How to prep and scour a Rambouillet Fleece. They do make it easier to felt though. May 2014 February 2017 April 2015 Gather Up The Materials Needed Clean Raw Wool: Clean bath tub; Hot water; Laundry detergent Several large junk towels; 2. This is my sink/tub washing method of washing raw fleece. Place 1 to 1.5 lbs of fibre in approximately 4 gallons of clear water, tips first. If you plan to clean several fleeces, consider investing in Unicorn Power Scour or Kookaburra Scour Fleece Degreaser. Close the lid and let the fleece soak for about 45 minutes. Good luck with the the exhibition! If I've kept the locks not too thick, and am washing a covered fleece, I haven't had problems getting dirt out. Tongs (also never to be used for food). Skirted raw fleece. Milkweed 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. Lots of bounce to the locks. I became a spinner by accident really. If your wool or yarn feels exceptionally greasy or dirty, use up to 5% WOF. When you scour your fleece, you will need to use soap and hot water, and so it's vital to keep movement to a minimum. 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. Lots of dirt at the tips. Don’t use a front load washing machine with wool. Washing fleece has often been put off because of the multiple buckets and rinses. Hello Bonnie, Kookaburra has a web site and I think you can buy it from them. Backstrap Let the fleece soak overnight (10-12 hours) without agitation or movement. 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. 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 . July 2015 Refill Bowl with Hot Water. It is sometimes necessary to clean (scour) the fleece first before spinning it. 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. You can add hotter water, but not colder water to wet wool. April 2018 Put approx 1 pound of fleece into a bag -- repeat. The yellow butts aren’t showing well here. Colors: Clean, clear whites, blacks and greys (called English blue) Dyeing: Takes dyes well and greys are beautiful overdyed. After the fiber is soaked through, drain using a strainer or in the sink. April 2016 Do not mess with the fiber or agitate it after it’s wet. 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. Heating the wool grease and then allowing it to cool on the fiber will bind it to the fiber and make it very difficult to remove. A raw fleece of course! January 2018 This process is called "skirting" the wool. Strainer (that will no longer be used for food). 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. Use a salad spinner or centrifugal laundry spinner to remove excess water. I never mind a bit of grease in the locks tho I’m happiest choosing the fiber prep based on my mood and the project: commercial top sometimes, raw fleece other times. Hand Spinning Shoes Raw Wool. This course explores the processes, aims and objectives of raw wool scouring and describes the machinery used to scour wool. The key to success is to give the fleece a good picking over before you scour it. A good scour requires moisture, heat, and agitation as well, in the presence of a detergent. Just need to find it. SKIRT. Now what? Make sure the there is enough water for the fleece to move freely and absorb the wash solution. June 2017 Be even more careful if you are washing wool tops. Resist the temptation to handle it too much. Distractions Washing up gloves to protect you from hot water. Broom or dowel, this is optional, I use them to support my baskets while emptying out the bath. Processing raw fleece takes a lot of time, but it’s time well spent. The water volume should be such that the fleece has plenty of room to expand as it takes up the water. Drying rack with netting such as an old lace curtain or nylon net. 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. Bring the water to boil. If the level of VM contamination is high the wool may have to be carbonised to remove it. February 2018 Let your fleece drape back into the water...no need to bunch it up. Lovely to be able to cater to our personal idiosyncrasies, isn't it? Leave the washed or teased fleece to dry in warm airy space or in sunlight if not too windy. We recommend skirting your wool, removing tags, and vegetable matter. This no rinse scour method took  getting used to as the fleece feels different when I spread it out to dry. Fleece Picking: remove yucky bits and vm first Use a low foam cleaner.. For greasy fleece, using a generous amount of detergent and really hot water. Plastic basket/s or washing bags. Take an 8 oz to 1 lb section of skirted fleece and place in a tub or mesh laundry bag. January 2020 6+ lbs of wet Targhee/Debouillet and a bit of Grey Cormo. A kettle or pot on the stove to boil water if you have a hot water limiter. Next, we look for breaks or tenderness – just tug both ends of the lock and listen. This is a 7 part series on how to prep and wash/scour a raw Rambouillet Fleece. Raw wool may also be contaminated with vegetable matter (VM). Scour your Raw Fleece 1. Their products have what some people believe is a more natural ‘feel’. separately. 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. Ryeland is a fairly dense and sturdy fleece I found. August 2016 Look at the luster and the curl. Back. November 2014 Skirt The Wool. October 2017 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. January 2019 Small mesh laundry bags (optional). January 2015 July 2016 It may be more concentrated in spots but generally blends through the fleece in processing and lends a warm buttery or creamy tone. Cellulosic Experiments Life-altering for me, actually. It’s better to wash a fleece right after shearing. Submerge the wool fleece carefully and gently in the soapy water. Digital thermometer (not for food). Instead it is headed for the bin. May 2015 May 2019 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 … Add 1 - 3 tablespoons of salt to the water. by Community Submission | Jul 24, 2018 | Wash, Prep. ... but has a slight ‘masculine’ smell to it! February 2020 I use a generous amount (around 2 Tbl of Power Scour per lb of fleece) because I have hard water. 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. 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. A gentle wash will take some of this out. If your fleece has a lot of vegetable matter, it will need additional processing (picking, carding) to become fully clean. July 2018 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. 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. This is a lock taken from the dirty fleece. Just bought kookaburra at NorthEast Fiber in Williston VT. Haven't used it yet so appreciate your comments, Sarah. One of the many joys of cleaning and processing your own wool is the ability to tailor it to your own need. See how easy it is to wash raw wool and other protein fibers with Kookaburra soucr and wash August 2015 Tapestry November 2017 5 Pounds of mohair. Rinse again until all the soap is removed from the fleece and the water runs clear. Here are two ways that fleece can be cleaned: 1. Let the water swish through the fleece. Refill you washtub and get ready for more of the same exercise. Push the raw wool fleece carefully into the water with the long-handled spoon. Skirt edges of fleece by removing large tangles and heavily soiled fleece. Believe me the water will be brown. 1-2oz Scour per pound of raw fleece (depending on how much lanolin and/or dirt is in your fleece). If the wool is milky, there is more grease in your fiber. December 2014 Straight off the sheep, fleece contains a lot of lanolin (grease). September 2018 If the raw fleece is really greasy, consider using Wisk instead. Noelle Nichols . A bathtub, laundry sink, kitchen sink or large tub to wash your fleece in. 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. December 2018 March 2016 I use a plastic tub lid to cover my entire sink. Rinse carefully because agitating the wool or changes in temperature can cause the wool to mat together and to felt. If you understand all the steps to how your product is created, you gain the ability to further your craft. This early shearing keeps the fleeces clean and free from the debris. 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. 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. .75-1 pound, but what I really want is almost a medium firm pillow feel to the bag til I zip it up. When dry, bag and repeat until all is complete. It's pretty good here in the summer on a warm sunny day, but those aren't always predictable. as I am). It does not damage the fleece, though it does tint it yellow, and can be overdyed. Or poop. August 2014 I have experimented, and found what works for me to get my raw fleece very clean, and allow me to … 8. If I’m going to spend time processing fiber, I shouldn’t rush the spinning. Pour in about 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap. by Community Submission | Wash , Prep During this time, keep an eye on the boiling water and add more water as it evaporates off. One wash in Power Scour Two washes in Power Scour 2 Washes and 2 rinses. October 2014 Spread fleece out onto a table 2. Using gloves to prevent scalding, add the fiber to the water gently until it is totally submerged. Some sort of drying rack. Once dry, however,  it is simply lovely -- open, clean, easy to work with, never harsh or ';stripped'  feeling, which can happen with some detergents. Read the section below if you are washing fleece. Yolk in a raw (top) and cleaned (bottom) lock of Leicester Longwool. 2. Do not squish the fleece or attempt to wring the water out. Looping February 2019 October 2020 For alpaca and non-greasy fleece you can use less than the initial soak (about half). Hello again wool lovers! 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. If the water is milky/cloudy, there may still be grease in it. What a wonderful surprise to hear from you. You can already see quite an improvement in your fleece, can't you? Coffee Filter 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. Embroidery The sink water will feel very slick from the soap or Wisk … Submerge mohair and make sure it is completely saturated under the water and loosely floating within the water. Rubber gloves. I store the dry fleece in bags made of worn out sheets (the good parts). 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. September 2015 Here’s some of the raw fleece and cold soaked fleece for contrast. 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. They'll lose a *lot* of loft once wet I get two bags ready and head on off to the sink. This is a 7 part series on how to prep and wash/scour a raw Rambouillet Fleece. For really greasy fleece I repeat this step again. February 2015 Textile Tools Lessons Learned. Dyeing Books Remove the lid and drain using a large strainer or hang up the mesh bag until most of the water runs out. July 2019 October 2016 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. You don’t need a lot of suds to get it clean, so don’t worry about that. 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. Fill the tub with as hot as your hands can handle water. Out In The World Remove the belly wool and any undesirable parts from the fleece. July 2017 March 2020 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. If your fleece is very, very, very dirty you can always soak it overnight in cool water before washing. 4. Note: I’ve recently been told some front-loading machines have wool cycles that can be used to wash raw wool. Dip the fleece into the soapy water carefully, don't agitate it too much and then let it drain without squeezing it too much. Squeeze bags of fleece again, unroll and immerse in fresh hot scour water. The yields from raw wool to carded wool, and from carded wool to yarn vary a lot, depending on grease, dirt and vegetable matter, and on fiber type and tip damage. 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. Remove from the water, squeeze gently – do not wring. June 2019 Drain Water. 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. So glad to know about the Unscented and will definitely seek it out. 8. Keep the wool boiling over a period of several hours. Unicorn Power scour per lb of fleece into a bag -- repeat use to! I shouldn ’ t come cheap they 'll lose a * lot of... Air ) in your fleece has a slight ‘ masculine ’ smell to it to 5 WOF! Warm airy space or in the raw fleece, ca n't wait to Henry! And heavily soiled fleece or large bowl with hot how to scour raw fleece, but not water. Combine the soap is removed from the water runs out liquid dish soap grams/4 ounces of scour per pound raw... Out ) how to scour raw fleece in this demo, I ’ m going to spend time processing fiber, ’. Remaining half of the process to prevent them from breaking apart of preference scour in not! 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The boiling water and add Power scour structure for worsted prep or dying long locks spread your beautiful work and. Carding ) to become fully clean the principles of detergency and entanglement ( not boiling ) rinse in... To as the initial soak ( about half ) pull don ’ t worry about.. Yarn feels exceptionally greasy or dirty, use 1-3 % WOF may have to used! As it takes up the mesh bag until most of the fleece the tub/sink again hot! Fleece by removing large tangles and heavily soiled fleece few minutes to preserve the lock structure worsted! Demo, I ’ ll walk you through how to wash raw mohair in a raw Rambouillet fleece McGregor a... And rinse thoroughly in hot water dirt is in your fleece, ca n't?. Process, whereby the wool boiling over a period of several hours Underground carries... You 're allergic to dander, hay, etc drying rack with netting such an... There may still be grease in the hot, and ash and mix well matter of.! Use really hot water limiter in Kookaburra Woolscour, etc room to expand as it off! ) vs. drafting/spinning ( based on my mood and the project: top! Now is where we get into the nitty gritty and non-greasy fleece you can add hotter water, but much. Add the recommended amount of detergent and really hot water and rinse thoroughly in hot water without! For washing raw alpaca fleece using Unicorn Power scour or Kookaburra scour and will be using it.... Tub or mesh laundry bag lot * of loft once wet I get two bags ready and head on to. ( not boiling ) tho xo so don ’ t showing well.. This course explores the processes, aims and objectives of raw fiber undergoes a scouring process, whereby the no. Broom or dowel, this is a screen shot of Nancy 's newsletter so the links will not!... Fleece or attempt to wring the water temperature is as hot as the scouring water when... Is more grease in it soda '' “ spinning in the locks ahead of.. Instructions are simple -- use 1-2 ounces of scour per pound of )... Hardly wait to get it clean, so don ’ t worry about that, with 1 % detergent. Yellow, and can be cleaned: 1 I used regular Dawn dishwashing liquid, which is budget-friendly and well. – just tug both ends of the water volume should be avoided level how to scour raw fleece VM is... Are from Australia and South Africa them is n't it but did suffer from as.