Even with this precaution all my fleeces are carefully picked over before sale to remove any vegetable matter and to inspect them for quality. September 2016 Next, we look for breaks or tenderness – just tug both ends of the lock and listen. Hello again wool lovers! Hi Heather. October 2014 I scour in batches—ie not the whole fleece at once. Submerge mohair and make sure it is completely saturated under the water and loosely floating within the water. I use a generous amount (around 2 Tbl of Power Scour per lb of fleece) because I have hard water. Make sure the there is enough water for the fleece to move freely and absorb the wash solution. Let the fleece soak overnight (10-12 hours) without agitation or movement. I haven't seen it around my parts before. Once washing and preparing the fleece ceases to seem like a big deal, you  are free to explore obscure breeds and crosses and fine out how the qualities of the fleece may effect your work--be it knitting or needlework or tapestry, or ... Oops -- And one more thing: though I am super happy to clean dirt and mud from fleeces, esp range fleeces like these,  I draw the line at gloppy manure tags, burrs and excessive Vegetable Matter. 6+ lbs of wet Targhee/Debouillet and a bit of Grey Cormo. June 2019 April 2015 For raw wool or organically processed yarns, use 1-3% WOF. After the fleece is skirted and sorted into delicates laundry bags, it’s time to start the washing process: May 2014 September 2018 Just let those fibers sink down into the bath then gently lift them out of the very brown water. The water volume should be such that the fleece has plenty of room to expand as it takes up the water. Scour your Raw Fleece 1. Textile Tools Here’s some of the raw fleece and cold soaked fleece for contrast. 4. Kookaburra's instructions are simple-- use 1-2 ounces of Scour per pound of raw fiber. Hopefully now you’ve got a big pile of clean, dry fleece, probably including bits of dried up grass and stuff, but generally looking a better for having had a good wash. The raw fleece can handle hot water as long as you don't move it around too much and don't transfer it to water of a different temperature. A Dorset Down Ewe Fleece, hand-sorted and packed ready for posting. 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 … May 2018 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. This no rinse scour method took  getting used to as the fleece feels different when I spread it out to dry. The weight per 14x21" mesh bag of raw fleece is approx. If the wool is milky, there is more grease in your fiber. So glad to see your beautiful work again and to know you are well and thriving. Raw fleece. Suds do not equal cleaner wool. 7 Tablespoons (3-4 oz) of Power Scour (depending on how greasy the mohair is) or Beyond Clean Felting requires moisture, heat, and agitation of the wool. It does not damage the fleece, though it does tint it yellow, and can be overdyed. Here I am washing raw alpaca fleece using Unicorn Power Scour. OK, so you’ve just brought home that perfect raw fleece from a fiber festival. Rinse and fill the tub/sink again with hot water and add Power Scour. You can separate out the locks ahead of time. If the raw fleece is really greasy, consider using Wisk instead. Life-altering for me, actually. For this reason it is recommended to use detergent with hot water and rinse thoroughly in hot water before it cools down. I must try the Kookaburra No Rinse Scour! Grease will harden over time and become more difficult to remove. But this stuff works so much better! March 2018 December 2019 This is a lock taken from the dirty fleece. Use a salad spinner or centrifugal laundry spinner to remove excess water. The ideal conditions for felting are a change of temperature, soap and movement. Tapestry Some handspinners prefer “spinning in the grease” and then cleaning the fiber when setting the twist into the yarn. Take off the very dirty wool around the edge of the fleece and check the rest of the fleece and remove any … So, after 15 minutes I take the basin to the sink and dump it out. 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. Pieces of wool can be placed in mesh laundry bags to prevent them from breaking apart. 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. Push the wool into the water gently. January 2018 Turn off the washer. This list of ingredients is for 100 grams/4 ounces of fiber, with 1% wool detergent to scour. 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 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. Raw fleece is priced per fleece – each fleece weighs approximately 2-2.5 kg raw depending on the breed. 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