The Fiber Mill Part 2: Support Your Local Wool Industry

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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.

Find out more about how they got their start in Part 1 of this article, written by Tamara Moots for Interweave Knits, and read on to hear Kelsey’s thoughts on the importance of the local wool industry.

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Above: Side-view of gears on 1929 Saco-Lowell Carder | Photo Courtesy of Kelsey Patton.

Kelsey Patton, owner of The Fiber Mill, is very optimistic about the future of the American wool industry. “I feel like the American wool industry is on the way back up,” she says. “And the use of wool, in general, is too. I have some acrylic yarns in the shop, but people are choosing wool instead these days.” 

She adds: “I think one of our biggest hurdles to overcome might be the mindset of the producers. At a recent conference, I had producer after producer tell me that their wool was no good. I think buyers and the market have been telling growers that for so long that it is ingrained into the psyche of the American wool producer. For example, they feel like Suffolk wool is no good. But if you have Suffolk wool from actual wool lines, it is really a very nice and versatile fiber. I have Suffolk wool here in my shop that we’ve made here in the mill from local grower’s herds, and I cannot keep it on the shelf because knitters love it!” 

I definitely agree. Spindle, Shuttle, and Needle, the shop attached to The Fiber Mill, has a wall full of locally grown and produced yarn. And I came home from my visit with not one, not two, but three skeins! One skein of 100% Nebraska Merino and two skeins of Nebraska Suffolk Cross Wool. I’ve been having so much fun knitting up swatches with this yarn and dreaming about what it wants to become. 

Supporting Your Local Wool Industry

When I asked Kelsey how knitters and fiber people can help support the wool industry, she said the easy answer is to buy wool and buy wool yarn—and to buy American whenever you can. It can be hard to track down which wool is American grown. One way is to buy from yarn companies that tell you the story of their wool. 

“And then, of course, seek out your small mills like me,” Kelsey says. “Small mills will often already have yarn that they’ve made from local growers on the shelves. Or they will be very happy to work with you to find a fleece that is exactly what you want and make it into yarn for you. Maybe the most important message is that you do not need to own sheep to use a small mill. You can go to a fiber fair, pick out a fleece you love, and then walk down the aisle to the mill’s booth and hand it to the mill right at the fiber fair. We had a lot of people do that at the Mid-Plains Fiber Fair this last spring.” 

The Mid-Plains Fiber Fair is a great example of a local fiber community coming together and filling a need. The area had lots of fiber enthusiasts but no fiber fair to bring them together. So, they started their own! “The first year, we had over 500 people for the weekend,” Kelsey says. The Mid-Plains Fiber Fair takes place every spring in York, Nebraska. The fair includes demonstrations, kids’ activities, vendors, classes, and a fiber arts circle at the York County fairgrounds. Admission and parking are free. 

Why Work With Small Mills?

One of the best parts of working with a small mill is the individual attention to your project and the help of the mill to get the best finished yarn or roving out of your fiber. “I always tell my customers that I can make any yarn that they want,” Kelsey says. “But not all wools are appropriate for all kinds of yarns. I love it when a customer brings me a fleece and we discuss together what kind of yarn the fleece will make best!” 

Photos above courtesy of Kelsey Patton

Small mills, such as The Fiber Mill, are an integral part of our wonderful and vibrant fiber community. They help introduce us to locally grown and processed fibers. Finding a small mill near you is a great way to support local businesses and the fiber Industry. 

Finding a Mill Near You 

The National Mill Inventory is a great place to start. You can even use their Explore Mills link to find mills in their inventory. An Internet search of “small wool processing mill near me” or “small wool processing mill in [name of your state]” is another good option. 

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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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This article was originally published in Interweave Knits Fall 2022.

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