Icelandic felted fleece ‘vegetarian sheepskin’ rug handmade from Maris’s 2021 fleece…

This beautiful rug is made from the fleece of cheeky little Maris (pictured in the photos wearing this very fleece). Her fleece is a gorgeous warm light golden creamy beige colour that has what is called a lustre which makes it shine. She has beautiful flowing locks that are silky and soft. The centre of the fleece has been brushed out making it super fluffy and soft to touch. The back of the rug is thick and very well felted. It has hand handspun wool and pretty locks from other sheep felted into it creating a unique pretty design. I also needle felted Maris’ name on the back so you’ll never forget who grew this stunning fleece. Maris’ fleece would look amazing as a display piece, light use floor rug or draped on a chair or bed. Perfect to add a touch of rustic luxury!

Maris is an Icelandic sheep who lives here with her twin sister Piper and their mum Spud many other sheep family and friends at our home on the Llyn Peninsular in North Wales. She is a very cheeky sheep, as you can probably tell from her cheeky face in the photos. She used to be quite shy and wary of me until one day she had an infected ear which I treated for her and every since then she decided I wasn’t so bad and we became firm friends. Maris loves to jump up at me when I have sheep food in my pocket and she also jumps on the other sheep’s back at feeding times – she’s a proper little character.

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 Maris’ 2nd shear fleece aka the second fleece that she has grown in her lifetime. It is unique as each sheep’s fleece is never quite the same each year, many factors affect it, weather, age, diet etc.

Maris’s fleece is all natural 100% wool – animal friendly and over a year in the making it has great provenance.

The reverse of the rug is made from carded wool that is then hand felted to Maris’s fleece. That felted wool is a mix of wool from some of my other sheep.

This is a completely handmade product every element has been created by myself and Maris 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.

With this particular rug I would say it is better suited to display and light use as Maris is a pure Icelandic sheep she has a dual coat and the longer outer guard hairs of Icelandic fleeces have a tendency to moult, which this fleece does in certain places along the edges where the locks are very long. Felted fleeces aka vegetarian sheepskin rugs are best suited to light use but they really 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…) they are completely biodegradable and kind to our planet…

Dimensions: Measurements taken on the fleece side are approx at the longest 105-110cm long x 80-85cm wide.

Wool texture: The feel of this fleece is so lovely and soft and silky!

Colour: The colour of this rug is a gorgeous light golden beige/cream/light brown colour.

VM(aka hay/grass seeds etc): I spent a lot of time removing the most noticeable bits of debris Maris collected in her fleece throughout the year, bits dried leaves mostly where she has foraged in hedges in the winter months.. However, you may still find little bits of dried leaves and grass seeds as this is a natural unprocessed handmade piece..  I have also brushed out the center of Maris’ fleece to remove all the debris I could find but left the edges au natural to keep the beautiful structure and character of the fleece.

All felted fleeces moult or shed to some degree some more than others. With this particular piece, it does moult more than other fleeces as is typical of the Icelandic breed.

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 express 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 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. All items must be returned in their original unused condition and buyer pays return postage.

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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