Felted Fleece Sheepskin Rug ‘Martha’ Handcrafted in Wales

*On hold pending sale* This beautiful felted fleece sheepskin rug has been made using parts of Martha’s 2023 fleece. Sometimes called ‘vegetarian sheepskins’ or ‘felted fleeces’ this is a sheep-friendly craft handmade from natural wool.

The rug/seat cover: This fiery brown felted fleece is made with the prettiest parts of Martha’s fleece. They have been arranged together in a lovely unique irregular shape with a beautiful design felted on the reverse. It is a lovely mix of different brown colours from light golden beige through to more fiery browns and tan. It is lightweight, 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 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.

The sheep: Martha is a tiny little crossbreed sheep. She might be small but she has a big fierce personality she doesn’t take any nonsense from the other sheep. The wool used for the backing felt come from Martha too and also from her family members son Pip and half sisters Muffin and Marmalade.

The process: This seat pad has been made by carefully selecting and arranging the best and prettiest parts of Martha’s fleece from 2023 shearing. Carded wool from some of our other sheep is placed on the back along with decorative yarn and then felted by hand. The felted wool underside is beautiful and very carefully made. Decorated with handspun wool yarn and Martha’s name needle felted on making this magical felted fleece even more special. The backing felt is made from carded wool from our other sheep, as is the yarn.  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. The sale of this item directly sustains the sheep it pays for their feed and upkeep of the land enabling the flock to live long happy lives here munching away growing wonderful wool.

Details:

Size: This little felted fleece sheepskin rug is an irregular shape at its largest it measures approx 82cm in length and 55cm at its widest with these measurements taken on the reverse please see photos for reference photo.

Wool texture: The feel of this fleece is medium soft some of Martha’s fleece is very soft and other parts are rougher, the felt on the back is lovely and soft.

Colour: Natural beige/tan/browns with a small white patch.

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): Few and far between with this item. But as always you may find the odd wisp of hay or grass seed from the Welsh Hillside within the fleece and felt I have done my best to remove the ones I came across. 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 get washed during the felting process and then they all get a thorough 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.

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

You can meet Martha and read more about her and her pals here.