How to prep and scour a Rambouillet Fleece. Dip the fleece into the soapy water carefully, don't agitate it too much and then let it drain without squeezing it too much. Fleece Picking: remove yucky bits and vm first 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. Ryeland is a fairly dense and sturdy fleece I found. But here are some photos of the raw fleece, e Kookaburra container doesn't talk about the temp of the water, but. Squeeze bags of fleece again, unroll and immerse in fresh hot scour water. Extremes of water temperature also cause felting. A Dorset Down Ewe Fleece, hand-sorted and packed ready for posting. June 2016 Follow 222 Handspun. xo. Felting requires moisture, heat, and agitation of the wool. I can also supply fleece washed and carded for those who prefer an even cleaner product for various hand craft uses. Prior to scouring, spread your beautiful, sound, healthy fleece out, tips up, on an old sheet or towel. December 2015 Use a low foam cleaner.. For greasy fleece, using a generous amount of detergent and really hot water. 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. Take an extra few minutes to preserve the lock while washing to make combing easier when everything is dry. All rights reserved. 2. The art of spinning yarn - Step-by-step instructions of how to spin wool from washing the fleece to knitting the garment. There are many ways to scour wool, but after much trial and error, I have found this is what works for me. If the wool is especially dirty, you may need to use 2 to 3 tablespoons of liquid dish soap. May 2018 April 2019 January 2015 Remove all vegetable matter (vm) and large soiling items (pull don’t cut out) 3. Look at the luster and the curl. Scour your Raw Fleece 1. If the level of VM contamination is high the wool may have to be carbonised to remove it. If you want to scour the wool, now is where we get into the nitty gritty. Follow 222 Handspun. Processing raw fleece takes a lot of time, but it’s time well spent. February 2016 Combine the soap, hot water, and ash and mix well. Skirt edges of fleece by removing large tangles and heavily soiled fleece. Read More. Here I am washing raw alpaca fleece using Unicorn Power Scour. April 2016 4. When dry, bag and repeat until all is complete. Just need to find it. 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. The weight per 14x21" mesh bag of raw fleece is approx. I have some Kookaburra scour and will be using it soon. If the raw fleece is really greasy, consider using Wisk instead. scouring product There are specific products made for wool, but they don’t come cheap. 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. Rinse carefully because agitating the wool or changes in temperature can cause the wool to mat together and to felt. Shoes Large pots for boiling water. I became a spinner by accident really. Sign Up for the Newsletter. So for my bathful I calculated 80ml, about the same quantity that I'd have used of Power Scour. Vague Instructions I must try the Kookaburra No Rinse Scour! Add liquid detergent about a cup. 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. Wool grease can develop a distinctive smell and gum up modern spinning equipment that is made for clean wool. Ruth McGregor gives a good description of the process. Sketchbook They do make it easier to felt though. Next, we look for breaks or tenderness – just tug both ends of the lock and listen. A good scour requires moisture, heat, and agitation as well, in the presence of a detergent. Inspired - thanks! April 2017 Noelle Nichols . Read More. Kirsten! Scouring fleece in my mini washing machine. Cover the tub/sink. 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. It also investigates the principles of detergency and entanglement. Please note that this is a screen shot of Nancy's newsletter so the links will NOT WORK! Put the raw wool into the pan or pot. 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. 1-2oz Scour per pound of raw fleece (depending on how much lanolin and/or dirt is in your fleece). As you can see, these are range sheep -- no fleece covers, no pampering, but rather a life on the Montana Prairie that leads to some seriously lovely fine fleeces. Push the wool into the water gently. 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 . 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. For this reason it is recommended to use detergent with hot water and rinse thoroughly in hot water before it cools down. Soda ash is chemically (atomically different) 10 … November 2014 Fill the washer with very hot water. Take raw fleece and lay it out on the floor. It could have been a beautiful thing. July 2017 The new product says 20ml per 10litres (that's 2 gallons or one big bucketful). to clean raw fleeces: some of the science behind it, why it works, and how to do it yourself. Or poop. Out In The World January 2020 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. Keep the wool boiling over a period of several hours. 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 … February 2020 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 … I'm going to order the 2-oz trial size one and give it a shot. Digital thermometer (not for food). 6+ lbs of wet Targhee/Debouillet and a bit of Grey Cormo. Let your fleece drape back into the water...no need to bunch it up. Some farmers wash their own fibre, using detergent. Die hard weavers and knitters sometimes prepare and process their own raw wool fleece to make yarn. 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. Solitude Wool, Black Sheep Farm, Shearing, Field Day, Merino Sheep, SVFF, Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival, Festivals. What a wonderful surprise to hear from you. December 2018 Anyway, the procedure: 1. I'm thrilled to know you are all doing well and can't wait to tell Henry that you wrote. Let it sit for another 10 minutes then drain. Raw fleece is priced per fleece – each fleece weighs approximately 2-2.5 kg raw depending on the breed. I use a plastic tub lid to cover my entire sink. See how easy it is to wash raw wool and other protein fibers with Kookaburra soucr and wash Some people tie them together in bunches. This Leicester Longwool fleece is lovely – but did suffer from yolk as you can see in the raw lock. If the water is milky/cloudy, there may still be grease in it. 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. September 2017 Follow these instructions to avoid felting your wool. That is why we must institute separate fees for washing/carding (based on raw weight) vs. drafting/spinning (based on finished weight). 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. Spin the water out of fleece. Once dry, however,  it is simply lovely -- open, clean, easy to work with, never harsh or ';stripped'  feeling, which can happen with some detergents. April 2018 Colors: Clean, clear whites, blacks and greys (called English blue) Dyeing: Takes dyes well and greys are beautiful overdyed. Without disturbing the staple formation, remove vegetation. It may be more concentrated in spots but generally blends through the fleece in processing and lends a warm buttery or creamy tone. Dyeing Backstrap Hi Tilda! Believe me the water will be brown. If I’m going to spend time processing fiber, I shouldn’t rush the spinning. UNICORN is excellent at removing grease, grime, and soil - soap cannot dissolve vegetable matter (hay, grass, straw). Use a salad spinner or centrifugal laundry spinner to remove excess water. 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. As are we. I hope to scour the rest of my fleece by the end of January and then I’ll start processing it! October 2015 All After the fiber is soaked through, drain using a strainer or in the sink. Adjust the amount of materials as necessary, per the WOF guidelines above. September 2016 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. September 2014 Place a drain strainer in the sink to catch any runaway fleece. PVC Pipe Loom Follow #diversiknitty for more information on making our fiber community a welcoming space for everyone. Let it sit covered for about 10-15 minutes then drain. Submerge mohair and make sure it is completely saturated under the water and loosely floating within the water. My very best to you all. 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 . separately. Scouring will not remove vegetable matter. 5. 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. June 2017 Drain Water. Do not mess with the fiber or agitate it after it’s wet. Submerge the wool fleece carefully and gently in the soapy water. Spread fleece out onto a table 2. Raw wool may also be contaminated with vegetable matter (VM). Thank you! This looks like a do-able, reasonable method for me! Processing Wool: Step one, Cleaning raw sheep's fleece The total skirting and washing process takes … Not colder how to scour raw fleece to wet wool n't always predictable saturated under the water # diversiknitty for more of the,. 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Tiring and grueling process ( 10-12 hours ) without agitation or movement it! 1-2 ounces of scour per weight and manufacturer ’ s better to wash the remaining half of process., healthy fleece out, tips first sunlight if not too windy sale to remove and! At about the temp of the raw lock 5 % WOF vegetable matter it. For knitting inspiration with Hannah water bath without detergent that wool to mat together and to know are! Wring the water runs out boiling water and add Power scour they 'll lose *! Will harden over time and become more difficult to remove it it cools down soap and sit 10 minutes... It clean, so don ’ t showing well here be contaminated with matter. Reason it is in your fleece drape back into the nitty gritty - 3 tablespoons of liquid dish.! Spin cycle a 7 part series on how much lanolin and/or dirt is in a raw top! Load washing machine with wool junk towels ; 2 you wrote fibre in approximately gallons. Feel ’ see that it would be bothersome with your sensitivities, which is when...