How to Process Raw Wool

If you want to knit a sweater or shawl or weave cloth from a sheep's fleece, you need to learn how to process raw wool. Processing fleeces by hand can take a long time, but it doesn't require any heavy labor or much specialized equipment. In fact, you need little more than hot, soapy water and a few containers to successfully process raw fleeces.

Things You'll Need

  • Raw wool
  • Large mesh laundry bag
  • Plastic sheet
  • Small laundry bag
  • 2 mop buckets
  • Dish detergent
  • Top-loading washing machine
  • Bed sheet
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Instructions

    • 1

      Skirt the fleece to remove any tags (fleece matted with animal waste) and areas that are especially dirty or full of vegetable matter. When skirting a fleece you'll usually remove the belly wool, the britch wool (which covers the sheep's rear) and possibly the neck wool.

    • 2

      Arrange the fleece in a large, wide-mesh laundry bag with the cut side of the fiber facing toward the inside. Be careful to keep the fleece intact as you place it into the bag.

    • 3

      Shake the laundry bag vigorously to release vegetable matter from the fleece.

    • 4

      Remove the fleece from the laundry bag and place it cut-side down on a large plastic sheet.

    • 5

      Pick out any remaining twigs, burrs, bits of hay and any other remaining vegetable matter.

    • 6

      Pull a bundle of locks from the fleece and gently place them in a small mesh laundry bag.

    • 7

      Fill a large mop bucket with boiling-hot water to which you've added a mild dish soap.

    • 8

      Submerge the laundry bag into the hot water bath and let it soak for at least 30 minutes.

    • 9

      Fill a second bucket with clean water that's at the same temperature as the water in which your fleece is soaking.

    • 10

      Remove the fleece from the first bucket, submerge it in the second and allow it to soak for at least 30 minutes.

    • 11

      Soak the fleece in subsequent baths of clean water until the fiber no longer releases dirt or soap suds.

    • 12

      Place the clean, wet fleece in a top-loading washing machine that has no water in it and run the spin cycle to remove as much moisture from the wool as possible.

    • 13

      Spread out a clean bed sheet in the sun, remove the clean wool from the laundry bag and place it on the sheet to dry.

    • 14

      Repeat the steps above to wash the remaining raw fleece.