Washing Fine Wools
Fine wool has more grease than courser wool. It will felt and be ruined for spinning if scoured {washed} wrong. There are 4 steps to washing fine wool. To begin, place a quantity of wool in an orange bag -the mesh bag oranges come in- or in a lingerie bag, or make a bag by basting two sides of heavy nylon mesh fabric folded in half, put the fiber in the bag and either baste it closed or zip it, depending on what you are using for a bag. I baste my bags closed. I tie a length of cotton string to one side, then taking a tapestry needle I baste the bag closed with the string, leave a foot or so of string hanging at the side, this will prevent the bag from coming open. When I am done cleaning the fiber, I just pull the string free, leaving it tied to the bag on the one side for next time. The fiber should not be stuffed in the bag. It must be in a single layer of locks, I roughly 1 to 2 inches deep, and not crowded so that water can circulate around it. Now that the fiber is in the bag, here are the 4 steps to follow to get it ready to spin.
#1 Run cold water in a tub. I use dish washing tubs because they fit my bags, and hold enough water and fiber. I usually do a couple of tubs at once. When the tub is full of water, press the bag of fiber down into the water and let it soak over night. In the morning, pour out the dirty cold water. Either put the bag of fiber in the washing machine and run the spin cycle for a minute or so, or put the bag in a pillow case, go outdoors and spin it as hard as you can in a circle to spin the excess water and dirt out. The washing machine is best and not so hard on you, but the hand spinning will do if necessary.
#2 Fill the wash tub with the water that is as hot as you can get from your faucet. Add about 2 or 3 tablespoons of either Joy or Palmolive liquid dish soap. I prefer these brands to any other because the are great at cutting grease and they are easy to rinse out. These are the two qualities that are most important to me in cleaning fleece, and in addition, they do not dry the fleece out, they are inexpensive to use, and they smell nice. Put the bag of fleece in the water, I usually use a glass to push the bag under the soapy water because the water should be to hot for my hands comfort. DO NOT AGITATE, STIR, OR OTHERWISE FOOL AROUND WITH THE FIBER IN THE HOT ~ER. WALK AWAY If the fiber is allowed to sit quietly in the hot water it will come wonderfully clean. If you move it about, even a little bit it will felt, at least partially, and you don't want that to happen. Let it soak in the hot water £or a while, about an hour or so. You don't want the water to cool completely, and you want the fiber to have a good long soak in the soap. After its soaking time roll the bag loosely under the water, lift it out and dump the water out. Take it to the washing machine again, and on the spin cycle, spin out the excess water, soap, and dirt. ( if the fleece is especially filthy, you can repeat the washing step a second time. It is usually not necessary)
#3 Fill the dish pan with water that is about the same temperature as the water you just dumped out. Put the bag back in the water, push it gently beneath the surface and walk away again. This time let it soak for anywhere from 45 minutes to overnight. When it's convenient, roll the bag up under water again, dump the rinse water, and spin the bag in the washer (or the pillow case).
#4 Refill the tub with water about the same temperature as the water you just dumped out, this time add about a 3rd of a cup of white vinegar to the water before you put the fiber in it. Enter the bag into the water, and this time gently move the bag once or twice back and forth in the water so that the clean water with the vinegar flows over and through all the fiber. Let it soak for 1/2 to 1 hour, roll up under the water, dump the water, spin out the excess, and now the fiber is ready to come out of the bag. Spread it, out carefully on a sweater rack, or on towels to dry. It shouldn't take but a day or two to dry since most of the water has been spun out of it.
If you prefer to purchase wool that has already been washed and carded, you can purchase ROVING, which has already been processed and is ready to spin. Please visit this page: Merino-Cross Roving