A quick Wooly Question for Those in the Know

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nesortica
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A quick Wooly Question for Those in the Know

Post by nesortica » Sun Sep 07, 2008 10:06 pm

So I'd like to give wooly dreads a try; and never thought I would become interested in them, but KK has become boring, itchy. uncomfortable (... and there's fibers of it everywhere I travel!).
I think I understand the gist of felting the wool for dreads, but how much do I need? Should I look for an amount in ounces-and how much? One continuous strip? Combed or carded?
(To help give an idea, I think I'd like to cram about 25 slightly past shoulder DE's)
Allright so that was more of a series of quick questions! Thanks in advanced!

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Re: A quick Wooly Question for Those in the Know

Post by VixenSingsBlack » Mon Sep 08, 2008 12:16 am

Not that I am any kind of "expert" but I did some math on roving. Here's how I figured out how much roving I'd need. Let's say you want 30 roving dreads that are 22 inch DEs.

STEP ONE. DETERMINE HOW MANY INCHES Of ROVING YOU NEED!

My findings are: If you cut a 12 inch length of roving, then felt, you wind up with an 8 inch DE.

So now you use algebra to do a proportion and you can find out how many inches you need to cut for X length DE. Let's say you want 22 inch DEs:

12/8=X/22 --> 264=8X --> 33=X

So you'd need to cut a 33 inch length of roving to start with, then felt, fold in half, and you'll have 22 inch DE.

NOW that you've worked that math, you know how many total inches you need. You need 30x33=990inches OR 82.5 feet.


STEP TWO. HOW MANY OUNCES DO I BUY?

This is the part I am less sure about but I'll tell you what I've gathered in my limited experience. I bought a 4oz skein of roving. When measured it was 12 feet long. So if 4oz = 12 feet then another proportion:

4/12=X/82.5 --> 330=12X --> 27.5=X

So you would need AT LEAST 27.5 oz of roving to make 30 DEs at 22 inches.


Just apply all this math to your own needs and wala, you'll know what you need! I am a newb though, so you may want to wait until some1 more experienced answers.

edited: sorry, typed the first proportion wrong
Last edited by VixenSingsBlack on Mon Sep 08, 2008 4:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

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nesortica
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Re: A quick Wooly Question for Those in the Know

Post by nesortica » Mon Sep 08, 2008 3:09 am

That definitely gives me a more solid vision as far as quantity goes, thankyou :]

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Re: A quick Wooly Question for Those in the Know

Post by <<Miss_Sami>> » Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:45 am

Thank you for posting this up.
I'm considering giving roving a go and was wondering the same thing.
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Re: A quick Wooly Question for Those in the Know

Post by illithid » Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:50 am

Bear in mind that sometimes the roving can be quite thick, and you can split along its length several times to get 3 or so DE dreads from one length of say 20"

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Re: A quick Wooly Question for Those in the Know

Post by <<Miss_Sami>> » Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:57 am

lol I was considering posting up asking how you make roving thinner.
So if you can cut it in half (or whatever), does felting it loads of times make it tighter and thereby thinner? Or is it better to just cut it (plus then you get more dreads out of your roving thus making it make more sense cost wise)
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Re: A quick Wooly Question for Those in the Know

Post by illithid » Mon Sep 08, 2008 11:08 am

<<Miss_Sami>> wrote:lol I was considering posting up asking how you make roving thinner.
So if you can cut it in half (or whatever), does felting it loads of times make it tighter and thereby thinner? Or is it better to just cut it (plus then you get more dreads out of your roving thus making it make more sense cost wise)
I tend to felt mine *very* well. I have some pics
here

What i find is that my roving doesnt shrink lengthways, I roll mine in my palm to felt 'em, like plasticine sausages ;).. but it does tighten widthways. I first cut the raw roving into the desired length then split it once or twice down the length, to give 2 or 3 lengths which i then felt. I find that they come out around marker thickness. Personally I think that uber-felting it without splitting the length would give very hard, unyielding (and expensive!) dreads.. the idea is to go for soft yet sturdy. Maybe get a sample amount of roving to play with and try several methods, until you find one which works best for you :D

I prefer to split the length, to give sturdy dreads, and keep cost reasonable too.. but its each to their own :)

Jane Doe on the board has an awesome tutorial here which is an excellent method for getting cool color effects

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Re: A quick Wooly Question for Those in the Know

Post by <<Miss_Sami>> » Mon Sep 08, 2008 11:12 am

aaah ok thanks.
Guess I'd better go any buy some wool and give it a go! :D

Sorry for hijacking the thread. I will leave now .... :lol:
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nesortica
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Re: A quick Wooly Question for Those in the Know

Post by nesortica » Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:09 pm

don't worry about hijacking the thread! there was plenty good information learned *nods*

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Re: A quick Wooly Question for Those in the Know

Post by rivetlicker_ » Sun Sep 14, 2008 1:23 pm

I found that I got 8 shoulder length DE's from one 80g bag of roving.
Let's just say, 10g per dread.
I just folded in half and cut, fold and cut again, and again til I had 8 pieces.
I guess you could fold it it in thirds, so you get 3 pieces, then cut in half again, so you have 6 pieces that'll make around chest length dreads. So you use about 13g per dread. Or cut again in half to have 12 pieces at about 7g each.
Then there's really long dreads, fold in half, cut, and again, so you get 4 pieces. 20g per dread.
My guesses only. It's only an estimation. Of course if you wind up with a different weight per bag, this will change. This is just a guide for what I bought from Spotlight. Different suppliers and retailers sell different products in different packages.
I'm in no way an expert on roving, this is just what I think.

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Re: A quick Wooly Question for Those in the Know

Post by nothingwhatsoever » Sun Dec 14, 2008 4:56 pm

If I'm making skinny dreads, I can usually make a whole set (like 40 midlength double enders) from about 16oz of roving. It's true that depending on the way you felt them that they can shrink OR lengthen when you make them - i yank down on mine when i felt, so they end up longer then the roving starts (like the first replyer mentioned.)

SO if you're only making 25 shoulder lengthish dreads, i'd go for 16-20 oz (but always err on the side of having extra!! :i15:

Pretty much any roving you find will already be in the right shape for dreading - unless you're buying realllly raw fiber that's not even carded - but you'd know that by looking at it :i9: have fun!
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