My First No-Kill 'Sheep Skin' Rug

Rug Designed But Not Yet Felted

After shearing, the fleeces are skirted two times. The first time what comes off is pretty much garbage--good for mulch and that is about it. When I skirt them later for the second time, there is often some really nice stuff that gets pulled for a variety of reasons like excess veggie matter or mats for instance. It can be a bit heart breaking to throw some of it away.

Enter the 'no kill sheep skin' rug! These things are way fun to do and so far I've made two out of the bag full of skirtings. Combining some roving for the base and the individual locks from a variety of fleeces and felting it together is the basic concept. Keeping the lock structure intact is important to give it the 'fresh off the sheep' look. They are lovely soft to step on, even though they do still have some veggie matter in them (hey, just like my real on the hoof fleeces-ha..).

Care of them should be minimal--a good shake out weekly or on occasion a soapy soak in the tub, a rinse and a flat surface to dry on.

They are fun to make and because they are fairly small in size, I can easily 'roll' them in the bathtub. I'm looking forward to making many more--I'm even eyeballing a couple of trashy lambs fleeces for future NK Rugs!

Here are a few pictures of the unfinished and finished rug:

Another view of the rug after assembly but before felting

Rug has been wet-felted and is in the drying process

Finished NK Rug
Rug has dried and been 'picked' to bring locks back up and also some needle felting was done to reinforce thin areas.

This little rug is already in it's new home, where it will help keep a spinner's toes warm this winter.