Wool Days
*The event has already taken place on this date: Mon, 05/29/2023
Discover how New England farmers used the wool from their sheep in the 1830s at Old Sturbridge Village’s annual Wool Days. Farmers will give the sheep their annual “haircut” while costumed historians demonstrate the entire wool textile process, from scouring and carding the wool to dyeing, spinning, and then knitting the dyed yarn.
Please help us keep this calendar up to date! If this activity is sold out, canceled, or otherwise needs alteration, email mindy@kidsoutandabout.com so we can update it immediately. If you have a question about the activity itself, please contact the organization administrator listed below.
Highlights Include:
- Learn about the natural dyes used to produce an amazing array of colors in the 19th century
- See a demonstration of spinning woolen yarn on the great wheel
- Watch our farmers shear the sheep
- Learn about some of the products early New Englanders made with wool
- Watch a host of daily demonstrations including, hearth cooking, printing, blacksmithing, and shoe-making
- Find sheep plushies, skeins of yarn, learn-to-knit kits, and more in the shops at the Village
Did you Know?
- Each of our sheep produces a fleece of about 5-7 pounds annually, which after washing and processing amounts to about 2-4 pounds of wool.
- With the high demand for quality wool by the textile industry and an embargo on imported wool, there was a high need for a local source of wool in early 19th-century New England. In 1840, there were about 4 million sheep in New England!
- Early New Englanders used a wide variety of natural dyestuffs to color their wool. Examples include logwood for mulberry, navy, or grey; madder root for reds and oranges; and cochineal insects for deep rose or bright red; and sage leaves for green.
*Times, dates, and prices of any activity posted to our calendars are subject to change. Please be sure to click through directly to the organization’s website to verify.
Organization:
Old Sturbridge VillageLocation:
1 Old Sturbridge Village Road
Sturbridge, MA, 01566United States
See map: Google Maps
Phone:
(877) 458-2124Contact name:
Old Sturbridge Village
Email address:
The event has already taken place on this date:
05/29/2023
Time:
9:30am-5:00pm
Price:
$0-$30
Ages
All Ages Adults & kids togetherWeb Service