Cleaning Wool Fiber for Spinners

In this tutorial, I'll show you how I clean wool fiber for spinning. Cleaning wool can seem daunting, but it's an essential step in preparing your fiber for spinning. In this video, I'll take you through my process of cleaning raw wool fiber, from sorting and washing to carding and combing. I'll share with you tips and tricks I've learned along the way, as well as common mistakes to avoid.
Mentioned in Video:
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- Combs for fiber processing: www.paradisefibers.com/produc...
- Carders for fiber processing: www.paradisefibers.com/produc...
- Resources for Spinning and fiber processing: www.textileindie.com/spinning...
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:00 Mary Egberts wool washing book
01:35 My washing wool experience
03:25 Cleaning steps and notes
04:45 Laying the wool out on the floor
05:20 Scurf
07:35 Jacobs wool fiber
08:30 Steps to washing wool
11:30 Scouring detergent
12:45 Using a thermometer
14:00 Setting up a wool washing area
17:30 Orange peel punched shapes
18:00 Adding the fiber to the water
20:30 Washed and drying fiber
24:50 Processing the fiber
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[@misspugandpomeranian]

You are such a great teacher! I'll be trying this myself for the first time as my boss gave me 5 bags of alpaca wool newly sheared from his farm, the Ashford spinning wheel that I ordered has just arrived, I can't wait, what an adventure! Thank you so much for your videos!!!🤗🧡❤

[@TextileIndie]

Thank you that's very kind! I'm so excited for you, all that fiber will be fun to work with🙂.

[@dalemacinnis3385]

Love the "close, close-ups" at the end! You can really see the awesomeness of the product!

[@TextileIndie]

For sure! I wish you could teach through the screen and touch the materials too, so getting the close ups is my way of trying to make it happen😁

[@vernonbowling5310]

You did good.. if you stay at it and continue to process wool (s) you'll soon learn that temps only need to be dishwashing hot and it's not as scary or complicated as it appears, it's just time consuming and rewarding that you can do it yourself.

[@TextileIndie]

Thanks so much! Great advice, I'll keep that in mind. I definitely can make things more complicated at first than necessary. Appreciate the feedback!

[@sannevanbeers]

I would like to add that I use wool from meat sheep for spinning and it is a great fleece, not at all that dirty and very soft and no matted pieces except on the butt area. It’s a shame the wool from these sheep often gets burned here in the Netherlands and Belgium and I love using it since it is very useful and great for spinning!!! Maybe you should try it again to see if your experience will differ 😊

[@TextileIndie]

Thanks for the encouragement - people are always offering me fleece, so I will probably try again someday😁

[@kimmiemamatomany6226]

Thanks for sharing.
A friend gave me some wool from her sheep. I used a kiddie pool in my backyard. Used the hose and poured boiling water in until it was more than warm. Added a squirt of clear colored dishsoap. Slowly added wool and gentle stirred it. Did this twice. Rinsed. Gentle squeezed it out and then air dried it on my picnic table. Carded and think I'm good.
Lots of work but lovely fiber. Lol, may have got tendinitis from the squeezing. Be careful!

[@TextileIndie]

I totally understand what you mean about the squeezing motion being repetitive and potentially leading to injuries like tendinitis!
I'm really happy to hear that your wool washing project worked out well and that you're enjoying the beautiful fiber you've created! It's always a pleasure to hear about successful projects in the fiber arts community.

[@SylviaHonigmann-bn9qc]

For the Tips i take a Flickcard, thats much Time!
And the i comb it, thats so fluffig!
Great Video Like it so much! You help me very well🥰

[@TextileIndie]

Happy to help!

[@harleysmith7260]

Loving this series so far and hoping there will be a carding/combing video soon. I'm from a merino wool farm and hoping to start processing a fleece or two of my own so that I can spin it into yarn. Have you had much to do with finer type wools like that and is the process at all different? Keep up the good work!

[@TextileIndie]

Harley,
That sounds like a great project! Yes, fine wool would be the same process. The key being to not agitate the fibers too much as you clean them.

[@carolecole4295]

I’m a newbie at everything spinning and wools!

[@TextileIndie]

Have you tried washing wool?

[@j1mmusj4mmus]

If you wash your Shetland fleece you may find the scurf disappears when processing the dry wool, as it just falls out not sticking to the fibres.

[@TextileIndie]

That’s a good thought. I’ll have to give it a try.

[@margareteast9273]

Rubber gloves are the way to go…..

[@TextileIndie]

Definitely!