Beginner’s Series: Wool – Part 2
I had barely cut my teeth on roving; in fact, I hadn’t even been introduced to a batt yet, when I felt the urge to get a raw fleece and process it for myself. There was just something so appealing about starting as close to the beginning as I could get. And from the moment I walked into a sheep barn an hour away from my house I knew this was going to be a love affair to last the rest of my life.
Sometimes, if I close my eyes, I can still smell the lanolin, and less pleasant things, that made up the smell of that day.
Choosing a Fleece
Would you like to learn what to look for in choosing a fleece? This is the best article I’ve seen on the subject. It gives you such a sense of knowing what you’re talking about. A little experience and you’re a natural. It makes walking into a room full of cut fleeces seem like even more of a candy store.
Buying a Fleece
Alrighty, so you’ve picked out a fleece that you like. A couple things you might want to know.
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I have embarked upon the inevitable. Plunged ahead into the next opportunity. I have begun . . . washing raw wool. Don’t worry about the title. Nobody got hurt. That is simply the term that my instructor used to describe the neccesary temperature of wash water. Here is how I washed my first batch of wool.
I filled a really big pot 3/4 of the way full of water, then brought it to a boil and turned off the heat. Next, I added two tablespoons of dishwashing soap and almost a cup of Simple Green.
The Wool in the Wash
I gave a stir or two to blend it all and added the fiber. Gently. I was terrified it would felt, or that I had put in too much of something. The rather nebulous “add some soap and Simple Green” left a wide-open range from a splash to a couple cups. Then I half-covered the pot with its lid, because I noticed that, if I left the lid fully on, it would heat back up rather quickly and I didn’t want to risk bubbles disturbing the fibers, but I didn’t want to risk anything falling (or crawling) into the water. My dad hauled the very hot pot out to the back porch for me and I waited for it to cool down to lukewarm.
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Yesterday my dad and I went to multiple stores and got all the stuff I need to begin washing the fleece and dyeing some roving I have stashed away. It cost a little more than I was anticipating, but it should last for quite awhile.
Washing and Dyeing Supplies
Two pots for washing and dyeing. A set of measuring cups and spoons (so I don’t get dye and grease on the regular cooking ones). Some wooden spoons for various stirring needs. Can lids to put on the pots of dye. A colander to rinse the wool in. Dawn and Simple Green for cleaning the raw fleece. (The Simple Green isn’t in the picture. It took a couple stops to find it. We finally located it at an Auto Parts store.) And finally some vinegar for the Jaquard Acid dyes. I’m all set to get started. Now all I need is time!
Sheep
We did get to go to the sheep farm! I spent over three hours buried up to the wrists in all sorts of fleeces. You know you are officially a wool-lover when you can pick through a fleece to get out all the twigs and worse things and not mind it one bit. I had an absolute blast. And things got even better.
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