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Why is it that many people,
perfectly capable otherwise, find themselves
resisting the act of washing fleece? Perhaps they see lovely fleeces at a fiber show where they
feel the lovely soft quality of the wool, and
they can envision the fiber made up into that
special project they’ve been dreaming of. They’d love to use the pattern they bought so long ago to
create, from “scratch”, that perfect
sweater, or vest (or fill in the blank).
Yet they are intimidated by the idea of
actually washing the fleece.
Where do they start?
What if they do something wrong and ruin
the fiber?
Can we ruin the fiber?
Sure, but we can also ruin good sweaters,
and that doesn’t stop us from washing them.
We just pay attention to how we can do it
safely. So
let’s look at how we can do the same thing
with a fleece, and open the door to all kinds of
opportunities for ourselves.
First off, washing fleece
can be safe and relatively easy.
It can actually be the kind of experience
we can enjoy!
Keeping in mind that Icelandic fleece has
less lanolin in it than many other kinds of
fleece, this makes it easier for us to scour.
There are three things that we should
keep in mind if we want to be successful, and a
few others that can make the job.
The three most important
things to remember are:
- Proper
washing agent
- HOT
water—at least 160 degrees
- NO
agitation—and we mean NONE WHATSOEVER!
Keeping in mind those
three, let’s take this process step by step.
Choosing
a washing agent
The
general rule of thumb here is that any good
detergent will work well.
For many years, soap was the agent of
choice, simply because detergents hadn’t been
developed yet.
But soap is highly alkaline, and the
alkali in soap opens up the scales on wool
fibers, aiding in the felting process.
Since we definitely don’t want our
washed fiber to felt if we are going to spin it
(ever try spinning felt?), we want to stay far,
far away from soap.
Detergent, on the other hand, is not as
alkaline and contains a cleaning agent known as
a surfactant, which means that it makes water
“wetter”, breaks down the grease particles
of lanolin and thereby aids in getting rid of
dirt. It
is important, though, if you are going to use
detergent, NOT to get a detergent containing
bleach, as the bleach can make wool fibers
brittle and rough.
An excellent washing agent
is a product made by Shaklee, called Basic H.
It is all natural product, is
biodegradable, contains no harmful chemicals,
and does a beautiful job.
It is not a cheap solution—however, for
most fleece and certainly Icelandic, one wash
will be enough, whereas with other detergents,
often two or three washes are necessary to do a
good washing and scouring job.
About ¼ cup of Basic H to a washer load
of fleece is sufficient, which means that in the
long run, you will be using much less and
therefore not paying more to get the same jobs
done. The
Shaklee products are advertised as being good
for the earth—actually some farmers use the
product as a natural wormer (clean the inside of
the sheep and also the outside?)
For those of us who are ecologically
sensitive, this is an excellent solution.
Another popular choice is
Dawn dishwashing detergent, which has a good pH
level, and seems to do a excellent job. Most of the references I have found refer to using the
original blue product.
I’ve read that this product has even
been used on birds caught in oil slicks, which
says something about not only its effectiveness,
but its gentleness. To get the heavy awful oil out it has to have strength, but
if it’s used on the delicate feathers of birds
without rendering them useless, it also has to
be mild and nontoxic.
Getting
the Fleece Wet!
There
are a number of places where our washing can
take place:
a bathtub, a large washtub, or a washing
machine are several.
If we choose the washing machine, we must
remember our third most important item
above—NO AGITATION, EVER.
Wool, especially Icelandic wool, has a
tendency to felt. In Icelandic wool, it approaches a compulsion!
Agitation, or rubbing the wool fibers
against each other, causes felting.
Each individual fiber in a fleece has
very small, microscopic scales that normally lie
flat against the fiber, allowing it to be an
individual.
When the combination of heat, washing
agent and
agitation are combined, those same scales
“bloom”, opening up so that they catch hold
of other fibers and hold them irrevocably
together as a bound group, the “community”
of felt.
Now that we have the
washing agent, let’s move on to the next step.
We can either just wash our fiber to
remove dirt, or we can do what is called
scouring, which is removing dirt AND lanolin.
Why should we want to remove the lanolin,
which we’ve all heard is a wonderful,
moisturizing element popular in the lotions we
put on our hands, faces and bodies?
It would seem that this would be a
positive thing, not a negative.
After all, doesn’t that contribute to
the wonderful waterproofing of a sheep?
Well, all the above points are true.
However, lanolin as it ages also
undergoes a change and becomes sticky and hard,
a substance that would definitely have a
negative impact on most of our projects.
Given that, we will probably want to
scour the wool, which means using very, very HOT
water, up to 160 degrees if we can get it there.
We need the heat of the water to help
soften the lanolin, so that it can be dissolved
and rinsed out of the fleece.
In a washing machine, we’ll want to use
the hottest setting we can to fill the washtub.
If we are using one of the other options,
we may need to boil some water to add to the
water coming from the faucet, since we don’t
have the insulating factor of the washing
machine body.
For simplicity, this article will focus
on the use of a washing machine.
So let’s fill the empty
washtub now.
DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT
PUT THE FLEECE INTO THE TUB WHILE FILLING IT!
The very act of the water pouring over
the fleece can felt it!
We start with the washtub empty and fill
it with the HOT water discussed above.
After the tub is filled, stop the wash
cycle, and pour your washing agent in the water,
stirring gently. For Basic H, use ¼ cup.
For Dawn, use ½ cup.
Use a paddle or durable instrument to
stir gently to distribute the washing agent
evenly in the water—the water will be too hot
for your bare hands, or it won’t be hot
enough. At
this time, move your dial to the final spin part
of your wash cycle.
Do this before you put the fiber in.
It’s too easy for someone, even you, to
accidentally start up the wash cycle without
remembering to change the dial, and then your
fiber will start to felt, eliminating this fiber
from being spun.
Now that the machine is stopped and your
washing agent is in the water, carefully lay
small amounts of your fiber into the water,
pushing it gently down, being careful not to
move it back and forth at all.
Do not put too much fiber in, or the
water and washing agent can’t circulate around
it enough to clean it.
Some people really want to spin from the
lock structure, and if you’re one of those,
you may want to put your fiber in mesh bags so
that you’re sure not to disturb that lock
structure.
Let the fiber sit in the
water for about 15-20 minutes, and then use your
spin cycle to extract the water from the fleece.
Do not let the fleece stand in the water
for much longer than this, because that very
lanolin and dirt which the hot water and
detergent has been working on suspending in the
water will settle back on the fiber, causing
more washes to be necessary.
Also, be sure to use the
final spin cycle, so that the machine doesn’t
go right into the rinse cycle, energetically
pouring water over your fiber and felting it
into a lovely felt bagel! Also, be VERY careful that there is no water coming into the
washer during the spin cycle—remember the
lovely felted bagel?
If necessary, turn off the water coming
into the washer while spinning, but don’t
forget to turn it back on when you’re
finished!
After spinning, gently
remove the fleece and place it in a wash basket
or other container, while you refill the washer
for the rinse/soak phase.
Use the same temperature of hot water for
the rinse cycle so that you don’t shock the
wool and felt it, and follow the directions
above without the washing agent.
If you want, you can add a little vinegar
to the rinse water; some people swear by this as
a finishing step to restore the natural pH of
the fiber and release all the detergent, thereby
giving a softer feel to the fleece.
Now check the state of the water: is it
cloudy? If
so, that indicates either residual detergent or
dirt, and the fleece needs to be rerinsed.
For Icelandic fleece, one soaking/washing
should be sufficient, with one rinsing.
Check this out by taking a handful of
your fibers in your hand, squeezing them gently.
Now pat your hand dry with a hand towel. When you open and close your hand into a fist, does it feel
tacky? If
so, repeat the washing/rinsing process.
If not, we’re a go for drying
Drying
the fleece
Your
fiber can be dried many ways; the important
thing is to not spread it too thickly, to check
it occasionally, and turn it if needed.
Some folks have made screens that are
three feet square and fit in a drying rack, so
that the fiber lies on shelves about 6 inches
apart. This
is a good use of space.
Others put the fiber on sweater dryers.
Some individuals prefer to dry their
fiber outdoors on nice days—if you do this,
you may want to cover the fiber with a thin
netting to keep it from blowing away should a
wind come up.
Whatever method you choose, be sure the
fiber is dry before storing it in anticipation
of the exciting job of spinning!
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