Natural Wool Seat Pad ‘Elder’ – Handcrafted in Wales

This large fluffy wool seat pad has been made using parts of Elder’s 2023 fleece. It features a simple spiral design on the backing felt. It is a large size and the shape is ideal for use on a bench or sofa and can be rolled up and carried into the wilds to use as a cosy bum warmer. Sometimes called ‘vegetarian sheepskins’ or ‘felted fleeces’ this is a sheep-friendly craft handmade from only natural wool.

The rug/seat pad: This large natural wool seat pad is made with parts of Elder‘s fleece arranged together in an oval shape. Elder’s fleece is a very pretty pale creamy grey colour with paler cream tips and some brown streaks running through the fleece. It also has a darker grey patch which is actually the area of wool that grew on the back of Elders neck and shoulders. Elders seat pad is wonderfully fluffy and cosy and soft. The backing felt is thick and soft and features a spiral design. The spiral is achieved by carefully laying out the design prior to felting so it becomes one with the fleece and creates a marvelously thick, warm and beautiful back for the beautiful fleece. It is a lightweight seat pad the fleece and felt are not as heavy as most and so this fleece works really well as a seat cover on a bench or sofa. It’s also equally at home as a little rug ideal for a bedroom or cosy sitting room. If you are looking for a special seat pad or fleece to bring with you on walks into the wilderness to keep your bottom cosy when you stop and sit down to rest then this little fleece would be perfect to roll up and strap to a backpack. I have one of these large seat pads myself and can vouch firsthand how wonderful they are. I sometimes roll mine up and use as a headrest too.

The sheep: Elder is an Icelandic cross Shetland/Soay sheep. He is a kind gentle character who loves human contact and is rather good at posing in silly hats for photos. Icelandic and crossbreed wool is famous for being lightweight and incredibly warm. It has incredible water-repelling properties and dries much faster than most wool/fleeces. The wool used for the backing felt and spiral pattern come from other sheep in our flock too 🙂

The process: This seat pad has been made by carefully selecting and arranging part of Elders fleece from 2023 shearing. Carded wool from some of our other sheep is placed on the back and then spiral pattern is carefully arranged upon this. Everything is then felted by hand to become one. It is made with a lot of care and time entirely by hand. Working the felt slowly like this makes for a much stronger even smooth felt. No felting machines or rollers are used to speed up the process nor washing machines or driers.  This is a completely handmade product every element has been created by my hands and the flock at our farm in Wales – from shearing the sheep to washing and carding and spinning the wool to the felting process itself. Made as naturally and as nature-friendly as possible. The sale of this item directly sustains the sheep it pays for their feed and upkeep of the land and barns enabling the flock to live long happy lives here munching away and growing wonderful wool.

Details:

Size: This natural wool seat pad is a rough oval shape at its largest it measures approx 75-78cm in length and 55cm at its widest down to 40cm at the narrower ends.

Wool texture: The feel of this fleece is soft and fluffy.  The darker patch of fleece in the center is a little harder to the touch than the rest of the fleece as it has over felted whilst it was still being worn by Elder.

Colour: Natural cream and pale grey with slightly darker roots and some brown tones in some of the locks..

Hair loss: Minimal – there is a little loss of hairs which is normal. All felted fleeces moult or shed to some degree some more than others. Moulting typically lessens over time.

VM(aka hay/grass seeds etc): There were some little patches of grass seeds in this fleece I have done my best to remove as much as I can and any that remain are not obvious at all. But as always you may find the odd wisp of hay or grass seed from the Welsh Hillside within the fleece and felt. This is a natural item gently made by hand and sheep. There is a whole story behind it! The wool it is made from has spent a whole year outside growing on a sheep. It’s been through a lot, it’s seen a lot, it’s kept a sheep warm and dry and even cool at times.. its probably been dragged through a hedge (or two!), splattered with mud at some point, sprinkled with hay at another and rolled around in the spring clover as it naturally started to rise and break away from its 4 legged creator and I got my shears out – all that and the wool still looks beautiful.. none the worse for wear.. isn’t wool amazing!

Fleeces naturally get washed during the felting process and then they all get a proper wash or two after they are felted so they are thoroughly clean and smell divine. They are left to dry in the open air or sometimes draped beside the stove in winter. I am passionate about keeping things natural and energy use to a minimum when making my woollen crafts. Hence I do not wash fleeces in a washing machine or use a tumble drier to dry and fluff them up.

If you have any questions or queries at all please send me a message I will be happy to help.

You can meet Elder and read more about him and his pals here.