Filthy Fleece to Clean Cloud: Washing a Fleece for the First Time!

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  • Опубліковано 9 гру 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 78

  • @kristalburns3490
    @kristalburns3490 5 днів тому +86

    Ok you did nothing wrong with your process but there is a couple things that will make this easier. Once you skirt your fleece , break it up into 4 sections for easier scouring. Make sure you fill your tub before you add the wool even when you add soap , fill the tub , add the soap , add the wool. There is always going to be stuff in perfectly clean wool. If your gut says it needs another wash , you can do back to back soap and if your gut says it needs an extra rinse go ahead and do it. The flicker dog brushes are exactly the same as carding brushes. Oh an the big round herb dryer hanging things are something I have seen people use to dry wool.

  • @stitchmarm
    @stitchmarm 5 днів тому +50

    Your blue and white reindeer sweater is from “Scandinavian Sweaters” by Kajsa Lindqvist and Natalie Hebert, published in 1946 by Nomis Yarn Company. Your sweater is called “Reindeer and Pine Trees”. I bought my copy when my daughter was little, back in the 1980s!

  • @Tlanth
    @Tlanth 5 днів тому +15

    In Laura Ingalls's Farmer Boy there's a scene in which Almanzo's family wash their sheep in a river before shearing them - I liked picturing the sheep going from dingy to white and fluffy, all the dirty suds floating downstream

  • @MeMe-Moi
    @MeMe-Moi 5 днів тому +21

    According to my grandfather, there was a step between washing and carding called "teasing" that was just picking through the washed and dried wool to remove vegetable matter nd other things you didn't want in the fonished yarn. I have a commercial mill wool I'm working with and I regularly have to stop and pick plant matter out as I am knitting.

  • @emmaclancy9342
    @emmaclancy9342 5 днів тому +36

    The blue ink marks are usually for one of two things, marking a ewe that’s in lamb, or if they’re free roamed across a mountain that isn’t fenced, it can be used to distinguish who’s sheep belong to who! Some mountains have different farmers that own the land, and because of the terrain they can’t fence their property off, so they use different colours of paint to figure out which sheep belong to each farmer!

  • @AmyMcScience
    @AmyMcScience 5 днів тому +19

    The bright yellow areas are "canary stained". Basically bacteria on the fleece interacts with the lanolin and humidity causing it to stain the fleece yellow. A bit like how a white undershirt can get yellow armpit stains. I like to go through my fleeces in batches and I pull them out with a large strainer in the bottom of my wash bin, which helps reduce the risk of felting. You're doing great! My first fleece adventure was a 17 micron merino with a ridiculous amount of VM. I felted most of it in the scouring, then had an awful time trying to get the VM out of what I could salvage. Many lessons learned and growth since then. Just takes time and practice :)

  • @EllaBrown-pm4cm
    @EllaBrown-pm4cm 5 днів тому +17

    I started processing fleeces with mesh laundry bags but I stopped using them. Everything on the outside got washed, the wool in the middle didn't wash as well. I figured I overstuffed the bags, so I did some more with less wool in them, but I could only do super small batches which took forever and I had the feeling I was using way more water this way.
    So I just stuck segments of the fleece in a tub where the water could equally spread around all the fiber, and I was very happy with that.
    I've also started picking over fleeces very carefully before I wash them, so I only have to wash the bits that I actually want in my yarn:)
    I think you just need to go through a lot of fleeces to find a process that works for you and the specific fleece. That takes so much experience. I've done 4 fleeces, and I'm just barely beginning to find my process as described above.

  • @RetroClaude
    @RetroClaude 5 днів тому +18

    Woooo!!! Craftmas is back!! Lovely to see your spinning journey with all it's ups and downs.

  • @keturahspencer
    @keturahspencer 5 днів тому +12

    "You should never put that down your drains."
    For those of us who have zero outside space that's the only place to put it. I've scoured several fleeces and been in my apartment for years without an issue.
    Learning is a process and sweating over it isn't worth the stress in my opinion. I love Ryland myself. I also suggest watching a video of older rural women washing fleece. They break every rule we're told about now days. 😂
    You did a great job. I highly recommend getting a ninja spinner and second getting an herb dryer as well as those laundry bags. It'll make things easier.

  • @matthodek
    @matthodek 5 днів тому +15

    I am very much susceptible to 'paralysis by analysis'. I deal with it in a similar way where I set up the situation where I am ok with learning through problem solving and potential imperfections. Quite frankly, problem solving is my favorite part, and I often lose interest when it becomes too easy. I am an odd person, I know. Great progress today, and looking forward to the next update.

    • @MichiaMakes
      @MichiaMakes 5 днів тому

      Me too! As soon as it becomes easy, my brain decides any idiot could do it 😂

  • @themegatron3981
    @themegatron3981 5 днів тому +9

    This series lined up so well with my current read! A short history of the world according to sheep by Sally Coulthard! only half way through but i think you will LOVE it!

  • @sannevanbeers
    @sannevanbeers 2 дні тому +2

    The only way to get over perfectionism is to stop thinking and start doing, I see you’re following that path. Mistakes aren’t bad they’re just new things you learn.

  • @cherylrosbak4092
    @cherylrosbak4092 5 днів тому +11

    Perhaps drawing the fleece over the brush would be easier than drawing the brush over the fleece. I remember seeing people do that at a living history museum -- they'd take a chunk of fleece and slap it down over one of the carding combs and the pull it through the tines.

  • @karpcicle
    @karpcicle 5 днів тому +11

    You're doing great. My first fleece was also a ryeland, and it was such a good one to start with. It's lovely, fine, and soft, but most of all it's so forgiving - a kind fleece. I don't have a lot of space for drying, so I ended up washing it in small sections. I've tried both carding and combing, and was surprised both work really well. I didn't think combing would work as well due to the shorter staple length, but it did! So excited to see your progress! ❤

  • @sangri03
    @sangri03 5 днів тому +19

    MijnWolden has a lot of videos on preparing fleeces and spinning wool, and having fun with different fiber shenanigans, I wholeheartedly recommend checking out her channel!

    • @dees3179
      @dees3179 5 днів тому +6

      Take snacks. You’ll be there a while🤓🍡🍬🧁🍧

    • @AmyMcScience
      @AmyMcScience 5 днів тому +2

      Trish from Fiber Love Diary is the one who taught me how to process fleece and gave me enough courage to try it for myself :) I also love Jente from MijnWolden :)

  • @vikkizoo1
    @vikkizoo1 5 днів тому +7

    My drying rack is pvc pipe and plastic pest fencing…zipped tied. It’s super easy to break down and put away. It cost me $0 as I had everything at home. 🌈🌈🦋🦋

  • @katherinedugas3975
    @katherinedugas3975 5 днів тому +5

    MellyKnits has a great scouring video to make you feel more confident for next time. It is so much work to do this, very ambitious! Also you could try just spinning from the cloud and see how that goes😊

  • @drewadrawing
    @drewadrawing 2 дні тому

    You're doing a great job!! The fleece looks so fluffy and soft, I can't wait to see how it spins up!

  • @etienne6916
    @etienne6916 5 днів тому +15

    I often assume I did a good job on scouring my fleeces until I put them in my drum carder and turn my desk into a sand(and seed/dirt) pit xD

  • @lucyg4825
    @lucyg4825 5 днів тому +1

    At my agricultural college, we give the rams marking harnesses and change the color every week that they are with the ewes so that we know approximately when each ewe was bred. We have an intensive management system and only a few rams, so we use the markings a little differently than a lot of farmers with a different system.

  • @kat_livescolor
    @kat_livescolor 7 годин тому

    Love that snow! ❄️
    Its so brave to do something new and make mistakes ❤️❤️❤️

  • @baileysteinfadt2155
    @baileysteinfadt2155 4 дні тому +1

    You’re fine on your mulching! It’s mostly important that the plants don’t warm back up too quickly in the spring and become susceptible to re-freeze damage.

  • @Nirmadify
    @Nirmadify 5 днів тому +9

    I am from Gotland!! I love to see the Gotland sheep spreading around the world! Normally me and my family get 16 of the Gute rams over for summer grazeing, those ones do have magnificent horns though.
    You are doing great!

  • @mollyn03
    @mollyn03 5 днів тому +5

    The tutorials I've seen of using a flick brush have used a protective covering for the leg and then flicked the fleece against their knee (disclaimer -I've done a lot of research into this but haven't personally tried it). This might be a safer way of using the brush as it allows for greater control/more space between the brush and your fingers. Two layers of denim (e.g. an old leg from a pair of jeans) seems to be a popular choice for leg protection while doing this.
    Also, if you prepare the fleece in this way you can spin it directly from having flicked the fleece - which is why I was looking into it as I'm on a very tight budget & can't afford the carding combs.

    • @jirup
      @jirup 5 днів тому +2

      I put a piece of leather (from an old coat) over my thigh for flicker protection.

    • @AmyMcScience
      @AmyMcScience 5 днів тому +1

      I have an old piece of canvas from a failed art adventure that now goes over my knee when I flick locks :)

    • @mollyn03
      @mollyn03 5 днів тому +1

      @@jirup Thank you both to you and to @AmyMcScience - I will remember your advice when I finally get around to trying fleece prep/flicking

  • @Beth-ch7pj
    @Beth-ch7pj 5 днів тому +2

    Im exactly like you! I get so overwhelmed by my inexperience that i freeze and don't get started for ages and then just dive straight in 😅. Well, its a method i suppose!
    I don't know anything about processing fleece but it looks like you're doing very well and learning a lot. Hand processing may take a long time but it looks very satisfying to touch that beautiful fleece - i can't believe how fluffy it got ❤
    Best of luck with the rest of the processing 🍀

  • @micahmilne
    @micahmilne 4 дні тому +1

    If it's not greasy anymore, don't wash it again. The chunks and debris won't really wash out. You have to remove them in further processing. Picking, flicking, combing, they will all remove the debris. I don't think the fleece is urine stained. Some fleeces just stain yellow. It's likely a bacterial reaction (canary staining), or just the result of old lanolin. I haven't gotten a clear, for sure answer on why, but yellow stained wool just happens. You can dye over it, or just let the color combine in the spinning.
    I don't flick the standard way because I also injure myself (though it helps to do it on a surface instead of midair). Instead I flip the tines facing up, braced against my leg, and draw the wool through the teeth, a bit at a time until it's all loose. You can spin right from that, no problem. I like doing it that way. But you can also use the opened up wool for carding or combing. You did a good job for a first time scouring. I think carding is more versatile in some ways, but if you love a neat and tidy prep, combing makes beautifully prepped wool for spinning.

  • @likeavirshin
    @likeavirshin 5 днів тому +4

    I'm currently knitting with 19 micron Merino wool. It's not super commercial but it's the same base that a lot of independent dyers have been using this past season in Argentina. I can promise you that by the end of my sweater I'll have a tub worth of little pieces of dried grass. I have a pair of tweezers by my side and I'm plucking like 3 pieces of straw on every row. I'm knitting fingering weight so it's A LOT.
    What I'm saying is that you shouldn't worry too much about the vegetal matter, it's gonna be there anyway.

  • @Teerae11
    @Teerae11 5 днів тому +2

    Love watching this process , I don't know anything about it , so curious about it , Thank You for another great video!!

  • @chareseshinabery
    @chareseshinabery 4 дні тому

    Yessssss!!!! I was really hoping your lovely sweater would be the next knitting pattern! I am so excited ❤❤

  • @awilson8521
    @awilson8521 5 днів тому +2

    I believe in order to have combed wool, and spin worsted, you have to keep the locks in their shape until you comb them out.

  • @jeanmccullough7737
    @jeanmccullough7737 4 дні тому +1

    Power scour will help cut the grease.
    Cold soak first then 180 degrees water to soak until clean.
    I think it’s a process that 1/3 fleece makes easier to work with and svour

  • @thizizliz
    @thizizliz 4 дні тому

    WOW! Amazing the change. This is a really interesting process and I'm very much enjoying that you're sharing. Thank you. You made clouds!

  • @HeikeWoolard
    @HeikeWoolard 5 днів тому +2

    My mom's neighbor in Germany processes fleeces all the time and has been doing it for years. She soaks them in an old outdoor bathtub and actually uses a Kärcher (pressure washer) as one of the steps. It's been a while, but this fact I do remember because I didn't believe it until I actually saw it and was astounded that this didn't felt the fleece. I believe she only uses cold water, but can't be sure of this.

  • @Hart_Mari
    @Hart_Mari 5 днів тому +6

    when i was a kid, my grandma never bothered with washing the whole thing , she just separate things and wash it in small chunks. a after that it was just dried it and pulled it apart, like fluffing it. and after that she just used spindle to make thread. not sure if thats how its done now

  • @fvidder2210
    @fvidder2210 3 дні тому

    Yay! It's such a good sweater.

  • @Tinas_Workshop
    @Tinas_Workshop 2 дні тому

    Great video. I have been learning along the way but just posted 3 videos in a series I am doing and the first one was skirting and the second was scouring and natural dying will post on Wed. I have tried a few methods and this is now my favorite.

  • @jirup
    @jirup 5 днів тому +1

    If you wanted to comb the fleece, you could have dispensed with pulling all the lock structure apart. There is no way to realign all the fibres now for combing, but your clouds are now ready to card or spin from the cloud.

    • @AmyMcScience
      @AmyMcScience 5 днів тому

      She can still comb the clouds, if she wants. The prep won't be true worsted, more semi-woolen, still a lovely prep after dizzing off the combs though. Makes lovely yarn.

  • @jenniferrich5292
    @jenniferrich5292 4 дні тому

    When I use a flicker, I have learned which parts of my fingers are most vulnerable and put protective bandaids on those spots before I start. Works a charm! Then I can spin right from the flicked locks with no further processing

  • @nony_mation
    @nony_mation 4 дні тому +1

    For scouring, I really recommend the soap Unicorn Power Scour! It smells really good and it is soooo good at scouring. There’s some great blog articles about it too 😊

  • @susanrobertson984
    @susanrobertson984 5 днів тому +1

    I am just finishing up scouring my first fleece. It was a messy job. I ended up laying it out on my ironing board to dry. It has air flow above and beneath. I bought hand carders - Ashford sells a learn to spin kit with a few bits of fibre, some hand carders, and a spindle.

  • @AwesomeReversibleKnitting
    @AwesomeReversibleKnitting 3 дні тому

    You have inspired me to keep spinning! Thank you 😊

  • @ThePixiixiq
    @ThePixiixiq 5 днів тому +1

    Picking is called tesen in Danish - directly related to teasing (out) in English

  • @eileenhildreth8355
    @eileenhildreth8355 5 днів тому +2

    In New Zealand the blue tupping marks are a type of chalk i believe

  • @jeanmccullough7737
    @jeanmccullough7737 4 дні тому

    I learned to o that apron n is a necessity!!! I’m going through try the striker bucket next for processing my fleece. Seems to be a problem solver I. Cleaning and draining

  • @coreygilles847
    @coreygilles847 5 днів тому +1

    You are fantastic! I would be way too anxious that I would ruin a fleece to try processing it myself ❤

  • @madamesasquatch
    @madamesasquatch 5 днів тому +1

    The yellow is probably canary stains...there's a bacterial process with lanolin if it's stored for too long, which is why many people recommend at minimum scouring before storage

  • @bunhelsingslegacy3549
    @bunhelsingslegacy3549 День тому

    Heh, "dye the fleece the colour of my own blood, kinda hardcore but not really what I'm going for" made me giggle because pretty much every sewn garment I've ever made has a blood stain in the seam allowance somewhere. It's my signature, I suppose... Looking forward to seeing the rest of this, I'm interested in the whole fleece to fabric process, now I just need to learn to spin. And weave. (well, ok I know the basics of weaving, but all I have is a tablet loom at the moment). But even crocheting something out of fleece I scoured and spun myself would scratch that "how does one do X without industrial processes?" itch... which is what seems to drive most of my hobbies.

  • @myrany8407
    @myrany8407 11 годин тому

    when I use a flicker brush I put a big piece of leather over my leg and flick on that. cuts down on scratches

  • @annetten4166
    @annetten4166 5 днів тому

    So enjoy your videos, inspiring,me to take up more fiber crafts ❤

  • @susuabdo
    @susuabdo 5 днів тому

    I used the mesh bags. It really helped to contain the fleece

    • @susuabdo
      @susuabdo 5 днів тому +1

      I use a big puppy pad on my lap, you can see the dirt and debris come out . More will come out when you card it.

    • @susuabdo
      @susuabdo 5 днів тому

      Very relaxing

    • @AmyMcScience
      @AmyMcScience 5 днів тому

      @@susuabdo I like to put a towel over my lap that I can just shake off over a trash bin afterward.

  • @penihavir1777
    @penihavir1777 5 днів тому

    So fluffy! ♥️♥️♥️

  • @sannevanbeers
    @sannevanbeers 2 дні тому +1

    Those yellow spots aren’t urine stains, they’re canary stains. Sometimes that happens on a sheep and that yellow can’t be removed with washing or scouring. Most people take out the yellow bits. Or you know you could dye it. See it as a discoloured part of the fleece that is never ever going to go back to white again.

  • @mariasaha8303
    @mariasaha8303 5 днів тому +1

    Will the bits of dirt will come out when you card it?

    • @AmyMcScience
      @AmyMcScience 5 днів тому

      To some extent. Combing is the best way to get rid of vegetable matter in a fleece, though some people prefer carded preps and some fleeces are really better suited for cards (shorter fleeces, in particular). Cards tend to break up the VM into smaller bits.

  • @locomademoiselle
    @locomademoiselle 2 дні тому +1

    That's an interesting Ryeland fleece - I'm used to them being more blocky and downy looking rather than long and curly like that. Was it a lamb's fleece?xx

  • @georgiaocianain1683
    @georgiaocianain1683 5 днів тому

    I loved your red jumper - is that a pattern that can be knitted?

  • @greyhaircrafter
    @greyhaircrafter 5 днів тому +1

    I got metal mesh baskets from ikea to put the wool in. Then I can lift it undistubed from the wash bin, dump the water and create a fresh wash. Smelly business though.

  • @beckycamp6
    @beckycamp6 5 днів тому +1

    I am sorry you drew blood, but number one rule of working and preparing fleece is to make sure you're up to date on your tetanus shot, so definitely double check that before you keep going 😁. Enjoying the craftmas

  • @sewobsessedmama8851
    @sewobsessedmama8851 4 дні тому +1

    #1 rule to processing raw fleece.....make sure your tetanus vaccination is upto date. Otherwise there's no right or wrong way. Do what works for you. I've learnt on free or cheap raw wool. That way I have no guilt.

  • @BigTummyAche
    @BigTummyAche 5 днів тому +1

    👀😖Was it stinky?😖👀

    • @tamaraking8259
      @tamaraking8259 5 днів тому +3

      Raw fleece is very stinky, it takes quite a few washes to get the sheep smell out of it.
      Even before I started processing raw fleece and was only using milled wool for spinning my house stank of sheep.
      That being said, some people actually love the smell.

  • @LeeAnnahsCreations
    @LeeAnnahsCreations 5 днів тому +1

    What about soaking it in some Oxy-Clean -- it takes out discoloration and stains out very well.

    • @ellaisplotting
      @ellaisplotting 5 днів тому +6

      Oxy Clean dissolves proteins, and so will attack and weaken the wool itself, which is less than ideal.

    • @LeeAnnahsCreations
      @LeeAnnahsCreations 5 днів тому +1

      @@ellaisplotting I see

    • @robinr6399
      @robinr6399 5 днів тому

      ​@@ellaisplottingI heard that's true of the 'ultra' products too. Enzymatic cleaners attack protein structure. So if you have to use them, only ten minutes and pull fibers out. Right?

    • @AmyMcScience
      @AmyMcScience 5 днів тому +1

      @@robinr6399 I have used it for particularly filthy and stinky fleece, but never for more than a 15 minute soak. Unfortunately, it doesn't remove the canary stain at all (the bright yellow patches). I've tried on a few fleeces.