250 gram, Poll Dorset x Merino Core wool
 
This rustic raw core is from our 2021 batch and does have a little VM. It is very easy to wash, roll and sculpt. It is a spongy core, with the open nature of the fleece allowing room for the addition of topcoat easily and it wet felts well.
 
I like Nelly core because it is easy to open a completed sculpture for the addition of weight. This is something I do to a lot of my sculptures to add that extra element of realism.
 
Chanel aka Nelly is the matriarch of my little flock. She arrived here a newborn in 2015 with ingrown eyelashes. It’s no wonder she had lost her mum on my friends huge sheep farm, she couldn’t see at all. She was a very robust lamb and after immediate vet treatment she boomed and became the massive personality she is today. One of the smartest creatures I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. It’s a bonus that her wool has so many fabulous qualities too.
 
Although she is a Poll Dorset x Merino, she leans more toward the Poll Dorset. Ironically her fleece is always the whitest in the paddock on hoof, however,  once washed has a creamish tint. It's easy to wash, pick and process on the carding machine. It has a distinct sweet smell of Nelly which is intoxicating and only reflects her beautiful personality. The lanolin softens hands, helps with hand felting and sticking to itself when sculpting.
 
Raw: straight from the sheep's back to you. Guaranteed VM and second cuts.
Washed: lovingly washed but unprocessed. Some VM and second cuts.
Batts: washed, painstakingly picked and carded. Minimal VM and second cuts.