What are Driftless Wool Pellets?

What is a Wool Pellet?

Wool pellets are a climate friendly, sustainable soil additive made from 100% wool that is heat pelletized for horticultural use. Wool naturally contains many macro and micronutrients and wool is fully biodegradable. Wool pellets hold moisture in the soil and makes it bioavailable to plants when they need it. As the pellets break down in the soil, over the course of a year, they release nutrients and create space that aerates the soil.

If you are interested in trying a bag of Wool Pellets you can find those here or stop by our shop in Argyle.

Thank you, as always, for supporting us in this journey to waste less and appreciate more!

Sincerely,
Team Driftless

Natural sheepskin, a legacy textile for babies

Since we started this business, we have heard from many folks in their 60s and 70s that they remember the sheepskin they had as a child. It seems as though sheepskin was an often-gifted textile to young mothers and their children.

Our naturally tanned sheepskin are legacy textiles made to last a lifetime and are durable enough to be passed down from generation to generation.

The many natural qualities of sheepskin can bestow comfort to young and old alike.

Sheepskin provide cushioning like no other material.

Sheepskin is thermal regulating; meaning that it keeps you cool in the warm months and warm in the cool months. That is wool’s superpower.

Driftless Tannery’s process maintains the natural qualities of the wool. The lanolin remaining in the fibers is soothing to the touch and creates a dirt resistant surface that is both antimicrobial and hypoallergenic.

Sheepskin are great for baby’s tummy time. They provide both tactile stimulation and comfort. They can also be used under bedding in bassinets, or as a gentle cushion in a stroller or car seat.

As with everything related to babies we encourage you to do your own research and consult with local health professionals about the best ways to use sheepskin in your home.

Now that you are thinking of all the great uses, I’ll bet you are wondering how you keep your sheepskin clean enough for baby. It is really very simple, and you can read all about how to care for your sheepskin here.

How do I clean my sheepskin?

How you clean a sheepskin, goat or deer hide depends on the type of tannage that was used to preserve it. At Driftless Tannery we use two methods; alum tawning and mimosa bark tanning.

Alum tawning produces lovely, white supple leather products that are perfect for indoor use. Alum tawned hides are well preserved and long lasting but the leather is not water resistant. Therefore, when you clean an alum tawned hide you must take care not to soak the leather. For light stains, letting the area dry and using a metal pet brush to remove the dirt is usually sufficient. For tough stains, you can use a spray bottle with water or a 1:3 solution of vinegar to water and lightly spray the stain or you can spot treat with a damp cloth.  When wetting the wool, please make sure to spot clean in one direction, and avoid rubbing the area. Moisture + wool + agitation = felting!  Take care not to get the skin wet beneath the fiber. Just like all leather products, water will change the physical characteristics of the skin and you may end up with hard spots. If the skin does get wet (let’s face it, life happens) then you should take care to gently stretch the skin to its original shape as it dries. Just like you wouldn’t toss a leather coat or hand bag into the washing machine and expect it to be fine, DO NOT put these in the washing machine!

Mimosa bark tanned sheepskin are water resistant. In the event that you want to clean the entire hide, you can wash bark tanned hides in a tub of water or in the washing machine. Bark tanned sheepskin can be put in the washing machine on gentle cycle with cold water and a wool friendly detergent. Please note that all wool can felt in the washing machine.

Certain types of wool such as that from long wool breeds or breeds with fine wool will almost always felt in the washing machine. It is best to handwash those bark tanned sheepskin in a tub. When wetting the wool, be sure to brush or rub the fiber in one direction.

Do not rub back and forth or felting will occur!

Goat and deer are less affected by agitation and can be put into a gentle cycle in the washing machine, but you may find that some of the hair comes loose in the washing machine.

Never put a hide in the tumble dryer. It is best to air dry on a line and gently stretch the sheepskin as it dries. You may find the edges of the hide curl a bit during the drying process. Gently smooth the edges as it dries and your hide should return to its prewashed state.

We take great pride to know that each product we hand create becomes a legacy textile and we hope that this blog helps you keep them looking their best for many years to come.

Thank you for reading and for supporting our tiny tannery!

Team Driftless

How do I care for my sheepskin?

Wool is naturally antibacterial and dirt repelling, however, over time, a sheepskin might need some freshening up.

To keep your naturally tanned sheepskin looking and feeling fresh, simply take it outside and give it a gentle shake to help loosen the fibers back up and dislodge any dirt.

If it’s a nice sunny day out with low humidity and a gentle breeze, you can let the hide air out on a line for a short while.

Different combs can help with different fibers. See some examples below to decide which brush is best for your hide.

To remove stains, such as cat puke (ick) or food, let the stain dry completely then use a brush like the one pictured below left to gently release the dried mess. You will be amazed how easily wool lets go of particles!

To give your hide a little bit of extra TLC (tender, loving care), you can use a wide bristle like the one pictured in below center b, gentle tip brush to freshen up the fibers and loosen any tangles. This style of brush (seen below) will help protect the integrity of the fiber, regardless of its structure. It is safe to use on curly hides, as well as long, short, or straight fiber hides.

We use the brush pictured below right to remove items like burrs, small sticks or hay. If you take your sheepskin on a camping trip, this hardworking tool could be of use to you.

*If you have an alum tawned sheepskin take special care to ensure it isn’t exposed to high humidity or wet conditions, as this will distort the leather and degrade the quality of your sheepskin. For this reason, you don’t want to keep your alum tawned sheepskins in a bathroom or kitchen area, either. Bark tanned sheepskin are water resistant and can be exposed to humid conditions. If you don’t know the difference between alum tawning and bark tanning check out our previous blog on the subject.

Why Bark Tan?

Driftless Tannery has switched over to using bark tanning as our main method of tanning hides. Why the change? We feel that the bark tan produces a more consistent and superior product. Up until this point we used Alum to tawn our hides. What does tawn mean? The process of preserving hides with alum and salt is not a true “tan”. True tanning happens when you use tannins from trees or other vegetation to alter the skin’s chemistry and preserve hides. Alum tawning produces lovely, white supple leather products that are perfect for indoor use. Alum tawned hides are well preserved and long lasting. Garments tawned with alum and have even been found in tombs in ancient Egypt.

So why switch? Alum tawned hides are not water resistant. Hides tanned with bark are. Now, we have used our sheepskin around the house for years and have never needed to throw them in the washing machine, but life happens. Someone might find themselves needing to wash their sheepskin. If you do that with an alum tawned hide, you will have to oil and work the hide again in order to return it to its original soft, supple finish. Some people don’t have the ability or the knowledge to do that.

We use Mimosa bark to tan the hides at Driftless. Mimosa trees are a part of the acacia family. These trees are often thought of as weeds as they reproduce rapidly and can crowd out native plants. In our opinion, that makes them the perfect trees to harvest for tanning.

Items tanned with Mimosa will have a light salmony color on the leather side. We work hard in our process to rinse the tannin out of our sheepskin so that there is very little change to the color of the fiber. You can see examples of the different shades of leather in the pictures below. The photo on the left shows the leather of a bark tanned sheepskin and the photo on the right shows the alum tawned leather. Notice the fiber on both hides retains their natural color.