Felted-fleece, sheep-friendly, “sheepskin” rug – natural cream – Scotch Mule Hog fleece – 36” x 23”

Description

Felted fleece rugs are totally “sheep friendly”.  No sheep are harmed in the process of making them, hurray!  They may look just like sheepskin rugs but if you turn one over, you will see the base of the rug is made entirely of wool, not a hint of hide in sight.

Making each rug is a labour intensive but enjoyable process.  It takes me several days to make a rug as everything is done by hand, see how I make them here:

This rug is made from a beautiful Scotch Mule hog fleece.  I was fortunate to get a bag of these fleeces from a farmer friend of ours, Andy McQuaker who lives nearby.

Scotch Mules are just great!  They are super hardy, make great mums, and have gorgeously long, curly wool.  They’re a cross between the Scottish Blackface and Bluefaced Leicester, both of which have creamy coloured, long, flowing locks.  Click here for further info on this lovely sheep:

Being a “hog” fleece, the wool is of great quality – hogs are young “teenage” sheep who haven’t yet gone through the stresses and strains of lambing which can sometimes affect the wool.

The rug measures approx. 36 inches in length from top to bottom measured at the longest points, and approx. 23 inches across the middle at the widest part.  These measurements don’t include the locks, the locks measure between 5 and 6 inches making the rug appear bigger when it is laid flat.

I really enjoyed making this rug, it was a delight to see it transform from fleece to rug.  I especially love all the little curls which are so soft and pretty.

Please note, although I soak, wash and rinse each rug I make, (sometimes I’ll wash a rug several times over depending on how adventurous the sheep has been on her travels through the pastures and what she has collected on her fleece over the year), it’s likely you’ll still find little “meadow reminders” hiding away in the wool.  Hopefully not too many though!  I go through each fleece after it’s washed and dried and pick out any remaining “meadow bits”, but as you can imagine, it would be impossible to remove every single little seed.

If you’d like to wash your rug yourself, it can be gently soaked in warm water using a wool/silk detergent followed by a refreshing vinegar rinse to keep the pH happy.  More washing info is included with each rug I send out.