Remember the felt warning? This fleece must be cleaned before it can be processed into wool yarn. Caution: Working with raw wool can result in felting!Felting is a natural process that occurs when a fiber frays and fuses to other fibers around it. Assuming your wool has cooled to room temperature, fill a bin with lukewarm water and let it rest for about 30 minutes. Also called greasy/raw wool However, what is often called “wool grease” is a mixture of suint, dirt, grease, and more. Add the wool to the soapy water and be sure it is submerged, taking care not to agitate. Spinning and twisting. Here you’ll find our family’s adventures, the crafts we create, and even some of my own knitting patterns! The collision of molecules releases energy, which means heat. People soon began to develop and maintain herds of wool-bearing ani… Felt is also made from the raw wool: for this purpose, the fibers are rolled and densely intertwined under the influence of moist heat, pressure, and soap. glovesI recommend a nice, thick pair of rubber gloves over disposables. Our tutorial is free ... please share! Natural wool textiles are the best fabrics used during the winter to provide warmth. Depending on the fiber quality and provided that the wool contains moisture, the temperature can increase up to 10° Celsius. wool hand cardersYou may also use a drum carder, but they are considerably more expensive. This is just one way of doing it - using our mesh bags - there are many ways of going about cleaning a fleece.. 1. I typically purchase my own bare yarn and dye it. Either a bathtub, bucket or a sink, depending on how much of the wool you want to wash at one time. Dr Errol Wood (AgResearch): Also called greasy/raw wool. Here is wool prior to making a yarn – it’s called a roving. Sometimes as much as 50% of the weight of the fleece is not wool. Clean wool. Cleaning. Repeat the process as necessary. To remove greasy matter, contaminations, dried sweat (suint) and to prepare the wool for subsequent processes. Carding & Combing. How to Process Card and Dye Raw Wool : Processing raw wool by hand is a very time consuming task, but it can mean great savings for those who purchase large quantities of yarn and have the time to work with it. Willowing, Scouring and Dying. Let’s take a closer look. Straight off the sheep, fleece smells, well, sheepy, plus. Industrial spinning process: Human being, are using fibers by spun into filaments, string, or rope, used as a raw materials, or tangled into sheets to construct the products such as paper or felt. Lanolin, a wax secreted by sheep that helps to protect their wool, is included in many beauty products such as skin moisturizer. The process of making wool begins with shearing the sheep, which is typically done once a year in spring when the animals no longer need a heavy coat for insulation. Some engaged in commerce and formed groups known as merchant guilds. It’s time to put your gloves on! We may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. They are extremely heavy, and dark brown with dirt (keep in mind that it takes a sheep an entire year to grow their fleeces this long, and sheep don't take true baths besides being rained on). It's a time-consuming process that can be achieved by soaking the wool in warm water, but typically large wool producers use chemical additives to speed up the process. In the case of other fibers, scouring may occur after the fabric is made as well. Soak for 45 minutes to an hour. Scatter the raw wool across a dry towel and leave for a few hours to dry. In the worsted processing system, three steps - carding, gilling and combing - turn the scoured wool into a 'top' or combed sliver. Make sure your university is not already registered before completing this form. Add your scouring product to the water and gently agitate. Because most water heaters aren’t set above 120, it’s unlikely the water will be hot enough to immediately encourage felting. If your fleece is in one piece, these are easily found by following the perimeter. Usually around 40 to 70%. Dry The Wool. To avoid felting, avoid agitation (especially in warm or hot water) and sudden temperature changes. The newly shorn wool is called a fleece, and even though there is some mechanization available, it is still predominantly done by hand. In the case of this Hog Island fleece, I found it was particularly helpful with dissolving stains from Virginia clay. Please upgrade your browser. SKIRT. Wool straight off a sheep is known as "raw wool”, “greasy wool" or "wool in the grease". 4.9 out of 5 stars 1,107. Think of a wool sweater thrown into the washer and dryer; it comes out two sizes too small and twice as thick! 5. This post may contain affiliate links. Using age-old techniques mixed with modern technologies, wool fibres are transformed into luxuriously soft fabrics and yarns, used by the world’s best fashion designers. CLEANING AND SCOURING: The dirty side of wool processing - The raw or greasy wool taken from the sheep contains a substantial amount of natural contaminants, such as sand, dirt, grease, and dried sweat (called suint) and may also contain pesticide residues. scouring productThere are specific products made for wool, but they don’t come cheap. You’ll know you have put in enough when you can dip your fingers, rub them together, and feel the slickness of the soap. Sorting raw wool. The drafting process enables the fibres to slip apart and become finer. Part 2 (nine months later): "I'm glad we took those shearing classes. You may feel inclined to skip this step as it adds so much time to the process. If you come across small areas that are felted, still have significant debris embedded, or are simply difficult to clean, they can be snipped out later. Felting can’t be undone and it will ruin your fiber if your intent is to use your fleece, especially if your goal is to spin it into yarn. Your browser is not fully supported. Second cuts: Short tufts of wool cut at least twice by the shearing. The longer fibers resulting from the process are called tops, and are in a form ready for spinning. Enough room for the fleece is not wool over disposables process ( carbonising ) to vegetable! Methods for cleaning fleece, i found it was particularly helpful with stains. Known as merchant guilds combed and sorted, fleece smells, well, sheepy, plus Babylonians... 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