Processing Wool: Step one, Cleaning raw sheep's fleece The total skirting and washing process takes me about 6 hours for a large fleece like this one. Scouring fleece in my mini washing machine. A bathtub, laundry sink, kitchen sink or large tub to wash your fleece in. Here’s some of the raw fleece and cold soaked fleece for contrast. scouring product There are specific products made for wool, but they don’t come cheap. Dip the fleece into the soapy water carefully, don't agitate it too much and then let it drain without squeezing it too much. Grease will harden over time and become more difficult to remove. July 2016 Next, we look for breaks or tenderness – just tug both ends of the lock and listen. 222handspun@gmail.com. It could have been a beautiful thing. didn't know about Kookaburra Scour- very interesting. 8. Let it sit covered for about 10-15 minutes then drain. Cellulosic Experiments Hopefully now you’ve got a big pile of clean, dry fleece, probably including bits of dried up grass and stuff, but generally looking a better for having had a good wash. 7 Tablespoons (3-4 oz) of Power Scour (depending on how greasy the mohair is) or Beyond Clean October 2014 A gentle wash will take some of this out. Skirted raw fleece. Drying rack with netting such as an old lace curtain or nylon net. Straight off the sheep, fleece contains a lot of lanolin (grease). October 2019 5. An alkali such as ammonia may be used, but the pH should not be above 10 for extended periods of time and temperatures in excess of 140°F(60°C) should be avoided . Cleaning raw fleeces can be an extremely tiring and grueling process. February 2016 Follow #diversiknitty for more information on making our fiber community a welcoming space for everyone. Add liquid detergent about a cup. Note: I’ve recently been told some front-loading machines have wool cycles that can be used to wash raw wool. You may gently "plunge" fleece to make sure it is completely saturated. Also, check out Unicorn’s tips on How to Wash Raw Wool Fleece as there are some great pointers there that I don’t cover. Raw Fleece Processing Step Two: Washing Washing bins filled with hot water, Unicorn Power Scour and fleece filled laundry bags. December 2016 Let your fleece drape back into the water...no need to bunch it up. I'm thrilled to know you are all doing well and can't wait to tell Henry that you wrote. Good luck with the the exhibition! Rubber gloves. Take an extra few minutes to preserve the lock while washing to make combing easier when everything is dry. November 2016 :) In Part 1 of this guide to processing raw fleece at home, we looked at how to tackle a mound of satisfyingly sheepy raw wool- from sorting to cleaning to drying. I change the water at least twice after that, allowing the wool to soak for at least a few hours between changes, until the water no longer looks dirty. Hard to believe these fleeces had all that Montana soil in them isn't it. And fill that container with piping hot tap water (hot enough to scald your hand should you attempt t o leave it in the water for more than a second or two after the … When clean rinse the fibre/fleece in clean water at about the same temperature as the scouring water was when you removed it. May 2017 It's pretty good here in the summer on a warm sunny day, but those aren't always predictable. Jan 4, 2015 - Cleaning wool for needlefelting is time consuming, but well worth the effort as you can prepare your wool the exact way you want it, and you may be able to save a couple bucks along the way. Things To Wear If you plan to clean several fleeces, consider investing in Unicorn Power Scour or Kookaburra Scour Fleece Degreaser. December 2015 Distractions One wash in Power Scour Two washes in Power Scour 2 Washes and 2 rinses. As are we. The water volume should be such that the fleece has plenty of room to expand as it takes up the water. Fortuitously, as I was writing a mailchimp newsletter thingy the other day to send to those of you who have signed up, a box arrived from the Ortmann's in Wolf Point, Montana. Washed fleece will keep much longer in sealed storage bags – plastic to avoid moth – than a raw You can already see quite an improvement in your fleece, can't you? So glad to know about the Unscented and will definitely seek it out. You will need to do that by hand. Being able to skip the rinse would be fantastic! For this reason it is recommended to use detergent with hot water and rinse thoroughly in hot water before it cools down. xo. January 2015 This is a 7 part series on how to prep and wash/scour a raw Rambouillet Fleece. Don’t use a front load washing machine with wool. Add 1 TSP of Soap and sit 10 more minutes. December 2019 I've often thought about you since our long ago tea together. July 2020 Tapestry (A raw fleece is like a big ol' poo, poo tea bag steeping...and, yay, my appetite is curbing.) For raw wool or organically processed yarns, use 1-3% WOF. Cover the tub/sink. January 2019 Putting it in net bags will help. Use really hot water and detergent until the wool no longer feels tacky. Washing Raw Fleeces-Be sure to skirt the fleece well before washing -- I put the fleeces on a table that has a screen top on it (1/2"-1" spacing in the screen is good) and then I pull out any thorns, hay or straw chaffe, bugs, and manure. Small mesh laundry bags (optional). March 2015 For fleece with a very high grease/lanolin content you may want to ad into that first soap soak 2/3 cup of soda ash to the wash load. August 2016 Dry on a mesh sweater dryer/rack in the sun or with a fan to circulate air (don’t use hot air). It’s better to wash a fleece right after shearing. February 2020 This is a lock taken from the dirty fleece. CLEAR SOAK: Choose the water temperature according to which sample scour provided the best results. The dog is very useful to see if my fleece is properly cleaned – she goes nuts for the raw fleece in the garage, but if it’s cleaned enough at … If I've kept the locks not too thick, and am washing a covered fleece, I haven't had problems getting dirt out. May 2016 April 2016 as I am). Now what? One of the many joys of cleaning and processing your own wool is the ability to tailor it to your own need. PVC Pipe Loom Actually for most fleeces, the water does not have to be that hot, and th. I use a generous amount (around 2 Tbl of Power Scour per lb of fleece) because I have hard water. Fill the washer with very hot water. Drain Water. June 2015 Author Karen Posted on January 9, 2018 Categories Fiber Arts , Spinning Tags Coopworth , finn , fleece , Icelandic , raw fleece , scour , Texel You can very gently move fiber in water when there is NO detergent, but do not agitate if there is any detergent or you risk felting it. Whether you wash more thoroughly (scour) and take out more of the lanolin is a matter of preference. November 2018 Textile Tools to clean raw fleeces: some of the science behind it, why it works, and how to do it yourself. For really greasy fleece I repeat this step again. Read More. Comics Add the fleece to another hot water bath without detergent. storage bins (or any containers for soaking) Do not mess with the fiber or agitate it after it’s wet. Let soak for approx 15 minutes, pressing down or gently manipulating the bags in some fashion once or twice -- CAREFUL OF HOT WATER! April 2015 4. The raw fleece can handle hot water as long as you don't move it around too much and don't transfer it to water of a different temperature. 4. Wool grease can develop a distinctive smell and gum up modern spinning equipment that is made for clean wool. August 2014 Raw fleece is priced per fleece – each fleece weighs approximately 2-2.5 kg raw depending on the breed. Tongs (also never to be used for food). Linsey Woolsey June 2014 Gentle detergent or Power Scour. At first I tried running hot water from the bath into my Rubbermaid and supplementing it with a pot of boiling water, but that didn’t get hot enough. Gather Up The Materials Needed Clean Raw Wool: Clean bath tub; Hot water; Laundry detergent Several large junk towels; 2. July 2015 Skirt edges of fleece by removing large tangles and heavily soiled fleece. Yolk on the other hand is wool grease that may discolor to yellow. Tips and Tutorials Elysa Darling October 10, 2018 raw fleece, scouring, wool, fiber, fiber prep, washing wool, Unicorn Power Scour, demo, demonstration, tutorial, how-to, Scour raw fleece Comment. It also investigates the principles of detergency and entanglement. You don’t need a lot of suds to get it clean, so don’t worry about that. Here are two ways that fleece can be cleaned: 1. 3. July 2019 Vague Instructions A kettle or pot on the stove to boil water if you have a hot water limiter. A major proportion of the wools requiring carbonising are from Australia and South Africa. I agree that in some fleeces, a little grease in the locks feels good, but it drives me nuts when working with very find fleeces which only seem to get stiff and hard to work with. I've avoided Kookaburra in the past because I'd heard the scent was fairly strong (I have asthma, and a lot of fragrances cause problems for me) but I just looked at their site and it seems they do have an unscented one now. coarse wool from New Zealand represents the other extreme of being very easy to scour. This is my sink/tub washing method of washing raw fleece. A good scour requires moisture, heat, and agitation as well, in the presence of a detergent. Instead it is headed for the bin. Quickly changing water temperatures will shock the fiber and felt it. I have used many different products for washing raw fleeces over the years. April 2018 I used regular Dawn dishwashing liquid, which is budget-friendly and works well. December 2014 Ryeland is a fairly dense and sturdy fleece I found. Kookaburra's instructions are simple-- use 1-2 ounces of Scour per pound of raw fiber. HOW TO WASH RAW MOHAIR IN A TOP LOADING WASHING MACHINE. SKIRT. If soaking and washing more than one fleece at the same time use fleece with similar grease and dirt contents, washing fine wools with other fine wools, long wools with other longs wools, and alpaca, mohair, etc. Close the lid and let the fleece soak for about 45 minutes. May 2014 November 2015 by Community Submission | Wash , Prep September 2019 Fill a sink or tub with hot water add Scour and immerse fleece (make sure fiber is completely covered with water and floats freely). ... but has a slight ‘masculine’ smell to it! Put a dollop of scouring fluid in a container. 5 Pounds of mohair. Coffee Filter Yarn I store the dry fleece in bags made of worn out sheets (the good parts). Read More. I've been buying Ortmann fleeces for years, starting back when Nancy's mother-in-law would send a sample of incredible Cormo if you mailed a stamped envelope in response to their small add in the classified section in the back of. Raw Wool. November 2017 Tell us about different uses you have for Goop. All You can separate out the locks ahead of time. I haven't seen it around my parts before. Put approx 1 pound of fleece into a bag -- repeat. April 2019 If I’m going to spend time processing fiber, I shouldn’t rush the spinning. October 2018 This early shearing keeps the fleeces clean and free from the debris. Their products have what some people believe is a more natural ‘feel’. June 2018 Also, my LYS, Yarn Underground, carries it! Add 1/4 cup of gentle dish soap to the hot water, and mix with a long-handled spoon while trying not to create too many suds. The Kookaburra scour is a no rinse scour, which freaked me out at first as for years I followed what used to be standard practice (dish detergent with one to two washes and two to three rinses depending). Raw wool scouring is typically carried out at temperatures below 140°F(60°C) with low cloud nonionic surfactants and/or anionic detergents sometimes in the presence of emulsified solvents. Skirt The Wool. Allergy medication (if you're allergic to dander, hay, etc. 5 gal+ buckets. Remove from the water, squeeze gently – do not wring. Soda ash is chemically (atomically different) 10 … Nov 17, 2020 - Step by step instructions for how to wash raw wool, starting with raw fleece and ending up with clean, scoured wool in 24-36 hours using Power Scour. What a wonderful surprise to hear from you. Lots of bounce to the locks. That's all I can think to say right now on this subject, other than that it is totally worth checking out the fleece in your area -- trying out a breed you've never tried before, or an interesting cross just to see. Poor way to scour a fleece in preparation for spinning. separately. Make sure you rinse well. with practice I am sure that time will be shortened, but if this is your first fleece and you want it to be clean expect to take some amoun . Dyeing Clothes Make sure the there is enough water for the fleece to move freely and absorb the wash solution. Plastic basket/s or washing bags. Kookaburra's excellent measuring tool built into their … Make sure it is dissolved in the wash bath. Leave the washed or teased fleece to dry in warm airy space or in sunlight if not too windy. Push the raw wool fleece carefully into the water with the long-handled spoon. Leaving the grease in the wool will make it difficult to dye later, and the grease can also ruin the carding cloth on a drumcarder. Also, if you have a lot of experience scouring fleece or with scouring a particular breed you probably don’t need to conduct a sample scour. Be even more careful if you are washing wool tops. Pieces of wool can be placed in mesh laundry bags to prevent them from breaking apart. Die hard weavers and knitters sometimes prepare and process their own raw wool fleece to make yarn. I am now using Unicorn Power Scour because the water doesn't have to be any hotter than 140 degrees and it doesn't completely strip the wool of its natural protection, leaving it softer and silkier.Depending on how dirty and greasy the wool is, I may wash it 2-3 times. 5. June 2016 January 2016 There are many ways to scour wool, but after much trial and error, I have found this is what works for me. February 2018 Backstrap If your wool or yarn feels exceptionally greasy or dirty, use up to 5% WOF. September 2016 UNICORN is excellent at removing grease, grime, and soil - soap cannot dissolve vegetable matter (hay, grass, straw). Baths . (A raw fleece is like a big ol' poo, poo tea bag steeping...and, yay, my appetite is curbing.) September 2018 That is why we must institute separate fees for washing/carding (based on raw weight) vs. drafting/spinning (based on finished weight). September 2015 Happily, once dry the smell seems to vanish, but I can see that it would be bothersome with your sensitivities. I have a fancy (cheap) temperature gun for making soap so I use that but you can use a candy thermometer or whatever type you have on hand. July 2018 I'm going to order the 2-oz trial size one and give it a shot. Spread fleece out onto a table 2. April 2020 June 2019 If the raw fleece is really greasy, consider using Wisk instead. Shoes sending fleece to us as we will re-scour and tease the fibre at the mill. For additional protection of your fleeces, add a lavender sachet or cedar sachet to your bags of clean fleece - as this is a natural moth repellant and can keep your fleeces smelling fresh. by Community Submission | Jul 24, 2018 | Wash, Prep. Washing up gloves to protect you from hot water. We will show you how to clean the fleece, how to wash the fleece, then how to card the fleece into rovings and then finally how to spin your fleece into beautiful yarn. I soak the wool in the hot water and scour for at least 15 minutes. Extremes of water temperature also cause felting. Grace Ouslee shows in her video how Goop, which removes oily, waxy films really well, can be used to scour or prep the raw fleece. Rinse carefully because agitating the wool or changes in temperature can cause the wool to mat together and to felt. A bit  is OK as real sheep have real lives unless they live in depressing sterile boxes which would be horrible,  but I don't want to pay for burrs by the pound...Or hay. Thank you! May 2020 If the wool is milky, there is more grease in your fiber. To scour wool, fill a bowl with warm water (between 50 and 60 C), add some soap or washing up liquid and leave the wool to soak for two hours or overnight. Sketchbook 1-2oz Scour per pound of raw fleece (depending on how much lanolin and/or dirt is in your fleece). I've not used as much Targhee as I'd like, but this year, wanting something not quite so fine as Cormo and being perennially curious about fleece, I tried  the Debouillet /Targhee X. Here are two ways that fleece can be cleaned: 1. Solitude Wool, Black Sheep Farm, Shearing, Field Day, Merino Sheep, SVFF, Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival, Festivals. Lovely to be able to cater to our personal idiosyncrasies, isn't it? I have some Kookaburra scour and will be using it soon. October 2017 This is just one way of doing it - using our mesh bags - there are many ways of going about cleaning a fleece.. 1. Believe me the water will be brown. I’m happiest choosing the fiber prep based on my mood and the project: commercial top sometimes, raw fleece other times. Plain Weave Large pots for boiling water. Strainer (that will no longer be used for food). How to wash fiber to keep the lock structure for worsted prep or dying long locks. February 2017 For alpaca and non-greasy fleece you can use less than the initial soak (about half). September 2014 Rinse and fill the tub/sink again with hot water and add Power Scour. Lessons Learned. Hello Bonnie, Kookaburra has a web site and I think you can buy it from them. Prior to scouring, spread your beautiful, sound, healthy fleece out, tips up, on an old sheet or towel. Broom or dowel, this is optional, I use them to support my baskets while emptying out the bath. Resist the temptation to handle it too much. This Leicester Longwool fleece is lovely – but did suffer from yolk as you can see in the raw lock. Processing raw fleece takes a lot of time, but it’s time well spent. Kirsten! See how easy it is to wash raw wool and other protein fibers with Kookaburra soucr and wash Combine the soap, hot water, and ash and mix well. January 2020 August 2020 A raw fleece of course! How to prep and scour a Rambouillet Fleece. February 2015 It’s important to not forget about the wool at this point because if the water cools and the lanolin sets back onto the wool it can be much more difficult to remove. Digital thermometer (not for food). March 2016 April 2014, freshly washed Targhee/Debouillet X fleece; from Nancy and Sam Ortmann in Wolf Point MT. A Dorset Down Ewe Fleece, hand-sorted and packed ready for posting. Using gloves to prevent scalding, add the fiber to the water gently until it is totally submerged. You can scour (the fancy term for removing lanolin, dirt, and brown stuff that you tell yourself is mud but it isn’t) fleece in a washing machine, bathtub, or sink. During this time, keep an eye on the boiling water and add more water as it evaporates off. Here I am washing raw alpaca fleece using Unicorn Power Scour. Dish detergent or wool scour; Thermometer. They do make it easier to felt though. Squeeze bags of fleece again, unroll and immerse in fresh hot scour water. Just let those fibers sink down into the bath then gently lift them out of the very brown water. Let it soak for about 15-20 minutes. I scour in batches—ie not the whole fleece at once. After the fiber is soaked through, drain using a strainer or in the sink. Push the wool into the water gently. It may be more concentrated in spots but generally blends through the fleece in processing and lends a warm buttery or creamy tone. Scour your Raw Fleece 1. Adjust the amount of materials as necessary, per the WOF guidelines above. The art of spinning yarn - Step-by-step instructions of how to spin wool from washing the fleece to knitting the garment. Let it float for a bit and then a little more up/down, up/down. In this demo, I’ll walk you through how to scour that wool to get out the dirt and grease. The yellow butts aren’t showing well here. The new product says 20ml per 10litres (that's 2 gallons or one big bucketful). Colors: Clean, clear whites, blacks and greys (called English blue) Dyeing: Takes dyes well and greys are beautiful overdyed. Books Remove the belly wool and any undesirable parts from the fleece. January 2018 6+ lbs of wet Targhee/Debouillet and a bit of Grey Cormo. If it thunks or you hear tearing, that is tender and should be avoided. Soda ash is NOT the same thing as "washing soda". Willow, November 2020 Soak the wool in the hot, soapy water for 20 minutes. When dry, bag and repeat until all is complete. If the water is milky/cloudy, there may still be grease in it. If you understand all the steps to how your product is created, you gain the ability to further your craft. I have experimented, and found what works for me to get my raw fleece very clean, and allow me to … This no rinse scour method took  getting used to as the fleece feels different when I spread it out to dry. .75-1 pound, but what I really want is almost a medium firm pillow feel to the bag til I zip it up. Inspired - thanks! I must try the Kookaburra No Rinse Scour! March 2019 November 2019 Or poop. Add 1 - 3 tablespoons of salt to the water. January 2017 Overnight Soak. August 2017 I hope to scour the rest of my fleece by the end of January and then I’ll start processing it! very hot- Fleece Picking: remove yucky bits and vm first Up to 1 lb raw fleece per batch at a time (suggested), Unicorn Power Scour (or similar wool-formulated detergent), Large tub or basin to fit in kitchen sink (recommended), Mesh bags or extra large strainer (optional), Sink drain filter to catch runaway fiber (optional). Raw fleece is priced per fleece – each fleece weighs approximately 2-2.5 kg raw depending on the breed. Upon leaving each successive bath, the wool gradually becomes cleaner until such time as it is entirely clean with all traces of dirt, vegetable matter and lanolin now removed leaving only the raw fibre remaining. Be sure not to let greasy fleece cool down before the grease is washed away or it can resettle and become extremely difficult to remove. Turn off the washer. Continue to rinse and repeat until the water runs clear. Give your fleece a few good shakes and skirt it to remove dung and heavy VM prior to washing. I just dump the tulle-encased wool locks into the washtub and let the hot water melt the lanolin and the detergent emulsify everything and the dirt falls out. Place 1 to 1.5 lbs of fibre in approximately 4 gallons of clear water, tips first. I never mind a bit of grease in the locks tho It depends on what equipment you have, what type of fleece you’re cleaning, and how much you want to fuss—see the Spin Off eBook How to Wash Wool for advice from the experts. I can also supply fleece washed and carded for those who prefer an even cleaner product for various hand craft uses. Depending on the breed and how dirty the individual animal was prior to being sheared, you can often have an extremely daunting mess on your hands. Use a centrifugal laundry spin dryer or salad spinner to remove excess water. Do not agitate or run water directly over the fleece, even if it is in a mesh bag. They'll lose a *lot* of loft once wet I get two bags ready and head on off to the sink. This list of ingredients is for 100 grams/4 ounces of fiber, with 1% wool detergent to scour. Without disturbing the staple formation, remove vegetation. I suggest using a tub lid to cover the sink/tub while soaking to keep the heat in. Poor way to scour a fleece in preparation for spinning. Place a drain strainer in the sink to catch any runaway fleece. July 2014 Raw huacaya alpaca fleece . Hand Spinning Quite a difference… The water needs to get above 140 degrees in order to melt the lanolin, and my tap water doesn’t get that hot. It is a low-foaming cleaning agent (it’s HE safe). October 2020 Mending Sign Up for the Newsletter. Tips and Tutorials Elysa Darling October 10, 2018 raw fleece, scouring, wool, fiber, fiber prep, washing wool, Unicorn Power Scour, demo, demonstration, tutorial, how-to, Scour raw fleece Comment. Spin the water out of fleece. Slow Literature Repeat until the water is clear. This process is called "skirting" the wool. Remove all vegetable matter (vm) and large soiling items (pull don’t cut out) 3. All images and content © 2020 222 Handspun. Scouring will not remove vegetable matter. Some sort of drying rack. Believe me the water will be brown. Washing (scouring) seeks to remove wool grease (lanolin), dirt, vegetation and chemicals from your fleece. Embroidery Take an 8 oz to 1 lb section of skirted fleece and place in a tub or mesh laundry bag. Suds do not equal cleaner wool. I’m rather leery of it until I see it, but if you have a front-loader with a cycle for washing wool clothing, and a little fleece that needs washing which you’re willing to sacrifice, do let me know how it … October 2016 It is sometimes necessary to clean (scour) the fleece first before spinning it. 8. Processing Wool: Step one, Cleaning raw sheep's fleece The total skirting and washing process takes … Life-altering for me, actually. OK, so you’ve just brought home that perfect raw fleece from a fiber festival. September 2017 Pour in about 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap. Hello again wool lovers! I use a plastic tub lid to cover my entire sink. Refill you washtub and get ready for more of the same exercise. Look at the luster and the curl. Rinse The Wool. Keep the wool boiling over a period of several hours. So, after 15 minutes I take the basin to the sink and dump it out. Gosh Daisy, you remind me that I neglected to mention the smell of Kookaburra, which I do not like and, if it were not so darned effective, would have put me off. February 2019 October 2015 May 2019 For alpaca or really water-resistant fleece, you can soak it in a tub of warm water for about 20 minutes (or overnight) to maximize water absorption. 222 Handspun | Potomac Falls, VA . Looping The sink water will feel very slick from the soap or Wisk … Please note that this is a screen shot of Nancy's newsletter so the links will NOT WORK! Add the recommended amount of Power Scour per weight and manufacturer’s instructions. As you can see, the breed selection has grown since then and I've made some lovely yarn with Polworth and a couple of massive and open Debouillet fleeces too. Put the raw wool into the pan or pot. Rinse again until all the soap is removed from the fleece and the water runs clear. I discovered it after scouring – which is usually when you discover this particular issue. Scouring raw fleece can seem a bit scary, but have no fear, here are a few tips to help you wash your fleece without making a felted mess. But this stuff works so much better! July 2017 Do not squish the fleece or attempt to wring the water out. This course explores the processes, aims and objectives of raw wool scouring and describes the machinery used to scour wool. This is a 7 part series on how to prep and wash/scour a raw Rambouillet Fleece. It does not damage the fleece, though it does tint it yellow, and can be overdyed. Raw merino wool before cleaning and processing. All our fleeces receive several initial sorts by hand before packing, so you won’t get a matted lump of belly wool or a load of dags contaminating the rest of the fleece. Knitting But here are some photos of the raw fleece, e Kookaburra container doesn't talk about the temp of the water, but. 2. Anyway, the procedure: 1. Use a salad spinner or centrifugal laundry spinner to remove excess water. This will wash out when you scour the fleece. Submerge the wool fleece carefully and gently in the soapy water. And fill the tub with as hot as your hands can handle water per... Prefer an even cleaner product for various hand craft uses take the basin to the bag I... Necessary, per the WOF guidelines above a drain strainer in the presence of a detergent and large soiling (... Per pound of fleece by removing large tangles and heavily soiled fleece sheets ( the good parts ) 2-2.5 raw! Water at about the same exercise used regular Dawn dishwashing liquid, which is usually you!, Shenandoah Valley fiber Festival, Festivals is how to scour raw fleece it diversiknitty for more the. 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Worry about that the steps to how your product is created, you may need to use 2 to tablespoons. You should wash it to remove wool grease can develop a distinctive smell and gum up modern spinning that... What works for me also supply fleece washed and carded for those who prefer an even cleaner product various! In sunlight if not too windy all is complete to bunch it up how to scour raw fleece 1 * of loft once I... Farmers wash their own raw wool or organically processed how to scour raw fleece, use 1-3 % WOF farmers wash own... A low foam cleaner.. for greasy fleece, hand-sorted and packed for! Sink down into the yarn of post cards you sent many years ago how to scour raw fleece searching knitting. Floating within the water out Wisk instead you removed it scour a fleece right after shearing do-able, method!, unroll and immerse in fresh hot scour water explores the processes, aims and of... Scour that wool to mat together and to inspect them for quality product! They 'll lose a * lot * of loft once wet I get two bags ready and head off..., how to scour raw fleece LYS, yarn Underground, carries it the breed directly the... Newsletter so the links will not work on raw weight ) bath or large tub to wash fleece. Lanolin and/or dirt is in your fleece drape back into the nitty gritty it yet so your! I 'm going to spend time processing fiber, I have n't used it yet so appreciate your,. Hot water and add more water as it takes up the materials Needed clean raw wool or organically processed,! But generally blends through the fleece or attempt to wring the water and until! Shot of Nancy 's newsletter so the links will not work is what works for me in Kookaburra.... And manufacturer ’ s some of this out because I can see that it would be bothersome with your.... Step again fiber or agitate it after scouring – which is budget-friendly and works.. Fleece again, unroll and immerse in fresh hot scour water the product! Pillow feel to the water volume should be avoided this particular issue out ) 3, healthy fleece out tips. For raw wool scouring and describes the machinery used to as the water! Next, we look for breaks or tenderness – just tug both ends of the is. Principles of detergency and entanglement make yarn or salad spinner to remove fleece a few good shakes and it!, in the sink and dump it out it yellow, and ash and mix well 7 part on... Is a fairly dense and sturdy fleece I repeat this step again never a. And gently in the grease ” and then cleaning the fiber and felt it a good picking over before scour. Longer feels tacky below if you understand all the soap, hot water ; laundry detergent several large towels... Using Wisk instead requires moisture, heat, and th, that is made for clean wool Day! Ability to tailor it to your own need and let the fleece or attempt to wring the water should! Shenandoah Valley fiber Festival, Festivals ago tea together are n't always predictable welcoming space for everyone freely... 2 to 3 tablespoons of liquid dish soap or nylon net wash your fleece a few good and! About 45 minutes is more grease in it investing in Unicorn Power scour two washes in Power scour per of... All the soap, hot water and rinse thoroughly in hot water ; detergent. – which is usually when you removed it any undesirable parts from the fleece, e Kookaburra does... Lb section of skirted fleece and lay it out takes up the water does have... Dirt and grease you from hot water to protect you from hot water and add Power.. Oz to 1 lb section of skirted fleece and place in a top washing! You 've peaked my curiosity are washing fleece has plenty of room to expand as it evaporates off even... And cleaned ( bottom ) lock of Leicester Longwool fleece is approx an! 'S newsletter so the links will not work hang up the water, and be! While emptying out the dirt and poo 'd have used of Power scour in... Per 10litres ( that 's 2 gallons or one big bucketful ) my parts.. Quick drying because I have found this is a screen shot of Nancy 's newsletter so the will. And heavy VM prior to washing principles of detergency and entanglement load washing machine with wool and well! Does tint it yellow, and ash and mix well here ’ s instructions let it sit for another minutes! So don ’ t need a lot of lanolin ( grease ) the end of fleece... To another hot water ( not boiling ) – do not squish the fleece in for... Often been put off because of the process tender and should be avoided of wool can be cleaned 1. On off to the end of the very brown water my curiosity, Field Day, Sheep. Should wash it to at least take out the dirt and poo your sensitivities there is enough water for minutes... Up gloves to prevent them from breaking apart fleece soak for about 45 minutes, Sheep... It sit covered for about 10-15 minutes then drain tangles and heavily soiled fleece wool may be... Again with hot water and add more water as it takes up the mesh bag matter of preference a... Scour water pound, but after much trial and error, I shouldn ’ t showing well.. The hot how to scour raw fleece soapy water not wring, and agitation as well, Sarah wash. '' the wool, e Kookaburra container does n't talk about the of... Mesh laundry bags to prevent them from breaking apart spin dryer or spinner. A fairly dense and sturdy fleece I found the amount of detergent and hot... As you can add hotter water, squeeze gently – do not wring felt it agitating wool... Hardly wait to tell Henry that you wrote felt it it to your own..