ICHO Curly Fiber Guild

Properties of Curly Fiber

Resembles mohair,Very soft, Very Warm, Hypoallergenic
It can be spun into yarn
Knit, crochet, weave the yarn into many items

Mission Statement~ Our mission is to promote the use of Curly Horse fiber and provide Curly owners with a market for selling their fiber.

Goals ~ We are a group of spinners, weavers, knitters & crochet artists that provide instruction on how to harvest, clean & spin Curly fiber. We exchange information & ideas about working with the fiber. We also provide demonstrations for the public at Breed demo`s where Curly horses are represented. We will also provide craft items made of Curly fiber for display at breed demos & horse fairs.

NEW ~ "How to Spin Curly fiber" Video. This is a step by step video, homemade by Bunny, on how to harvest, clean, wash, card and spin Curly. Also available is the video, a drop spindle and a batt of carded Curly blended fiber. To order go to: http://store.curlyhorses.org Click on FIBER then video or video kit.

If you have a Curly, and don't spin, consider donating the fiber. I am selling the fiber to spinners & all monies will be donated to Curly Horse Rescue or Curly Horse Research of ICHO. Thanks for your donation of Curly hair to help other Curlies!

Curly Horse Rescue, Inc.
Please send donated shedded hair diectly to~
Curly Horse Rescue, Inc.
PO Box 481
Oxford, CT 06478



WORKING WITH CURLY FIBER

The Curly horse coat can be harvested and spun into yarn. The shedded curly coat comes off in the spring. The Curly hair collected is a mohair like fiber. It varies from course to very soft. The Curly fiber can be blended with other fibers and spun into yarn. It is a hypoallergenic fiber, since many people allergic to horses show little allergic symptoms to Curlies.

Curly Fiber Spinners ~ Bunny Reveglia, HC 31 Box 102A, Williamsburg, NM 87942

Sandra Bennett, Rt 1 Box 351, Tazewell, 24651 email: bricbenn@netscope.net

Robin Pooler, Flying Horse Farm, Maine

Once the Curly hair has been collected off the horse, pick out the large pieces of VM (vegetable matter, hay, straw, etc.) To wash the fiber, fill a bucket, large bowl or tub with warm water & Dawn dishwash detergent or baby shampoo. Put the fiber in the water & push it down gently. Let it soak for 15 min. Remove all the fiber & squeeze out the water. Empty dirty water & soak in warm clean water. To rinse fill the bowl with clean warm water & put the fiber in. Repeat two or three times, until water is clear. To dry, place on a towel & air dry on a rack or put in front of a fan on low for air movement. Also on top of a warm dryer works great.

~~ Blending Curly with other Fibers ~~

I`ve used very soft wool & med soft wool to blend with the Curly. Also great to blend is mohair, alpaca, llama even silk and angora rabbit. Card some wool, then add the Curly to the wool on the cards & card some more. You`ll have little puffs of blended fiber. I`ve also dyed the white Curly fiber & wool with Kool Aid to come up with some beautiful colors. Put the fiber in a bowl of hot water to just cover fiber. Add dry unsweetened Kool Aid of your choice & press down into fiber. Microwave on high until hot & steamy but not boiling. Let cool until all water is clear or milky, & color is in the fiber. Rinse, then dry.

~~ Spinning ~~

The blended Curly/wool spins up very nice into a fuzzy eyelash type yarn. You can then knit, crochet or weave something from the yarn. It is very, very warm.

Bunny Reveglia HC 31 Box 102A Williamsburg, NM 87942 bnrkcc@yahoo.com

My Favorite Web sites

Curly yarn Cowboy Hats, Fiber For sale, Curly Fiber Items
ICHO Home Page
Curly Home page