the company, A Yarn from North Ronaldsay, which produces rovings and yarn. Until 2003, the fleece was sent to mainland Scotland to be processed, but in late 2003 the company bought a Canadian Mini-Mill, and now the fleece is processed on the island itself. The total island clip is about three and a half tons of raw fleece, of which Jane has about two and a half tons, which is stored in bags of different colours.