Crocheting With Wool Roving - Unspun Wool

There was a tiny bit of roving left over after our felting project, that I didn't want to let go to waste. I thought about turning it into beads, but I didn't think there would be enough beads to make anything interesting. I considered storing it in the closet with all the other left over bits a pieces of supplies, but that seemed a shame after all the work we put into dyeing it.

Finally, I picked up my crochet hook, and turned it into a little heart to hang on a doorknob or chair back. I actually started out to make a flower, but I didn't even have enough roving left for that, so with two petals on, it became a heart. I've never tried crocheting roving before (plastic bags yes - unspun wool no). It was interesting, and surprisingly easy.

In order to join the fiber pieces together, I just overlapped them a little and gave them a bit of a twist. I crocheted loosely, so as not to pull to hard on the loose fiber. It wasn't really that much different than crocheting with yarn. And, it increased my appreciation of the Kool-Aid dye we had used - the colors were soft and beautiful as they moved past the hook.

I'm not sure I'd want to try a large project this way, but it has definitely piqued my interest for hand spinning fiber. I did a quick search on YouTube, and found quite a few tutorials on hand spinning with a drop spindle. Maybe we'll start a new family hobby when the weather drives us back inside this winter. Of course, then maybe we'd better learn how to really crochet or knit, before we start making our own yarn. How many loomed hats and purses can one family need?

It's great to be a homeschooler!