Felted fleece “sheepskin” rug, cream, long, ‘shaggy’ locks, 39″ x 22″ – Cheviot Hog fleece

£152.00

Manufacture – Hand made

Material –  Wool

Dimensions – length: 39 inches (99cm); width: 22 inches (56cm)

Out of stock

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.

This rug is made from a fleece kindly given to me by our neighbours.  They keep a flock of Cheviots who have gorgeous fleeces, long, springy and lustrous.  I rootled around in the bag of fleeces and chose a “Hog” fleece to make this rug.  A “Hog” is a young sheep, older than a lamb, but younger than a shearling.  This fleece still contains baby wool and because a Hog wouldn’t have gone through the stress of giving birth yet, the wool is of amazing quality, full of bounce with a silky texture.

I could go on for ages about this fleece so I’ll try not to go over-board, but I fell in love with the cute spirally curls when I was making this rug.  The locks are well defined giving this rug a shaggy appearance.  Close up, each lock is ‘crimpy’, the tip of each lock ends in a curl which is the curly lamb’s wool which baby Cheviots are born with.  As they mature in age their wool becomes straighter and ‘crimpier’ which you will see if you look closely at an individual lock.

This creamy coloured rug measures approx. 39 inches in length from top to bottom measured at the longest points, and approx. 22 inches across the middle at the widest part (not including locks).  Locks measure approx. 3.5 inches.  This is a weighty rug, heavier than the ones I normally make, it must be all that lambs wool!  It’s a real beauty and would make a gorgeous bedside rug, you would never get very far as once your feet touch it they won’t want to move!  It would also look very elegant draped across a bed or an ottoman.  It’s almost too elegant to use as a fireside rug but if you’re not very messy around your fire, then it would look stunning I’m sure.

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.  The bigger the rug, the longer it takes.  This rug took me about a week to make, see how I make them here:

My husband Adrian and I run a small holding in the Galloway Hills of South West Scotland.  We keep a flock of Coloured Ryeland sheep as well as hens and two rescue dogs.  We try to live as sustainably as we can and we like to use what we produce in creative ways.

In keeping with our holistic approach we like to use our fleeces in creative ways.  In the past we sent all our fleeces away to be spun into yarn but now we keep most to make felted fleece items.  Friends and neighbours have taken to giving me their fleeces too which is why I can happily offer many different types of fleeces.  I love the way that by making these rugs, the same sheep can provide a rug year after year.

Please note, although I carefully wash and rinse each rug, you may still find tiny bits of hay/grass/seeds hiding away in the fleece.

Should you need to wash your rug it can be gently soaked in warm water using a wool detergent followed by a refreshing vinegar rinse to keep the pH happy.  You can also machine wash it on the wool cycle however please be aware there is small risk of the rug shrinking if machine washed.

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