Floof and Fiber Mini Mill

At Floof and Fiber we offer custom wool processing for local farmers in NY state and PA. We offer a raw fleece to hand combed top or batts service. Contact us today to see how we can work together to make your fiber beautiful.

Our Mill Services

Carding to Batts

After scouring and drying your fiber, if you select Carding to batts as you final preparation we will pick and card your cleaned fiber to approximately 1oz fluffy batts ready for you to work with. Picking is included in this service free of charge.

Price: $15/lb

Minimum: 1lb

Hand Combed Top

After your fiber is washed and picked we will hand comb it using our Hackle and Comb and then diz the fiber off into a ball of roving/top. This is our finest fiber preparation and does make for a lot of waste. If desired the waste from the combing process can be given back to you as core wool batts.

Price: $25/lb

Minimum: 1lb

Roving

We will pick your scoured fiber and put it though the carding machine until it is uniform. The fiber will then be pulled off the drum in a continuos roving. This is a light, airy preparation perfect for hand spinning but it will not be as fine as our hand combed top service. There is however hardly any waste with this method so you will find the occasional nep or short cut in the roving, all of which can easily be pulled out as you're spinning.

Price: $20/lb

Minimum: 1 lb

Scouring

This step cleanses your fiber in hot water and eco-friendly detergent to remove all dirt and lanolin. Two washes with detergent and two rinses in clean water are included in the price. Finer or greasier fleeces may require additional scouring which will be priced at $3 per incoming pound for additional wash/rinse cycles.

Price: $6.50/lb

Minimum: 2lb

Step 1

Skirting

We carefully remove debris, vegetation, and unusable fiber from your fleece. Fleeces must be skirted before arrival; please remove heavily soiled or stained wool, matted or felted edges, belly and leg wool, and wool with excessive vegetable matter, burrs, or manure tags.

If a fleece arrives insufficiently skirted and requires additional work, a skirting fee of $8/lb will be added to your order.

Step 2

Scouring

Your fiber is gently washed with eco-friendly detergents to remove lanolin, dirt, and oils while preserving its natural crimp and character.

Includes 2 washes and 2 rinses
Fleeces typically lose 10%–50% of their weight during scouring, with an average loss of about 30%
Additional washing or rinsing, if needed, is charged at half the normal rate per pound
Customers may scour their fleece at home if preferred but if there is still lanolin in it we will charge for scouring.

Subsequent processing is priced by the dry weight after scouring.

A close up view of raw wool soaking in a scouring bath.

Step 3

Carding to Batts

Carding aligns the fibers into a soft, fluffy preparation using a drum carder. Each batt measures approximately 2 feet by 12 inches and weighs about 1 oz.

What to expect:
Batts are a wonderfully airy fiber prep, but depending on the quality of the fleece, they may include some nepps (small fiber tangles) and shorter fibers. This is a natural characteristic of the carding process and varies with each fleece.

Priced by weight after scouring.

Best for: Felting and spinning.

Step 4

Hand Combed Top

Hand combed top is the finest fiber preparation we offer. The washed and dried fiber is first picked open, then combed by hand using a hackle and comb. The resulting fiber is pulled off the hackle through a diz into a continuous roving/top style preparation.

What to expect:
Hand combed top is exceptionally fine, completely free of nepps and short cuts, and wonderfully light and open. Each 1 oz strip is wrapped into a small nest, ready for spinning.

Please note on waste:
This is a labor-intensive process and there will be a significant amount of waste wool — up to 50% depending on the fleece. However, the resulting product is the finest preparation available for hand spinning. If you'd like, the waste wool can be carded into core wool for your own use — just let us know when you submit your fleece.

Priced by weight after scouring.

Best for: Hand spinning.