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Stitching & Crafting Room:  Hand Carding Wool  |
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urban chickie
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Catherine
Niles
IL
USA
734 Posts |
 Posted - May 20 2010 : 09:56:23 AM
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I have been wanting to teach myself hand spinning for a while. I even picked up some processed fiber and the spindle a time or two but never made the time to do it justice until recently. So, I got my hands on some lovely Columbia wool fleece (thank you SO much Michelle!!) pretty much right off the sheep. I have cleaned it from instructions I found online and in spinning books, but there is still a bit of organic matter in it. Clean, but small pieces of grass and such. Much of this comes out as I am hand combing but not all of it. Is there some trick to getting more out? Should I have trimmed the outer layer a bit perhaps before cleaning and carding? But that would make the staples shorter, too.....I am not sure. I am actually enjoying this immensely but just wondering if I could be doing a more thorough job. Picking it out by hand seems to waste a lot of wool fiber. Does anyone else fully process their fleeces rather than shipping them out to be processed? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I am wondering what they did before all these new fangled processors were around LOL!
Catherine
Farmgirl #1370
City Girl By Birth,
Suburbanite By Location,
Farmgirl at Heart
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Bart
True Blue Farmgirl
115 Posts
115 Posts |
Posted - May 20 2010 : 2:55:28 PM
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I process my own most of the time. I buy 1-3 fleece a year. I find that a dog brush works great to "flick" the ends. (you can buy a regular 'flicker' for wool processing).
Google 'flick carding' there are a couple of videos (U-tube) and several other info sites.
I generally only have to flick the ends (where most of the debris is).
I don't cut unless it's the last ditch hope. Those straight cut edges are not attractive.
Let us know how it's going! |
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urban chickie
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Catherine
Niles
IL
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - May 20 2010 : 4:44:00 PM
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Thanks for the info! Do you have any suggestions for where to buy good fleeces for hand spinning? I am looking at this one as a blessing, a good first run for learning, hopefully to be followed by others!
Catherine
Farmgirl #1370
City Girl By Birth,
Suburbanite By Location,
Farmgirl at Heart
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grace gerber
True Blue Farmgirl
2804 Posts
grace
larkspur
colorado
USA
2804 Posts |
Posted - May 22 2010 : 07:34:35 AM
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I do this for a living and there are a couple of tricks - first skirting the fleece is key - if you do not get rid of the worst first then when you wash it that will contaminate the rest. Also while washing do not move the fleece much because the VM will drift into all the fleece. When you are ready to rinse the fleece first skim off any VM that has floated to the top of the water and never pour you fleece out with the water - again, you will pour back in the VM into the fiber. I use tongs and gently lift the fiber out so I do not get it dirty again. When rinsing I do it in small batches so I can force out my VM and so I do not run the risk of bits and such falling back onto the other fleece. When drying I place it on sweater racks and fan it out so as it dries there is more chance of the VM to fall out. Next after the fleece is dry then I put it thru a picker - now I know everyone does not have that so flicker brushes work wonders too. Then if you are using combs it is important to have a double row 5 pitch comb. If you are using hand carders you might just be driving it back in but if you have a carding machine those tiny bits will fly out with the turning of the bed. Next when you spin - if you have tiny bits you need to spin thin to have those bits come out while spinning.
VM is something we all fight with - I had some tiny VM get into my cashmere and angora goats and even after all these years I will be at the machines many long hours correcting what one terrible night did to my wonderful fleece. If you need any more help just ask and I will do my best to assist. Your not alone in this..
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
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Sheep Mom 2
True Blue Farmgirl
1534 Posts
Sheri
Elk
WA
USA
1534 Posts |
Posted - May 22 2010 : 10:46:30 AM
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I'd listen to Grace, she is the expert. I use the viking combs and it takes out most of the VM. It's just a constant battle for everyone. When I spin, I spin thin and ply my yarn so most of the vm falls out while spinning or I can stop periodically and pick it out. Try to get rid of most of it before washing if it's really bad. I know it seems like a waste to discard fleece but it's better to discard the really contaminated parts than to contaminate the better parts.
Blessings, Sheri
"Work is Love made visible" -Kahlil Gibran |
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urban chickie
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Catherine
Niles
IL
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - May 22 2010 : 8:42:46 PM
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Thanks for all the info! I really didn't think this fleece was very dirty.....I was actually expecting much worse but then I had never seen a greasy fleece except still on the sheep lol. but the tiny bits of grass and what not just seemed to spread through the fleece. Ah, the contamination you mention? I have been researching more online and with what you say above.....I am sure that I should have gotten more of the vm out before I washed it. Somehow I was thinking it would come out as it was washed, though that sounds so silly now! So that's the first thing. I also wonder if a properly skirted fleece would be more free of vm, or was this one? Guess I will know when I purchase my first LOL. Last, after the fleece was dry I just went straight to the hand carders. So, flicking the ends would have helped as well. So I have options for improving here! I thought I knew better what I was in for but I guess not, ha! I still love the idea of going from fleece to yarn though. I can see the use of buying roving or batts sometimes but I really want to learn the whole process. Sort of makes it more your own, don't you think?
The fleece I have isn't terrible, and really most stuff comes out and I am able to s-l-o-w-l-y pick out some more, I just expected better. I will definitely spin it, as I need the practice, too. And I am sure I can make usable stuff with the yarn it makes as well, just maybe not next to the skin sweater lol. I wasn't expecting that with my first spinning anyhow!!
Catherine
Farmgirl #1370
City Girl By Birth,
Suburbanite By Location,
Farmgirl at Heart
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Bart
True Blue Farmgirl
115 Posts
115 Posts |
Posted - May 23 2010 : 08:25:32 AM
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| Catherine - have you ever spun roving or batts? Or did you start out with raw fleece? |
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urban chickie
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Catherine
Niles
IL
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - May 23 2010 : 08:57:15 AM
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I have started with a little roving and some batt, but I don't have much left and was hoping to process this fleece to get more spinning practice. I really haven't spun much yet! It's hard because I always seem to pick up thee hobbies that no one around me has, so I never have good mentors in person. There really isn't a spinning guild near enough to me either or I would have joined.
Catherine
Farmgirl #1370
City Girl By Birth,
Suburbanite By Location,
Farmgirl at Heart
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Bart
True Blue Farmgirl
115 Posts
115 Posts |
Posted - May 23 2010 : 11:30:19 AM
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| Well, guess that means that you'll have to be the trend setter and eventually train a spinning buddy! I (finally) met 2 other spinners through a knitting group - they're both brand new at it but very enthusiastic. |
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urban chickie
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Catherine
Niles
IL
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - May 23 2010 : 11:51:59 AM
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LOL - then that will have to be my goal, to get good enough to train someone else! And I know this is crazy, but I am in total love with the Kromski Polonaise wheel. I know next to nothing at this point about wheels but one day I would love to own that one! I am hoping that as I learn more, I will fine out that it is a good wheel for my needs. It is just so friggin' cute!! LOL. For now however I must submit to the building heat and go to the library, do my laundry and all the other chores I must do, stopping to pick and clean at fleece in between. I have 2 days off in a row for a change and I am going to enjoy them, even if I am forced to turn on the ac before June in order to do it, sigh!
Catherine
Farmgirl #1370
City Girl By Birth,
Suburbanite By Location,
Farmgirl at Heart
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Keeper of the Past
True Blue Farmgirl
925 Posts
Sarita
Battle Creek
Michigan
USA
925 Posts |
Posted - May 25 2010 : 08:44:09 AM
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Catherine, sounds like you are off to a good start. I have a flock and spin and sell many of my fleeces. I try to skirt heavily and pull and shake as much stuff out before I ever put it in the first water that I soak it in prior to washing. I put most of the steps up on my blog.
If I have small bits of hay in it even after washing, I card small amounts at a time and most will come out. If I am using the wool for myself and I will be spinning it soon, I sometimes use a small amount of hair conditioner in my last rinse and that helps to release some of the vm.
Let us know how it comes out.
Sarita
www.coffmanspinningcfarm.blogspot.com
Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so.....
'Love the people who treat you right Pray for the ones who don't.
"A happy heart makes the face cheerful..." Proverbs 15:13
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Stitching & Crafting Room: Hand Carding Wool |
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Hand Carding Wool
