Scouring Fleece To Keep Lock Formation

Judging by how many folks find my blog by *Googling the words "scouring fleece" or something similar, I figured another post on the subject would be welcome. Past posts on fleece scouring and related scouring equipment include Drying Rack Lowdown and Scour That Fleece.

*An interesting aside: Countless scores of people have Googled the words "knitted tam or beret," which brings them to my past post, Tangled Up In Blue. And "knitted pillbox hats," points them to Pill-Box Hat. And "cat pee," leads them to Of Cat Pee, Urine Vats And Other Potentially Nasty Things. I'm pretty sure that not everyone who Googles cat pee is a spinner, knitter and/or natural dyer. Oh well, all are welcome to visit the blog, unless they Googled because they want to do weird things with cat pee...

In a recent e-mail to Ted, I described how I've been scouring some Coopworth wool locks, keeping lock formation intact. I mentioned that the locks were quite dirty and Ted responded by asking, "How'd you come into such a filthy fleece?" Well, here's the story: I needed longish (over 5"), white, wool locks for a planned sock project where the yarn will be made by spinning the locks from the fold. Having been ensconced in the fiber art world for many, many years, I happen to know lots of folks within that world: fiber growers, vendors selling all sorts of equipment and tools, spinning/knitting/dyeing instructors, etc. I called a friend, Diane Trussell, of French Hill Farm in Solon, Maine (207-643-2540) knowing she has superb Coopworth fleece growing on the backs of her beautiful sheep. Usually she does have a supply of fleece, but I called smack-dab in winter, prior to shearing. Diane steered me in the direction of her friend, Carol Wagner, of Hidden Valley Farm and Woolen Mill, in Valders, Wisconsin. As I chatted with Carol about my wool needs, she said she thought she had some Coopworth lamb, one-year's growth, that would fit the bill. When the box arrived, a note accompanied the fleece saying that when she went through her bags of fleece, what she thought she had wasn't there. However, Carol had previously purchased some lamb fleeces from "...a young man who bought animals from us. They weren't jacketed. Therefore, aren't up to our usual standards." Yes, the fleece was down and dirty. But it was also healthy, sound and free of any vegetable matter. I knew once scoured, it would be perfect. Carol also sent me some of their beautiful, shorter, Coopworth lamb, 7-month's growth. That I shall save for another special project.

The implied moral in the above paragraph is: Dirty doesn't bother me. Unhealthy, unsound, and fleece riddled with seeds, burrs, and other assorted chaff does. You must decide yourself what is acceptable and what is not.

Why Coopworth for the sock project? It's lustrous and strong, yet quite soft especially as lamb's fleece. It takes dyes wonderfully...natural or synthetic-based.

Above, in the 2nd to 7th photos from the top, you'll see how grease Coopworth was scoured keeping lock formation. The reason I definitely wanted to keep lock formation intact has to do with 1) A better cleaning job occurs if you prepare each lock to accept the water more readily; 2) The locks don't get into a jumbled mess and seem to keep their shape better even if subjected to the dyepot; 3) Keeping lock formation makes it easier to use any number of fiber prep techniques, such as combing/flicking locks for spinning from the fold, spinning from a lock's end, etc.

The 2nd photo from the top shows the fleece in all its greasy glory. As mentioned in the previous scouring posts, I used the perforated, plastic basket to contain the fleece in the water. The difference with the explanations in those previous posts has to do with using more sheets of tulle netting. After laying a sheet of netting in the bottom, I take a lock (3rd photo from the top), open it horizontally to let the dirt fall out (4th pic); until it's quite opened but still aligned vertically (5th pic); and set in the basket on top of the sheet of netting with all the tips facing in the same direction. Place a sheet of tulle on top of that layer. It is often helpful to set the tip ends in the opposite direction from the previous layer. Why? Because butt ends like to grab onto (and felt with) other butt ends of fleece. Therefore, to keep butt ends from mingling, each layer of fleece is placed opposite in direction from the last.

When the basket is full of fleece, separated by layers of tulle, place the last sheet of netting on the top. I use cotton string to keep the fleece/netting from moving around in the water. I find it useful to use two strings longways and two strings shortways, allowing the string to go under the plastic basket, through the side perforations and tied at the top (6th pic from the top.)

The 7th pic from the top shows the scoured locks drying in a garden tray set in my wooden drying rack. See those past scouring posts linked above for more on particulars such as the scouring agent I chose (often Palmolive dish detergent or Orvus Paste), use of vinegar in the first rinse and more. Because my aim IS to keep lock formation, I set the drained, damp locks in the garden tray with the tips all going in one direction. At this point, it doesn't matter if butt ends mingle, as they're not prone to felting together during the drying stage. I do like to flip the mass of locks as a whole occasionally, to speed up the drying process.

The two, bottom photos show the same, scoured, Coopworth locks being rainbow dyed in my studio (see My Dye Studio for a peek inside my studio) using natural dyes.

What I've described is NOT the only way to scour. It is NOT the only way to scour keeping lock formation. But it is the way I do it and has always worked well through the years. Ted described to me in an e-mail how he uses Margaret Stove's method: "I have some Merino that is filthy. I wash each lock by hand...You scrub each lock on a bar of soap. I've been using Ivory hand soap, but I'm worried it's too harsh. The locks seem kinda dry when I'm finished." Ted went on to say he wasn't exactly sure what properly washed locks should feel like, so maybe the locks he washed weren't dry at all. It's my spiderly opinion that the wool should feel very much full of life and health, especially after scouring. Over-dryness (or brittleness, if that be the case, as well) doesn't fit in with that picture. Sometimes the combo of one's water (with its possible chlorine and additives) and chosen washing agent takes all the life out of fleece. Kind of like what happens when you over-wash or over-process the hair on your head. A bit of experimenting with various washing agents will tell you which one will leave the fleece in the best possible state using your water at hand. Readers - what's your fave washing agent for scouring fleece? Does it differ from what you wash your finished, handspun yarn in?

Another always excellent question from Ted concerned whether I spin from the butt ends of wool locks or the tip ends? In my early years, I always adhered to spinning from the butt ends because I was told that due to the way the individual scales on the individual wool fibers are arranged, this would smooth down those scales (as opposed to ruffling them up...like you would if you pet a cat against the grain...) and make for a smoother yarn in general. Well, that was well and fine until I started to hear other well-known and respected fiber instructors/authors saying exactly the opposite: spin from the tip end for the smoothest yarn. Having worked in a woolen mill, I can tell you that after the wool goes through the picker, you would not be able to tell the butt from the tip at all in the locks...and so the wool goes through the carding machine every which way. As for what happens in a worsted mill where the wool gets combed...I don't know. Anybody know? So what's a spinner to do? Spin from the butt or spin from the tip? Try them both and see which you like. Then try not caring about this at all, mixing and matching what end you spin from, and see how this works. Remember, in the end, no one can really tell you what end of the lock you spun from by looking at a finished skein...no more than they can tell you what drafting technique you used in the spinning. What matters is if the final yarn pleases you and works in your given situation.

On another note, the top photo was taken this past weekend at Brookfield Craft Center, where I taught a "Handspindling" workshop. The participants were delightful to be with and the day went quickly. The venue has oodles of natural lighting, a lovely wooden floor and plenty of space. What you see are some tables of my tools, fiber and hand-outs, with the Center's looms and wheels in the back of the space, waiting to be used in future workshops. A nice place to teach. A nice place to take a workshop.

When I arrived home and unpacked my personal luggage (I stayed over in comfortable, faculty housing), I found that my twice-baggied box of baking soda had exploded on all contents in my suitcase. Bloody hell. I take the baking soda with me in case I get an upset tummy, which is a miserable malady to have when away from home, especially when trying to be cheery when explaining what drafting is. Tums and other antacids don't seem to help, so my trusty box goes with me. Anyone know of something that really works in tab form? When Alexander, youngest of the spider, looked at my packed clothing covered in white powder, he said, "Looks like you've got cocaine all over your stuff." 'course a red flag went up, as it would for any parent. I said, "And how would you know how cocaine would look like if dumped in a suitcase?" He said, "Geez Ma, I'm 19. I've never seen cocaine but I'm not an idiot...I know it's a white powder." Well, my Alexander may be silly sometimes, but I know he's not stupid. And I know he's not had his head buried in the sand all these years either, from a drug awareness/education standpoint. Can I just add that baking soda is a devil of a substance to get out of one's packed stuff?

Want to end by thanking Margene, Zeneedle and Zefiber herself, for once again plugging this blog on her own blog. Tons of folks are directed to these pages whenever she does this. I am very grateful. Do take a trip to her blog for some always interesting and thoughtful posts.

P.S. Next time will attempt to answer some more questions asked by readers...like what on earth IS pin-drafting, and more....Do keep those comments and questions a comin', please.