How To Clean Raw Fiber - Washing and Drying the Fiber

Now first off, I am definitely not an expert. I feel like I should say that before I tell anyone what they should do. But I thought it might be a nice change of pace if, instead of rattling on about my latest fiber fluff, I told you how I make my fiber all clean and fluffy. Sound good? Let's start!

First I take my dirty fluff - in this case alpaca. I spread it out and pick out the especially gross, dirty bits or terrible snarls and then throw it away. Then I put it in mesh laundry bags. Any fiber that can felt, especially wool, should go in mesh bags. If you've ever put a hand wash only item in the washing machine, you'll know why. These animal protein fibers have scales on the surface of the fiber and hot water causes the scales to open up. Agitation causes the scales to lock up together so that you wind up with a tightly matted mess that will never be the soft, fluffy fiber you want it to be.

Now if you're working with wool, depending on the breed, it's going to have something called lanolin on it. Lanolin is a natural grease that the sheep excrete through their pores that helps protect and water proof their wool coats. Cool, huh? You can spin "in the grease" with the lanolin still in but typically we want to remove most of the grease. Hot water and soap, especially a liquid soap that's good for degreasing (lots of people swear by Dawn. Is there anything Dawn can't do?), will help pull the dirt and grease off your fiber. So stuff some fiber into the mesh laundry bags. Not too full, it should have room to move around. If I'm dealing with wool, I wash it outside in large plastic bins outside because the lanolin can really gunk up a plumbing system. Especially septics - hoo boy! Alpaca has no grease so I just toss it in my bathtub and make some soup.

Alpaca soup. Not delicious.

First I fill the tub with really hot water and soap, too hot to touch. Bring gloves if you're fussy about keeping the skin on your hands. Then I put my mesh bags in so my alpaca can enjoy a bubble bath. I push the bags up and down a bit int he water to get the water and soap int the fluffy. You will immediately see more foul brown water than you expected - these animals are filthy! There's a pretty strong smell - not unpleasant - of animal fleece, dirt, manure. When it's wool there's a nice, spicy smell from the lanolin too. I don't mind this, but I spent my summers mucking out horse stalls so don't take my word for it. Also, wash your hands because... ew.

It's probably going to take a few sluices to get clean. When the water is still warm but not so hot that you can't touch it anymore, empty the tub and refill it. Repeat until the amount of filth coming out of your bags is no longer shocking. Depending on how dirty things are looking you might only want to soap on your first sluice - play it by ear. 

Once you're done rinsing the soap and dirt out of your fluff, pull it out. I like the mesh bags because I can hang them up in the tub and let the excess water stream out for awhile. You can also give it a gentle squeeze or roll it up in towels and walk all over it. The more water you get out in this stage, the quicker it'll dry and the sooner you can play with it. Now a quick warning here - when you pull it out it's probably going to look way worse than it did going in. It's going to look all tangled up and horrible. I know of a few people who gave up at this point, assumed they'd felted it, and threw away their fleeces. Tragedy! Give yourself a chance. :)

I spread my wet fluff out in the sunshine - if there is sunshine. My dad, who loves my mother, made her a mesh screen that allows air flow while protecting the fiber from wild cats when she's drying it inside. Note how she puts an absorbent mat underneath the fiber to help it dry faster.

You can see she teases her fiber a bit during the washing process - either before she puts it in the bath or when it's drying, I'm not sure. But this teasing probably helps her fiber dry faster than mine and teasing is definitely the next step. Which I'll tell you all about next time!