The Fiber Mill Part 1: How One Mill Got Its Start

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Kelsey Patton grew up on a small farm in Nebraska, near the Swedish town of Stromsburg. About four years ago, she began the process of opening her own wool mill, The Fiber Mill, in downtown Stromsburg. After three years of planning and research, The Fiber Mill finally opened September 2020. The Fiber Mill handles wool processing from all over the United States, turning wool and other fibers into yarn, roving, and felt. Interweave Knits contributor Tamara Moots recently visited The Fiber Mill and it’s attached yarn shop, Spindle, Shuttle, Skein, to learn more about this very special mill.

Read on to hear about how they got their start, from finding the perfect location to sourcing their stories mill equipment!

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Above: Kelsey Patton, Owner and Spinning Master of The Fiber Mill; Clare Quandt, Mill Worker, Carding and Pindrafting Specialist; Shania Gould, Mill Worker, Wool Sort | Photo courtesy of Tamara Moots

A Visit to The Fiber Mill

The wide-open space and bright-blue skies of the Midwest prairies did not disappoint on the warm November day that I visited The Fiber Mill. As I drove into the small Nebraska town of Stromsburg (population 1,139 in 2019), the brick streets, town square, and park in the center of downtown looked like the perfect spot for farmers markets and community festivals. 

Just off the downtown park, Kelsey Patton grows her fiber business. Kelsey’s yarn shop, Spindle, Shuttle, and Needle, opened in 2011. In September 2020, Kelsey and her family opened The Fiber Mill, too. Housed in the back of the same building as the yarn shop, The Fiber Mill handles wool processing from all over the United States, turning wool and other fibers into yarn, roving, and felt. With the addition of The Fiber Mill, Kelsey is growing a three-part business: yarn shop, custom-wool mill, and her own line of yarn from locally grown wool. 

Tracking Down a Location and Equipment

“I actually started on this journey when I was 13 years old,” Kelsey says. “I told my mom that I wanted to knit a sweater. But first we needed sheep. We raised goats for 4-H at the time, so it wasn’t that big of a stretch. We got three Icelandic sheep from a local grower and my mom found someone to teach me how to knit and then to spin. By the time I was 15, I had sheep, a spinning wheel, and a loom. And I was hooked!” 

Related: Our Grandmother’s Wool: A Century of Progression

Starting a mill takes vision and determination. In 2019, when the building that now houses the yarn shop and fiber mill came up for sale, Kelsey went to the bank with a proposal to buy the building along with mill equipment from Colorado. The bank said no. “So, we scraped together every last bit of our savings and we managed just barely to buy the building alone outright,” Kelsey says. “The building was a mess, and I was pregnant at the time. We got the yarn store finished two days before my son was born. The Spindle, Shuttle, and Needle Grand Reopening in the new space was February of 2020.” About a month later, they had to close the doors due to the pandemic. 

In July 2020, the bank called and explained that if she still wanted the mill equipment, it would be a good time to turn in another loan application. “No one was taking out loans right then due to Covid. So, we applied, and we got the loan partly because of Covid,” Kelsey says. 

Mill Equipment With a History

On August 26, 2020, the mill equipment was delivered. They bought the equipment from a mill that had closed in Wellington, Colorado. By that point, the Colorado mill had been closed for about two years and the equipment had been stored in non-climate-controlled shipping containers. “Most of the equipment was not hurt by the storage, but we did need to replace things like scales and belts that were damaged,” Kelsey says. The Fiber Mill finally opened September 2020. 

Fiber mill equipment lasts a long time and it moves around. The oldest running piece of The Fiber Mill’s equipment was made in 1929 by the Saco-Lowell company in Lowell, Massachusetts. Other parts were made by Warner & Swasey in the 1940s, by Carolina Specialty in 2007, and by McDermott in Michigan in 2007. Kelsey got it from Colorado. And the Colorado mill got the same equipment from a mill in the Pacific Northwest. “We’ve actually had people from that area of Oregon and Washington state track down our carder because they love how it has worked with their fiber over the years,” Kelsey says. 

The Fiber Milling Community

Fiber mill people are a great group, with online communities to troubleshoot problems and track down equipment and just to talk. “Talking with others in the small mill industry is important for us,” Kelsey says. “For example, there is a Facebook group. If we are having trouble with machinery or need parts, we can ask the hive mind and communicate. And when we see each other at fiber fairs, we’re all friendly.” 

On top of that, private consultants travel to mills as needed. Sheep shearers connect growers and mill owners regularly. And sometimes, people just help. “One mill worker came out with the previous owner to help set up the equipment and get us going. Then about two weeks later, another worker came to train us on the equipment. When it was delivered, I didn’t even know how to turn it on,” Kelsey says, laughing. “I’ve learned so much about electricity and electric motors over the last year. I’ve also learned how to program drives and about the equipment and maintenance.” 

As with any machinery, parts need to be replaced from time to time. “It is amazing how many things, like screws and bolts, we can get from the local hardware store,” Kelsey says. For more industry-specific parts, A.B. Carter in North Carolina has been manufacturing the consumable pieces such as travelers, hooks, and belts for around 120 years. Used pieces of equipment can also be found through Allstates Textile Machinery in South Carolina. 

Related: Fiber Nation Podcast: The Black Sheep of Wyoming Wool

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It’s so inspiring to read about Kelsey’s unstoppable drive to fulfill her dream. Think of the many lives those well-loved pieces of fiber mill equipment have lived! That’s the beauty of shopping small and locally for yarn and fiber—those stories just continue and grow.

Move on to Part 2 to hear Kelsey’s thoughts on the importance of the local wool industry.

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Tamara Moots has more than 100 patterns available through Ravelry, LoveKnitting, Knit Picks, WEBS, Love of Knitting magazine, Knit Now magazine, and others. When she is not designing or knitting, she raises two teens and travels whenever she can manage. Find her designs on Interweave.com and Ravelry, read her blog, and listen to her on the Geminate Podcast.

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