Grey Icelandic felted fleece ‘vegetarian sheepskin’ rug handmade from Sven’s 2022 fleece…

This beautiful wild rug is made from the fleece of Icelandic ram Sven (pictured in the photos)! This is a large-size mediumweight fleece rug made using the whole of Sven’s 2022 fleece. A stunning slate grey colour fleece that has a beautiful shine to it. The underside of the rug is a matching mottle grey and white colour with wool locks felted in that give extra decoration and a rough texture. I have needle felted Sven’s name on too. A rugged rustic example of a felted fleece. I think it is most at home as a display piece and light use floor rug.

Icelandic fleeces are dual coated. Sven’s fleece has a very soft light-coloured undercoat and long grey coarse outer guard hairs which are shorter down the center of the fleece and very long and hairy towards the edges. Some patches are more sparse of long locks and slightly over felted from wear on the sheep himself but this doesn’t take away from the fleece, it’s just how it naturally is. It is lightweight wool and super warm with incredible water-shedding properties. This fleece has a slight musky ram smell to it, as Sven is an entire ram. It has been washed more than I would normally wash felted rugs but still manages to retain a slight ram scent. Which personally I quite like! It should also be mentioned that Sven’s fleece does moult/shed more than most felted fleeces. This is natural of dual coated hairy Icelandic wool and may not be to everyone’s taste hence why I think this rug works best for light use and as a great decorative display piece.

The reverse of the rug is made from carded wool that is then hand-felted to Sven’s fleece. That felted wool is a mix of wool from some of my other sheep – Frieda, Mochi, Norbert, Nymph and Tawny. It has locks of wool from Sven and Mint felted into the back of the rug to add a little decoration and they also give it a rough texture.

Sven is an Icelandic ram who lives here with a fair few of his sons and daughters and even grandkids at our home on the Llyn Peninsular in North Wales. Sven is a small ram with a big character and much loved. In his younger days, he was a total nightmare, very aggressive towards people and fences! But after a nasty fight with another ram called Smartie, in which Sven lost his right horn and suffered internal bleeding to which he very nearly lost his life and had to be nursed though, he became a reformed character, and changed his ways for the better, though never to be wholely trusted!

All my sheep are hand-shorn by me with traditional blade shears taking great care not to harm the sheep or fleece.. This particular fleece is the first ever whole felted fleece rug I have made using one of Sven’s fleeces as he has a habit of wrecking his fleeces and in the past they haven’t been suitable for rug making. It is unique as each sheep’s fleece is never quite the same each year, many factors affect it, weather, age, diet etc.

This is a completely handmade product every element has been created by myself and Sven and the flock at our farm in Wales. The sale of it directly sustains the sheep and enables them to live out their whole lives here munching away growing beautiful wool. You can’t get more ethical than that.

Dimensions: Measurements taken on the fleece side are approx at the longest 130-146cm long x 85-95cm wide.

Wool texture: The feel of this fleece coarse and hairy. It has a very fine fluffy undercoat and coarse rough outer guard hairs.

Colour: The colour of this rug is a stunning mix of slate blue greys.

VM(aka hay/grass seeds etc): I spent a lot of time removing the most noticeable bits of debris Sven collected in his fleece throughout the year, bits dried leaves mostly where he has foraged in hedges in the winter months.. Despite my best efforts, you may still find little bits of the Welsh hillside within his fleece as this is a natural gently processed handmade item…

All felted fleeces moult or shed to some degree some more than others. Sven’s fleece does moult more so than other felted fleeces as is typical of the dual-coated hairy Icelandic fleece. Therefore it is best suited to light and decorative use only. Moulting does lessen and sometimes ceases entirely after a few weeks or months depending on the fleece and amount of use.

Felted fleeces aka vegetarian sheepskin rugs will last for years and years if loved and treated with respect and care. Being made of only wool (and the odd bit of hay and Welsh hillside…) they are completely biodegradable and kind to our planet…

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

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A lot of time, care and love go into all my items they are all individually made one at a time by just 1 pair of hands – from caring for and shearing the sheep, washing the wool and crafting an item to the packaging and posting – handmade in the truest sense of the word.

Any questions just send me a message.

Postage for this item is with UPS 2 working day delivery aim Fully Insured and items are dispatched within 1-5 working days. If you require different postage please contact me before purchase to arrange.

Combined Postage I do combine postage on multiple items if it is not done automatically at checkout I will refund you any overcharges after checkout.

Post Packaging In an effort to be more eco-friendly most of the outer post packaging I send items in is reused aka recycled packaging that we have received parcels in ourselves or that has been gifted to me to put to good use.

OVERSEAS BUYERS I do ship worldwide please email me as the shop is set to UK only. Overseas buyers will incur an extra postage charge which may vary depending on location.

RETURNS If you are unhappy with your item please contact me within 7 days of receiving it to discuss.

If you have any problems with your order please contact me and I will do my best to help.

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We keep a well-loved, high welfare flock of pet and rescue sheep on the Llyn Peninsular in North Wales. Our sheep are a part of the family and each is known by name. All our wool and makes are vegetarian-friendly as we do not breed or sell sheep for the meat market and our sheep live out their natural lives with us. I am a full-time mum and shepherdess. In my (none existent!) free time I make things from wool from the sheep in order to sustain them.

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