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Betsy Morehead poses for a photo Thursday at Scissortail Yarn and Fiber Mill.

Textile operations manager Staci Forshee prepares yarn to be spun Thursday at Scissortail Yarn and Fiber Mill.

Betsy Morehead poses for a photo Thursday at Scissortail Yarn and Fiber Mill.

Textile operations manager Staci Forshee prepares yarn to be spun Thursday at Scissortail Yarn and Fiber Mill.

From farm to fleece to needle, a local shop and fiber mill has a variety of colorful yarn offerings derived from alpacas and sheep.

Betsy Morehead’s mother taught her how to crochet and knit when she was young.

The plan to open a business developed when she was laid off from her job in the oil and gas industry in fall 2018. She was still licensed to practice law in Arkansas and Oklahoma, but going back to a law office didn’t sound enticing.

Most of the women and some of the men in her family knew how to crochet and knit. In 2013, she began spinning yarn on a wheel, and subsequently learned about fiber and the animals that produce fleece and wool and how to process it.

“I wanted to work with sheep wool, alpaca fleece and any other animal fiber I could get my hands on,” Morehead said.

After she researched and investigated with her husband, Mike, they purchased some used equipment from a couple in Kentucky and opened Scissortail Yarn & Fiber Mill, 119 N. Crawford Ave. in 2019. They had a small space for retail to sell the yarn she was making.

When another local yarn store closed last fall, Morehead looked to fill a need in Norman’s knitting and crocheting community. She ordered some wholesale brands to sell alongside her made-in-house yarns.

The shop now sells yarn from West Yorkshire Spinners, Manos del Uruguay, Cascade and The Alpaca Yarn Company.

Scissortail Yarn & Fiber Mill get their alpaca fiber from coast to coast, but much of it is acquired from in-state. Morehead said alpacas are sheared every year, and sheep are sheared twice a year. Morehead said in the spring, many people in Oklahoma shear their alpacas.

“Farmers will skirt off the part they don’t want processed, or that they want separated from the better part of the fleece, and then they’ll send it out to me,” Morehead said. “We will get it washed, guard hairs removed and run through cleaning machines that take out parts you don’t want in your yarn, and we will make yarn out of the good part.”

The unwanted parts of the fleece are used to create dyer balls and felt, which can be used for gardening. Morehead has recently started selling felted herb seeds.

“I’ve got some basil and cilantro and other seeds,” Morehead said. “I don’t need a whole package for the little squares, but it would be nice to have a little bunch for beginner [gardeners].”

Customers may buy Addi knitting machines, Addi knitting needles and crochet hooks at the store. They also sell their finished creations such as hats, scarves, mittens, coozies, felted soaps, felted gardens, rugs and bottle socks.

The store has yarns in standard primary and secondary colors to unique blends and natural hues.

Morehead recently made a yarn with wool and cellulose, a plant fiber, for someone who was knitting a sweater. The violet and light brown result was similar to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

“[My friend] bought all that I had in stock to make the sweater, and needed more, so I actually had to reach out to the woman I was doing the trade with to get her half of the same yarn so she could finish her sweater,” Morehead said.

Morehead said the operation is currently small-scale, but she hopes to soon move to a larger space to allow for classes, knit nights and other makers to teach workshops. Because sometimes, people come to the store simply looking for expertise, she said.

Morehead has used a trading system where people who raise alpaca send her their fleece to make yarn for years. She sends half of the yield back to them and keeps the remaining half.

“It’s a nice way to get some free yarn,” Morehead said.

Until the day classes start up, Morehead said she and the other two employees are always willing to help, whether that’s offering advice to complete a knitting or crocheting project directly, acquiring the right supplies or finding them a resource that can help with the process, like an instructional video on YouTube.

Staci Forshee has worked with Betsy for a year, and said her passion for the craft is contagious. Differentiating fibers and developing a working knowledge of the machinery takes time, but Forshee enjoys the challenge.

“It can be very rewarding for people like me that are a little [hyperfocused], and can take something that’s chaotic like the [animal fiber], and then make it into something so uniform and pretty, there’s a reward in that,” Forshee said.

Jeff Elkins covers business, living and community stories for The Transcript. Reach him at jelkins@normantranscript.com or at @JeffElkins12 on Twitter.

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