Call Us: 610-678-5448
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Why swatches instead of an online catalog?
We believe there is nothing like seeing and feeling what you are ordering. Computer monitors can show colors differently... and not always accurately. As a rug hooker myself, I know the importance of touching a washed piece of wool and seeing its' true color. The deep, rich heathers and highlights of these samples can only be fully appreciated in natural sunlight.
Do you ship internationally?
We do ship internationally via the US Postal service.
What forms of payment do you accept?
We prefer personal check or money order. However, we will accept Visa and Mastercard.
How are shipping charges calculated?
Domestic Orders: Orders under a yard are usually shipped US Postal Service Priority Mail. We add the USPS cost to the invoice. A yard or more are shipped by United Parcel Service (UPS). We add $1.00/box handling for recycled boxes and $4.00/box for purchased boxes, plus the UPS shipping charges.
International Orders: Orders are shipped USPS. We add $1.00/box handling for recycled boxes and $4.00/box for purchased boxes, plus the USPS shipping charges.
Do you carry linen?
No, we do not sell linen or monks cloth. The Wool Studio specializes in wool fabric.
Do you carry other hooking supplies?
No, we do not carry other hooking supplies. The Wool Studio specializes in wool fabric.
Mailers & Ordering
How do I stay on the mailing list?
In order to stay on our active customer list, you will need to place a 2 yard minimum order (or $50 equivalent) from every other quarterly mailer. Our Quarterly Mailers, with 12-15 swatches, are sent every three months (January, April, July and October).
How do I get swatches?
Our Quarterly Mailers include 12 to 15 washed samples. You can find out more about our Quarterly Mailer here. We ask for a $5.00 payment to cover the cost of mailing and assembly. If you place a minimum $50 order from that selection, you will be placed on our regular mailing list to receive swatches as they are sent out every three months. You only need to place a 2 yard order (or $50 equivalent) from every other mailer to stay on the swatch mailing list.
What do I receive when I order swatches/mailer?
Each mailer contains washed swatches, 1-1/2 inches by 2-1/2 inches. This gives you a good idea of how the wool looks and feels. The larger plaids are harder to swatch but we do our best to describe the colors and patterns. We also post eSwatches of our mailer at the start of each quarter so you can get a better feel for the size and repeat of larger plaids. Quarterly Mailers have 12-15 new and/or restocked woolens. We strive to continually have interesting and unique colors and patterns, as well as our sought-after collection of lights and neutrals.
Can I request individual swatches of specific wool?
No, sorry. We do not offer customized swatches of specific wool. Please consider ordering our latest Quarterly Mailer set as an alternative.
How can I order?
Call or e-mail. E-mail works well to help document your order. You can email us from the Ordering Tab of our web site. Letting us know who you are, your address and your choice of payment method helps reduce questions and gets your order processed more quickly. Organizing your order before sending it to us helps us to more efficiently pack and ship your order. We are always happy to help you.
Please also remember, as always, to confirm your method of payment at the time you order. We have many customers who switch from card to check and from card to card with each order. While you may know how you want to pay, we do not, unless it is communicated. We will not assume… so please confirm it every time so your order is not delayed while we ask, and wait, for a response. If we are waiting for you to confirm your payment method, or anything else, we can’t type in, pull, hold, or process your order. As a result, we wind up prioritizing orders for customers who are prepared (i.e. submit complete orders with their items, quantity, address and payment method). Please provide ALL your information when ordering. Thank you!
Do we sell wholesale?
The Wool Studio does have Teacher and Shop pricing levels. Please contact us at the Studio for additional information on eligibility and pricing.
Can I Shop at the Studio?
After much consideration we have decided that The Wool Studio will no longer open for in-person shopping. Over the past decade the Studio’s business mix has shifted significantly toward wholesale (i.e. business-to-business supporting teachers, shops, and on-line retailers who sell wool fabric off-the-bolt, bundled and/or overdyed). For many years we have worked to accommodate individual retail customers who were interested in browsing, planning projects and purchasing a few pieces cut during their visit. However, these visits are sometimes challenging to schedule for mutually convenient times and often require longer browsing and shopping experiences, visiting and consulting. The pandemic has highlighted for us that curbside pickup of a definitive order can still accommodate local customers while supporting the Studio’s workflow.
We encourage customers to consider shopping with the regional businesses and teachers who stock a wide variety of wool (often including items we no longer have in stock), have regular hours, and are both knowledgeable and configured to better support retail customers. What’s more, this patronage supports our regional businesses… especially coming out of the pandemic.
The Wool Studio will continue to vend at regional hook-ins, bringing a wide variety of cut, off-the-bolt items. We are also happy to cut orders for curbside pickup at the Studio. For wholesale and retail customers alike, the best resource to see what we have in stock is our eSwatches: if you see it on our website, we are likely to have more than enough to fill your order. For active customers (purchasing two or more yards of wool every 6 months), comparing the eSwatches against your quarterly mailer swatches will help you accurately assess colors.
Our Wool
Washing?
Our product is 100% wool (unless the the wool has sparkle or is advertised as having any additional content). We sell off-the-bolt wool that is not washed, and while some customers use it straight off the bolt, most artisans will wash before use. Don't be afraid of washing your wool! Rebecca washes most of the wool in a cool wash with a bit of detergent (any detergent you have on hand is fine), cold rinse and then into a medium dryer. Tide is not recommended (Tide can bleed the color out of the fabric), and you do not need to use Woolite. Top loading washers with a traditional agitator work best.
We have had many conversations with customers about washing wool since our July mailer introduced our tighter weave (TW, improved density). While our experience tells us it is not necessary to wash these selections before hooking with them, we highly recommend using your common sense when you decide to wash or not to wash your wool. When you receive your order you may want to rip, cut and hook a piece or two to determine if it works just the way you want it to… if it does, you are ready to hook without further processing. If you prefer tighter or softer, please consider a cool rinse cycle with fabric softener and a cool or warmer dryer if you want it to tighten a bit more. We offer many selections and textures with every mailer and to do so requires various weaves. This process means there may be some wool selections, depending on the weave, that you may prefer to tighten a bit with a hotter wash or dryer, or you just know the wool will work perfectly as it is. The decision is yours.
Overdyeing
Customers have been working with new, tighter weave (improved density) specification for several years with great results. Noteworthy attributes are: the wool wets beautifully...through and through; also, the wool dyes beautifully even when it was not pre-washed. To answer questions about water temperature relating to over-dyeing, the answer is simple... Yes, a hot dye bath is perfectly fine! Let it cool down, lukewarm or cool rinse, cool dryer. Voila! In other words, don’t be scared of over-dyeing the new items.
The Wool
Wool Studio supplies 100% wool fabric for rug hooking and other textile arts. Obviously, our sparkle wools have fibers that do not come naturally from a sheep! Our wool is approximately 14 to 16 ounces per yard (Items swatched in July 2019 and forward may be a few oz/yard heavier), 58" to 60" wide, and mill-dyed to give that warm hand-dyed look... right off the bolt. The quality of the wool is exceptional, with beautiful plaids, checks and textures.
How do we sell?
We sell wool by the yard or bolt. The wool is not washed. We will sell dimensions less than a yard but include a $0.50/piece cutting charge. Yardage is cut selvage to selvage (i.e. a half yard will be 18" x 60"). Please note that we do not cut "fat halves" or "fat quarters".
What should I know about buying a bolt?
Bolts (10 or 15 continuous yards, usually wrapped around a bolt board) are a staple of our wholesale business. Bolts are produced by mechanically unrolling a 60-70 yard roll of fabric, then measuring and wrapping via our bolting machine. The bolting machine applies slight pressure as it pulls the wool off the roll, through the rollers and past the calibrated yardage counter, to produce a neat, even bolt. In the bolting process, the wool stretches slightly as it is pulled and unrolled, folded selvage-to-selvage, and wrapped on the board. Even a little stretch over 15 yards, can result in a few inches more or less. As a result of tension applied by the machine, and the stretch characteristics of each wool's weave, bolts can vary slightly in length. Please consider this variance as the nature of buying bolts as a wholesale customer. The Wool Studio, as with all other bolt sellers, sets its’ wholesale and bolt pricing based on the convenience that bolts provide as well as the potential for yardage variations.
How do I tell if what I'm paying for is 100% Wool?
It is not always easy to tell if what you are buying, or recycling from thrift stores, is 100% wool. We believe you should get what you pay for. We have heard of several methods for trying to prove if fabric is 100% wool: burning, ripping, ironing, etc. However, these methods are all very subjective and, in our experience, only one method is definitive.