combed top, Valais Blacknose sheep

Hand-combed top is produced by combing the wool with long-tined wool combs. Images of combs like this can, for instance, be found in the Luttrell-Psalter dating to the 14th c or on the portal of the cathedral in Chartres dating to the 12th century.

The combs only hold a limited amount of fibre to be processed at one time. The fibres are loaded onto one of the combs and then transferred to the second comb. Shorter fibres and vegetable matter fall out or remain on the first comb, from which they are removed. The transfer is repeated until the fibres are all nicely aligned and clear of short cuts and vegetable matter. Then, the combed fibres are carefully pulled from the comb, forming a band; again the short fibres remain on the comb. The bands can then be used for spinning; for historical-style spinning, they would be used to dress a distaff and then spun.

Depending on the size of the comb and on the type and quality of the fibres, the pieces of band can be longer or shorter; the Rhoen sheep top pieces offered here are typically shorter than those of Valais Blacknose top. The resulting pieces are also considerably thinner than industrially produced fibre bands. 

Valais Blacknose sheep wool is medium length wool with a beautiful shine. The combed top color ranges from pure white to slightly off-white. This top, prepared by historical methods, is excellent for spinning by hand with a spindle (use of a distaff is highly recommended). It is also suitable for producing worsted yarn using a modern spinning wheel. The long fibers make it possible to spin a very fine and very stable thread.

Because the short fibers are generously removed during hand-combing, combed top is very different from a modern, industrially produced top. The hand-combed top will look and feel quite differently from industrially produced top or carded band. In case you wonder about the high price - making these fibre bands is a very time-consuming process and yield is rather low (only about one third of the fleece processed ends up in the finished top).

Please order the desired amount in grams (a quantity of 10 corresponds to 10 grams of top).