How Do You Process Raw Wool For Spinning?
Processing your own wool for spinning can take many hours, but the process itself is straightforward and easy to master. Once you learn to process your own fleece, you’ll be able to create wool yarns that meet your exact specifications. When you knit or crochet a project from the yarn you spin from the prepared fleece, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you were involved in every step of the creative process. Spread the raw fleece on a piece of plastic sheeting and remove any parts that might contain tags (clumps of animal waste) or an excessive amount of vegetable matter (vm). Try to keep the usable parts of fleece intact as you complete this step. Remove belly wool, neck wool and britch (wool from the animal’s rear), as these are the areas where you’ll find the most tags and/or vm. Pick out any large pieces of vm, such as twigs, burrs or large pieces of straw. Roll up the fleece with the cut side facing inward and place it into a large open mesh laundry bag. Shake the bag t
