Quality wool, mohair is goal of producer

By KARI KRAMER | East Texas Edition

Goats, such as this one pictured, and sheep at Janet Kaslon’s farm in Hopkins County are used to produce quality wool and hair. -- Staff photo by Kramer

Dec. 15, 2005 - Janet Kaslon believes in quality control.

Kaslon, of Como, raises sheep and goats at her Hopkins County farm. She sheers the animals, processes the wool and hair, and makes handmade Texas products in her home shop.

Although she’s worked on a farm all her life, the past 20 have been devoted to raising sheep and goats. Currently she has 10 sheep and 15 goats. 

Each April all the animals are sheered and the goats are sheered again in September. Kaslon said that when they are sheered properly, the coats can be laid out like a blanket. She lays the coats out and trims away the tail and leg portions. Then she begins selecting which wool she will keep.

�I want wool that you can put on your head and next to your body,� she said. �All the wool I use on my projects is hand selected by me.�

Janet Kaslon of Como uses to create a variety of warm, wearable items.    -- Staff photo by Kramer

She is so serious about maintaining the highest quality that every year she burns the wool that does not meet her standards.

Once the wool and hair is sorted, she washes the coats ... which is not as easy as it sounds. “It takes about eight times to get it cleaned,” she said.

After each washing, Kaslon has to clean the washing machine to remove dirt and hay that has been pulled from the coats.  

She uses an old washing machine that she fills with extremely hot water for the washing. The coats are soaked twice and then a pH balanced soap is used. Lastly, the coats are spun out.

�It�s a very long process� she explained.

Even after eight washes, Kaslon said some small hay pieces may be left in the fibers, a trade-off when comparing her fiber to that purchased from a store.

�We use no chemicals to dissolve the hay,� she said. �It�s a whole lot softer.� She added that even in a final product, very small pieces of hay will appear. But, opposite of hay-free, store-bought products, Kaslon said her fibers will be softer, and more comfortable for wearing.

If colored wool is desired for a product, Kaslon dyes the fiber with a specific chemical made for protein-only fibers, not cotton. The dying can be done at several stages. Before drying and after spinning are two of the most preferred stages for Kaslon to dye her fibers.

Then the coats are hung to dry on racks.

�Then you card it,� said Kaslon. The coats are run through a machine with two prickly wheels. The machine fluffs the coats and aligns the fibers.

The craftswoman does not card all of her own coats; she sends some off to another company that can card the fiber faster. She said she usually has more wool than she can process.

�I can�t do that much,� she said. �It�s cheaper to have them do it.�

Once the coats return to the shop, she usually sells many of them to other spinners who need wool and hair.

The carded coat (which now resembles quilt batting) is spun into yarn. She spins the yarn through once, and sometimes spins it again to make a two-ply yarn (the more popular style seen at most craft stores). She said it takes about two hours to spin 250 yards of yarn.

For Kaslon, spinning the yarn is not only part of her hobby, she said it is great stress relief.

�It�s very relaxing,� she said. �All of your problems go into the spin wheel, up that thread, and they�re gone.�

The entire process takes days to go from a sheered coat to a spindle of yarn.

�It�s a very time consuming process,� Kaslon said.

And with each step of processing, every inch of the fiber passes through her hands, creating an opportunity for complete product and quality control. When the yarn is finally spun, the fiber “is perfect,” according to Kaslon.

She then begins the tedious task of making garments and accessories from the yarn.

She knits hats, scarves, throws, shawls, sweaters, vests, and several other items from her own sheep and goats’ wool and hair.

The hats are knitted, and then washed to be shrunk for maintaining their shape. Kaslon said making a hat takes about 10 hours. The final product is a fuzzy, soft, flawless product.

Though some of her projects are weaved on a loom, she said she prefers knitting.

�I think I probably knit more than I weave,� she said. �I carry the knitting with me, and sometimes I think you need a project in your hands.�

She carries those knitting projects to the many arts and craft shows she attends every year. Every year she sends yarn samples to the State Fair of Texas, but said attending other shows has started to get too expensive, a problem for someone selling a product that takes hours, maybe even days to make, and still has to be sold at a marketable price.

�I probably don�t get minimum wage out of my products,� said Kaslon. �People have to realize how time-consuming it is, and that it�s worth every penny.�

The handmade products cost more than mass-produced products, a fact that some consumers may not understand. But Kaslon said those who buy her products will see and feel the difference.

�A good wool sweater is kind of like a good pair of jeans or a leather coat,� she said. �You break them in and they last a long time.�

In order to get her name to the public, Kaslon joined the Texas Department of Agriculture’s GoTexan program, which promotes products made from Texas food and fiber producers.

Her company, Spinning Rainbows, is listed on the GoTexan website. She said the $25 annual fee has been worth it. “I’ve made some contact with yarn shops that way.”

She said yarn shops sometimes contact her with special requests, and other times just like to have handmade Texas yarn on-hand. 

She likes the fact that the GoTexan program promotes natural goods from Texas. “I think we need to use more of the natural stuff,” she said. “You know, more of the stuff around us.”

She hopes other people will consider taking on projects such as hers, but had a few words of advice.

�Use a good basic wool to start with, get the best you can,� she said, and added that the same goes for the dye. �If you�re going to do it, do it right.�

In addition, she noted how fast sheep and goats can multiply.

Kaslon is expecting babies this February from her sheep and goats, but said she does not breed with hopes of her animals having twins. Instead she hopes for single, healthy babies, with great coats.

More babies would mean more profits coupled with more work, but making a profit is not the primary concern for the crafter who has not worked off the farm since high school. She views her projects as a hobby.

�If you don�t enjoy it, it�s work,� she said. Instead she considers what she does �a labor of love.�

To learn more about Kaslon and other GoTexan members and products, visit www.GoTexan.org.