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Gathering and clipping was often done on a communal
basis, all the farms for one area of fell joining together to
do the job. The womenfolk backed up the men with tea and home
made bread, cakes and jam, and if they had time they also rolled
the fleeces for packing into the woolsheets.
Rolling a fleece is an art. It is rolled inside
out, edges to middle, then tail to head, and tied round with a
band of wool roughly twisted from the neck area. This keeps the
fleece together in transit, packed in the wool sheet.
A modern wool sheet will hold around 50 fleeces,
depending on the size of the sheep; from larger breeds such as
the Border Leicester or the Greyfaced (Mule) cross, perhaps 35
fleeces to a sheet.
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The clipping stool was one way
of preventing bad backs during the summer burst of work.
The shearer sat on the narrow
end, and the sheep was brought to him by a catcher and deposited
on the broader one. This brought her up to the shearer's level.
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