This article is a summary only of the podcast conversation “10. A Sustainable Clothing Journey: From Farm to Fibre”. Listen to the full episode on Spotify podcasts or Apple podcasts, and go here for the relevant links mentioned in the podcast, or read on to enjoy the photos and summary of how Three Muscats Fibre Farm reminds us that behind every piece of clothing, there’s a process, a history, and a whole lot of heart.

A Sustainable Clothing Journey: From Farm to Fibre

When you buy clothes off the rack, you’re buying the final product. The care tag might tell you the basic information – what it’s made of, where it was made and even where it was designed. But decades of globalised production have left us disconnected from our clothes and the journey it takes to get to us.

Rebecca Muscat from Three Muscats Fibre Farm in Singleton, Hunter Valley is a passionate textile and fibre artist. As a first-generation small farm owner, she’s deeply connected to every step of her craft. Her family cares for the animals whose wool is the basis of her clothing creations.

Rebecca’s story reminds us that behind every piece of clothing, there’s a process, a history and a whole lot of heart.

A Move to the Region

Before moving to the Hunter region, Rebecca’s family dreamed of owning a small property. With a background in fibres and textiles, Rebecca was motivated to raise animals that contributed to her creative projects, while also keeping the grass down!

Starting with pets, some experience breeding rabbits and caring for one merino sheep, the family embarked on owning a small number of livestock – three x sheep, two x alpaca and one x angora rabbit. The lengthy learning curve of livestock care and fibre harvesting began the rewarding process of combining farming, art and sustainability into her lifestyle.

Alpacas, Sheep and a Rabbit

Rotational grazing on the 4 acre property keeps the alpacas and sheep healthy while also being kinder to the land. Alpacas were the first animals introduced to the farm. The family completed a course with a local alpaca breeder to learn how to keep them well cared for, healthy and safe.

Sheep came next. Even though Alpaca fibre is beautiful, it lacks the elasticity of sheep wool. Rebecca spins both pure sheep and pure alpaca yarn, but blending them together creates a much more usable product.

Then there’s Ringo, the Angora rabbit. Ringo’s fleece is harvested four times a year. Rabbits naturally shed, so plucking keeps Ringo comfortable and healthy. The dense, long and silky fibres are perfect for Rebecca’s personal projects.

Value of Alpaca Fibre

Did you know that alpaca fibre is 10 times warmer than wool?! For people who are allergic to sheep’s wool, it’s often the lanolin that causes the reaction, making alpaca a great alternative. Alpaca fibre is incredibly soft and light, however the issue for fibre makers is it’s more of a hair than a fleece. The fibre doesn’t have the same spring- back as sheep’s wool, which means it doesn’t regain its shape easily.

Rebecca’s experience with natural fibres shows her deep understanding and connection to fleece production and the care for woollen garments.

Steps of Fleece Production

The hobby farm owner details four steps of fleece production before it’s made into yarn – shearing the fleece, skirting the fleece, milling the fleece and scouring.

1. Shearing

Each year, a shearer comes on-site to shear the sheep and alpacas. Through community collaboration, the shearer also helps by shearing animals from nearby farms. Watch Three Muscats Fibre Farm shearing day video here…

2. Skirting

When the fibre’s removed from the animals, the usable fibre, or the first cuts, is separated from the second cuts. The first cut fleece is sent to the mill or hand-processed on the far, while the second cuts are put to alternative use.

Second cuts aren’t the best for yarn since they can include bits of animal dung, oils and shorter pieces that cause pilling in the milling process. Instead, they’re repurposed as animal bedding or garden mulch, as it’s a compostable product. Nothing goes to waste.

3. Milling

Sending the sheared fleece to local mills that specialise in small-batch sheep and alpaca fibre are important to Rebecca’s approach and ethos of reducing waste while keeping it local. These mills take small quantities from hobby farms and have strong sustainability practices in place.

Rebecca sends her sheep fleece to Fibre Arts Shed in Jilliby on the Central Coast and her alpaca fleece to Adagio Mills in the Hawkesbury area of NSW.

The sheep breed the family has chosen is based on both fibre quality and the milling process. She prefers the Corridale breed over the well-known Merino sheep, as the Corridales have lower lanolin content, are a friendly breed and hardy. They’re a cross between Merino and Lincoln breeds, offering a long staple length combines the sturdiness, of Lincoln with the softness and crimp of Merino.

Unfortunately, Merino sheep require a specialised mill due to their fine, fragile fibre. Plus, Rebecca would need a large quantity of fleece to make milling financially viable for her small-scale operation.

4. Scouring, Drying, & Carding the Fibre

Scouring the fleece happens after milling, which is essentially a really good hot wash to remove dirt and lanolin without agitation, as that can cause felting. When the fibre is drying, it’s passed through a carder, which positions and combs out the fibres. This can then be hand spun with a drop spindle or spinning wheel to create yarn for knitting, crocheting or weaving. Alternatively, it can be used in the felting process to make felted or needle-felted items.

From Locally Milled Yarn to Projects

The fibre artist creates yarn for different purposes. For personal weaving projects and knitting garments for family and friends; artwork to sell in shops or her farm shop, and spinning fibre that hand spinners or weavers can use.

Rebecca is predominately a weaver and she loves the creative and meditative process it gives. Her preferred style of weaving is Saori, which embraces imperfections and celebrates the uniqueness of each piece.

Tips for Caring for your Woollens

When people are unfamiliar with natural fibres, they often feel unsure about how to care for them properly. Rebecca shares some excellent tips on how to wash your woollens properly, mend holes and store them correctly. These tips are summarised here, and you can hear all the details in the podcast episode around the ????time mark???.

Washing Woollens

Here are Rebecca’s quick tips for washing woollens and natural fibre garments to ensure they last:-

No need to wash every time you wear. Unless a garment is visibly soiled or starting to smell, you don’t need to wash it at all.

Washing in a machine is possible. Choose the gentle woollen wash cycle on a low temperature setting
Use a gentle soap. Liquid Castile soap with a little pure essential eucalyptus oil or a specific Wool Wash work well.
Spot clean carefully. For small marks, use wool wash and gently emulsify with your hand. Avoid rubbing the garment together, as this can cause pilling and roughing of the area.
When handwashing: There’s no need to rinse out the wool wash, as it will naturally condition the fibres.

Holes in Woollens

Pesky holes can show up in your woollens if they’re not washed before storing. This often happens when silverfish or moths nibble on food droppings, perspiration or dead skin cells left on the garment. To prevent this, Rebecca recommends washing your woollens before putting them away for storage.

When it comes to mending you can choose between invisible or the increasingly popular visible mending. Rebecca suggests mending your clothes to give items more life but also to enjoy the process of mending.

For mending, buy fine, 2-ply lamb’s wool in a colour that matches your garment. Small skeins are available at most local wool stores or Etsy here(#affiliate). Brands like Appleton are great for woollen mending.

To learn how to mend, check out a huge selection of tutorials on YouTube – such as Canadian artist Bookhou – or social media or ask your local Spinners and Weavers, or knitting and crafting groups. These groups often have passionate people who may be able to help with your mending.

If you’re interested in visible mending, get creative with patching your garment or try weaving techniques with this small Speedweve darning loom....

Storing Woollens

Once your woollens are washed, store them on your wardrobe shelves.

Rebecca recommends keeping them visible so you can check them throughout the year.

To protect your garments, spray them with a natural garment spray like the Three Muscats Fibre Farm atomiser. Made with distilled water and eucalyptus or cedarwood oil, it’s perfect for lightly spritzing clothes.

You can also use cedarwood blocks among your woollens. Source these from your local mens shed or woodworker. Alternatively, add a few drops of cedarwood essnetial oil to cedar balls and place them with your woollens – this helps ward off silverfish and moths.

Giving the Gift of Care

When gifting a handmade woollen item, don’t stress about whether they know how to care for it. Be proactive and say, “If you’re unsure about washing it because it can’t just go in the washing machine, let me know—I’d love to show you how!” Or even, “If you’re uncomfortable washing it, give it back to me, and I’ll take care of it for you.”

Rebecca believes in empowering people to care for their woollens rather than avoiding natural fibres altogether. By sharing these Caring for your Woollens tips, you can help others enjoy the beauty and longevity of handmade, sustainable pieces.

Prioritising Natural Fibres

It’s baffling why so many corporate and school uniforms are made from synthetic materials. Sure, they can be thrown in the wash on any cycle and dry quickly, but that doesn’t make them a superior product. In fact, they’re really an inferior product that’s cheaply made, is harmful to the environment and prone to retaining odours.

The natural fibre artist advocates that once you start prioritising and wearing natural fibres, you’ll notice the difference when wearing synthetics. You’ll find yourself checking labels and prioritising natural fibres like wool, linen, cotton and silk for their feel and comfort. They simply feel so much better on your skin and are better for the planet.

The ReNewy Living Podcast was recorded on Awabakal country. I wish to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land and waters in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie region of New South Wales.

I hope you’re feeling more confident about doing better for our people and planet by taking a start where you live approach to living sustainably. If this episode has spurred you into action, please feel free to share it with your friends. It would mean the world to me!

Listen into the stories and voices of this story here at Spotify podcasts and here at Apple Podcasts… And you can also sign up to my regular emails here… I look forward to sharing more stories with you next time.