Comments on: Make your own Skep

By: Gimlet

Gimlet — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 16:10:47 +0000

In reply to Jasmin. Wool? What wool?

By: Jasmin

Jasmin — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 10:40:10 +0000

In reply to Gimlet. I don't think this would work because wool is so hydrophilic. Even if you kept it under shelter, the wool would absorb moisture from the air without and the hive within. I think it would become sodden and collapse or rot

By: Gimlet

Gimlet — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 11:25:59 +0000

In reply to Debby Muir. Sorry Debby, I do very few skep workshops nowadays and Wiltshire is too far away from here.

By: Debby Muir

Debby Muir — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 08:45:08 +0000

Any workshops in Wiltshire or surrounding counties in the UK please. I only want to make skeps, not to to a bee keeping workshop with skeps as an add on. I make willow baskets and do medieval reenactment, the art of making a skep would help promote the dying skill. Have tried Chris Park, who only seems to do 3 day bee keeping workshops 🙁

By: ChristieB

ChristieB — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 22:54:19 +0000

In reply to Claire.

I use a cow horn as my guide/”pipe”
And turkey bone as my “needle”
That’s how I was taught, never tried pvc or anything

By: Gimlet

Gimlet — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 13:56:16 +0000

In reply to Chris Dancey.

I never heard of woollen skeps but think it would be a very interesting thing to try.
If it was me though, I’d try and find out if the bees might be irritated by the wool before I made the skep.
They are sensitive to smells so if there was a smell of sheep that might get them going.
Or lanolin?

By: Chris Dancey

Chris Dancey — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 16:02:08 +0000

I used wool ‘roving’ from a mill in Alberta to insulate between the logs of my home. Has wool been used to form skeps. I’d like to try it, unless there is a good reason it isn’t a suitable material.

customwoolenmills.com

Under carded wool, you will find wool roving.

By: Gimlet

Gimlet — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 07:28:32 +0000

In reply to Claire.

I make my skeps from either long stemmed wheat straw or purple moor grass (Molinia cerulea). I keep it quite tight and twist as I go.
I use a tonic water bottle as a funnel to load the material and it has an exit diameter of about 2cm.
Only if I was making a very large skep would I use a bigger one and that is 3cm.

By: Claire

Claire — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 16:48:01 +0000

Hi
I have been trying to make a skep and found that 1.5 diameter pipe is too big 1 inch pipe too small – as a guide for the rope.

What do you use?

By: Bryon Thomas

Bryon Thomas — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 02:42:23 +0000

Many thanks for the Demo! Finally it makes sense. Bryon