Felsted Woollen Mill & Scour

Help us build the Felsted Woollen Mill & Scour and get a share of the benefits.

Lend us any amount, from £20.00 up to £200,000 for up to 3-years and get 50% Discount off any of the new Mill's products or Wool processing Services... "From Farm to Yarn".

We have decided that, rather than Retire, we are going to start a whole new business, processing wool, for Farmers and Crafters, large medium or small;

This is not quite as bonkers as, at first, it (we) might seem:

At the moment, British Wool is under valued, it is a disgrace that it is cheaper to burn or compost it on-farm, than use it...
Wool is good for the Environment, both while it is on the sheep's back, as well as off.
The Earth is being buried under a mass of micro-plastic, some of which is washed down the drain every time you wash that Plastic fleece jumper.
etc.... The list is long.

There are so many reasons we aught to be valuing wool, we thought we'd have a go at trying to make a difference...

We have been processing and selling around 300kgs of our own Gotland fleeces each year for the past 10-years. A process that takes a lot of time, buckets of hot water and a lot of time - around ten or twelve months... (I know I said time twice...)

More recently, we have also been Toll Processing for other owners of small flocks; Scouring, opening and carding fibres from various breeds into ever bigger Batts. However, this process is also incredibly time consuming and not very energy or water-efficient, both (Economics and the Environment... ) issues close to our heart.

We thought: "There has to be a better way..."?

Also, as Arkwright found in the C18th, you can't hand-spin [much] yarn for money, and make a profit.

So, to address all of these issues, Cara and I have spent several years, "trying to find a way...". Turns out that Felsted Mill (we think), is "IT"!

By July 2024 we plan to begin development of the Felsted Woollen Mill and Scour, capable of processing around 18,000 kgs of wool fibres each year, sourced from both our own flock, local commercial flocks an other small flocks wanting to add value to their wool fibres.

The Mill will accept any quantity of fibre, from a single (1 - 2kg) Fleece "In the Grease", up to several tonnes. It will wash the fleece using a highly energy and water efficient Scour of our own design.

Many small scours use industrial washing machines (Or buckets) that consume around 1,000 litres of water per 15kgs of fleece. We did not think this was an environmentally or financially sustainable option.. Our scour is designed to use no more than 150 litres for the same quantity of wool; hopefully much less...

Having washed the fibres, we will open them, returning clean open fibres to people that enjoy the physical work-out that is hand-carding.

For those happy with their "Bingo wings", our new Mill equipment will also card the fibres to produce either Carded Woollen Batts, Roving or Slivers, suitable for Needle Felting, hand spinning and a range of other uses.

Contract Fleece Processing - Felsted Fleece

For the more discerning Spinner, the new equipment will also be able to Pin Draft (Comb) the fibres to produce semi-worsted Tops, suitable for hand spinning.

What has traditionally taken us 12-months, we will now do in 7-days! Better!!

However, we are most excited about the opportunity to be able to spin breed-specific yarns in a range of Counts, at a commercial scale.