Curly Horse Fiber
*J. Silverheels owned by Sharon Williams,
Frostfire
Curlies
American Curly Horses have another unique
quality that can
keep you warm! The fine curly coat they have
can be
harvested and spun into yarn. The shedded
curly coat comes
off in the spring. The Curly hair collected
is a
mohair like fiber. It varies from course to very soft. The Curly fiber can be
blended with
other fibers and spun into yarn. It is a
hypoallergenic
fiber, since many people allergic to horses
show little
allergic symptoms to Curlies.
Curly Fiber Spinners ~
Bunny Reveglia, HC 31 Box 102A, Williamsburg, NM 87942 email: bnrkcc@webtv.net
Sandra Bennett, Rt 1 Box 351, Tazewell,
24651 email: bricbenn@netscope.net
Robin Pooler, Flying Horse Farm, Maine
~~ Items made from Curly
fiber ~~
Mandala- Native American style prayer circle
made from Curly handspun yarn.
Woven Wall Hanging- Handwoven from handspun
Curly yarn
~~ Working with Curly Fiber ~~
Once the Curly hair has been collected off
the horse, pick out the large pieces of VM
(vegetable matter, hay, straw, etc.) To wash
the fiber, fill a bucket, large bowl or tub
with warm water & Dawn dishwash detergent or baby shampoo. Put the fiber
in the water & push it down gently. Let it
soak for 15 min. Remove all the fiber &
squeeze out the water. Empty dirty water &
soak in warm clean water. To rinse fill the bowl with clean
warm water & put the fiber in. Repeat two or
three times, until water is clear. To dry,
place on a towel & air dry on a rack or put in front of
a fan on low for air movement. Also on top of a warm dryer works great.
~~ Blending Curly with other Fibers
~~
I`ve used very soft wool & med soft
wool to blend with the Curly. Also great to blend is mohair, alpaca, llama even silk and angora rabbit. Card some wool,
then add the Curly to the wool on the cards &
card some more. You`ll have little puffs of
blended fiber. I`ve also dyed the white Curly
fiber & wool with Kool Aid to come up with
some beautiful colors. Put the fiber in a
bowl of hot water to just cover fiber. Add
dry unsweetened Kool Aid of your choice &
press down into fiber. Microwave on high
until hot & steamy but not boiling. Let cool
until all water is clear or milky, & color
is in the fiber. Rinse, then dry.
~~ Spinning ~~
The blended Curly/wool spins up very nice
into a fuzzy eyelash type yarn. You can then
knit, crochet or weave something from the
yarn. It is very, very warm.
Bunny Reveglia
HC 31 Box 102A
Williamsburg, NM 87942
ICHO Fiber Guild Homepage
