A Continuing Tradition of Women in Textile Factory Work: A 21st Century Semi-Worsted Mill

Kelsey Patton

In the midst of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, when many small businesses were struggling, I finally saw a long-time dream of mine come to fruition with the opening of The Fiber Mill-- Nebraska's first custom wool mill. With this opening of this mill, we are bringing wool processing home for Nebraska, the nation's 6th ranked producer of sheep and wool. Using equipment dating from as far back as 1929, we produce roving, yarn, quilt batts, and felt from wool and alpaca produced in Nebraska and beyond. Join us for a virtual tour of our women-run mill, showing our process from raw wool to saleable yarn,using traditional techniques to make products for the modern market. We start by scouring the wool, and move to picking, carding (in our 1929 Saco-Lowell Carder), pin drafting, spinning, plying, then finally winding into hanks or cones. Bringing textile production into Nebraska allows for the development of our local fiber shed, reducing waste by cutting down shipping and fuel needed to bring raw wool to a saleable state. Farmers benefit by either being able to sell wool products for a higher price than their raw wool on the commodities market, or by selling fleeces to be processed to other fiber artisans. Finally, it brings jobs to our local economy, jobs that are sorely needed in rural America.