I treated myself to 4 oz of the first place fleece of the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival this year. I paid too much for it ($10 an oz), but sometimes you have to treat yourself with a little something nice, and nice it is. I decided I didn’t want it lost in the boxes with the other unwashed fleeces (we got 23 total this spring; both sheep and alpaca) so I pulled it out and wanted to wash it and get it ready for some drop spindle play time. Picture 1 is a lock of the fiber I got.
I want to take this chance to take the mystery out of washing wool. It isn’t hard; you wont felt it if you look at it wrong (I’ve never had something felt);and it isn’t a hard skill to learn on your own. It is an awesome way to save money and make one more step yours. So lets get started. To view all the pics at once in the slide show click on the set of four blocks under the pictures.
First, we’ll talk about fleeces. There are a ton of books out there, but there is nothing that can substitute for jumping in with two feet and learning. I say to buy a good fleece from someone who has a good reputation to uphold. Sometimes “friends” may have sheep, but that doesn’t mean they have good wool. You have to learn what you like in a fleece. Some like soft and delicate others like a little more body. Just don’t ever let anyone tell you that your wrong. From my experience try to find people that LOVE their sheep. That way you know the sheep are well cared for and you wont have breakage issues from stressed sheep. Every single fleece I buy comes from a named animal. That’s my signal that they are loved. And don’t be afraid to ask for a picture of the animal. Not only is it fun to have, but you can asses the condition of both animal and pasture.
Picture 2 is how I set up my wash buckets when I want to wash a small amount. Small being enough for a large skine of yarn; 4 oz of wool for me. Heat up two tubs of water to just before boiling; I look for the bubbles on the bottom and then turn it down to med/high. It has to be hot so the lanolin (sheep sweat) becomes liquid and becomes part of the water. It acts like a wax. Both tubs should have soap in them. On the subject of soap, don’t use normal detergent because it makes wool brittle. However, you do not need to buy the very expensive fancy wool washing soap. We use Ecover-Delicate Wash, it is way less expensive, made for washing wool, and better for the environment. What’s not to love?
Picture 3. Grab a handful at a time and float it on top of the water, then gently push it under to get it wet. This is where people go wrong and felting can happen. You have to be gentle and not force it to get wet. Remember that Hot Water+ Agitation= Felting. If you don’t scrub it or poke it too much it wont felt. Just push it down to help it get wet.
Picture 4. Now we let it soak. Usually, 5-8 min or until the water is quite dirty. You can move the wool around with the spoon, but remember, no scrubbing. Also, don’t work about the vm, or vegetable matter. If it’s a limb, you can pick it out, but don’t sweat the little stuff. It is harder to get it out wet than if you waited until it dried. Our goal is not to make it less dirty, that will happen naturally, our goal is to get the lanolin off. If you see an extra dirty spot, again don’t scrub. I will pet it with the back of my hand, rubbing with the fiber. It works and isn’t invasive. Don’t let the water cool down, we want to keep it at a steady “before boiling” temp.
Picture 5 is how I remove the wool. It isn’t very high tech, but it works. I scoop some out with my spoon, let the water drain out, and squeeze the rest. Don’t panic, it will look felted, but lower it into the other tub of clean soapy water and, as long as you see separate strands of fiber floating gracefully independent, then your good. You can rifer to Pic 9, if you need an example of what this looks like.
It depends on how dirty and greasy your wool is to know how many times you’ll need to wash it. Picture 6. While this is soaking I dump out the old water (note how dirty it is vs how clean the wool in Pic 1 it’s the grease that makes it dirty). I like to hold my spoon or a coriander under the spill to catch any fiber I might have missed. You might want to take the extra chance to wash your hands in this water. Believe it or not, many cosmetic lotions use lanolin and this water will make your hands soft for days. Another thing you might run across is “2nd cuts” shown in Picture 7. These are a result of the shearing when the cutters don’t get to the skin and the shearer goes back for a second pass. I few is ok, a lot makes it low quality since it shortens the staple length (length of the fiber.) You can pull these out if you see them, but don’t break them up. You’ll want them out eventually. Now we can admire Picture 8 and see what the final wash gives us. (Notice how the yellow from Pic 4 is gone.)
Fill the now empty tub with clean water, heat it up while the other one soaks. When it is good and hot I remove the wool like before and rinse. I don’t do it all at once, I place a spoonful in the clean water as in Pic 9, make sure the soap is out, then take it to my clean sheet on the ground and spread it out like Pic 10. Sunny day is best, if it’s humid it might take longer, but it will dry. If there is a brisk wind I’ll lay it all out and place a very light sheet loosely on top and weigh down the corners. At this point the wool looks like a tangled mess with little hope. However, it fluffs as it drys and becomes beautiful.
I hope this helps give everyone the courage to start from scratch. In the next few days, I will be picking and carding the cormo, so I will probably do a tutorial on the next stage as well. Be sure to share with your fiends and get the word out. Talk to you soon.
Just like with the rest of the world, things are wild around here. We’re trying to ride out the Mercury Retrograde with stoic determination and hope in the future. In these stressful times its hard to bring ourselves to make something; especially when all we can think about is how much its going to cost us. So today I present you the Netti Doll. Simple, beautiful, and all you need is scraps from your quilting, weaving, and/or your knitting projects. I would love to have some feedback and make you work for your supper (as we say around here) so if you want a tutorial to make her, your going to have to ask. ;-) 
Our beloved cat and partner Greenbean has a “thing” for raw wool fleece. Catnip does nothing for her, but a fresh raw fleece, oh boy! After turning over a new box of wool and dragging some of it out she proceeded to wallow in it. However, she did have enough dignity to stop for the camera. 
Finally, my friends, the quilt is finished. The picture is bad because it’s dark here, but I just couldn’t wait all night to show it off. Practically everything is wonderful. Totally hand quilted (which is a very big job) and made with my mother in mind. You can tell my favorite blocks because I used my favorite cloth on them, the blue with little tan flower bundles. The back and binding is the same medium brown muslin as the center boarders. 
Way of Fiber. Not only is teaching our bread and butter (since we rarely offer our weavings or yarn for sale) but it is also what makes Silver Wheel Yarn the pavement on the road of my life. I love teaching, especially adults, and knowing that I’m saving a dying art and giving someone the ability to create. I reckon we’ll have to see what happens as we go along this path to see what I need to say. 
learn something new. Weaving, spinning, knitting, quilting, and some of the needle arts are only a few skills I use on a regular basis. CJ, husband and partner, does more of the higher weaving, artful spinning, Japanese braiding, and equipment maker. Greenbean, our feline furbaby, helps where she can. 
