Before you wash and card shorn sheep, alpaca or llama fleece for spinning yarn, you need to skirt them. Skirting removes a lot of the inferior material from fleeces, including short cuts of fiber that are useless to spinners, unwanted vegetable matter, and tags (bits of fiber matted with animal waste). In addition to providing a surface for you to spread out your fleece, most skirting tables feature a wide mesh surface that supports intact fleece while allowing unwanted materials to fall to the ground. If you process raw fleeces, but you don't want to spend a lot of money on purchasing a skirting table, you can make your own.
- Two 4x4 pieces of wood
- Measuring tape
- Chicken wire
- Wire cutters
- Staple gun
- 2 saw horses
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Instructions
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1
Arrange two 5-foot long pieces of 4 by 4 wood 16 inches apart.
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2
Cut a 24-inch wide by 5-foot long piece of chicken wire with wire cutters.
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3
Place the wire on top of the wood planks, making sure the chicken wire edges match up with the edges of your wood planks.
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4
Staple the chicken wire into place. Place a staple every inch along the length of wooden planks to ensure the wire is securely attached.
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5
Position two saw horses about 5 feet apart and set the finished skirting table on top.