How-to Wash a Raw Fleece

Since my comb and hackle set is almost completed, I thought it was time to wash the raw fleece I bought at my local fiber fest.

Since I didn't have the slightest clue where or how to start, I did a little research on Ravelry, and joined a new group here and they had alot of info on washing fleece including this link with step by step HOW-TO directions.

I printed out the directions and followed them exactly. Here is how I washed my fleece.

This is the fleece before washing...............dirty and with a strong farm smell that no one else can stand. I don't mind it at all. This is 1 pound of raw fleece.I started by filling a super large stainless steel pot with cold water

Then I submerged the raw wool in the water, gently pushing it under until it was all covered. The water became cloudy and dingy almost immediately. I let the fleece soak for 15-20 minutes before removing it from the bath and placing it in the colander.

This is the dirty water left in the cold bath after I removed the fleece.

Even after just 1 soak in the cold bath the raw fleece is distinctly lighter.

I rinsed the pot and added 1/2 scoop of powdered laundry detergent. I used Gain.

Then I filled the pot with scalding HOT HOT HOT water!

Then I added the raw fleece and used a long handled wooden spoon to gently push the fleece under the water until it was completely covered.

Then I placed the lid on the pot and let the fleece soak in the HOT soapy water for 15-20 minutes. I repeated this process with the soap once more and then I repeated it without the soap until the water remained clean when the fleece was added to the pot. After that the fleece still smelled very farmy and so I soaked it for 15 minutes in another hot bath, but this time I added shavings of lavender soap my mother had made for me. It eliminated the farmy odor and left the fleece smelling great. After that I soaked the fleece in a final HOT water bath to remove any leftover soap residue

This is my 1 pound of raw fleece all washed, bright, clean, and drying outside.

How-to Make your own Wool Combs

Not long ago I was browsing on YouTube and came across the following videos showing the proper way to use wool combs.....and the wool combs themselves were quite nice.

I especially liked these English Combs ( and the 4 part video series is quite informative)


And this comb and Hackle set


So with a little more research I also found a HOW-TO blog post here that was very informative.

Well I took a little bit of direction from the blog post and some ideas on style from the videos and sketched up my own little comb and hackle pattern.I took a trip to Home Depot to pick up a 2 ft piece of 1x6 Oak ( and my dad had a nice oak dowel to use for a handle. I did the cutting, Dad did the sanding, assembled the comb, and drilled the holes for me after I marked them out. He even stained it for me. I put the wax on this morning, and just finished gluing in the 4 rows of nails with 2 part epoxy.

I still have to make the hackle, it is all drawn out and ready for cutting when my dad gets home from work today. But for now I am quite pleased with the finished comb.Dad had the great idea to wood burn the word PROTO and the date on the back of the comb to record that it is the PROTO-type and when we made it.

I have enough wood left over to make a set for my mother too.

By the weekend I should be able to wash and comb this lovely 1lb batch of raw wool I bought at a recent fiber fest.I am so excited.....I can't wait to show you the finished set...not to mention the final roving I will make with this wool. Maybe I will even try my hand at dyeing it too.

Once the hackle is complete I will write up step by step instructions for you to make your own, and I will include a PDF link with a template for both the comb and hackle design. So stay tuned. I should have the hackle finished and ready to use by Saturday.

In Vogue - Elizabeth Zimmerman Snail Hat!

Some things never go out of style. I was browsing some of my favorite blogs the other day and read about the EZ Snail hat on Cosymakes blog. I thought to myself......that hat looks familiar, so emboldened by curiosity I clicked a few links and wound up on the Snail Hat Pattern Page on Ravelry where I was given the option to buy the pattern or, I was told, I could find it in the Winter 09 Edition of Vogue Knitting. Wouldn't you know, I happen to have that very copy of Vogue Knitting, hence why the hat looked so familiar. I had dog eared the page to knit later. Well I decided I would knit now instead.......added bonus Cosymakes is offering a handspun giveaway!I had just visited a local fiberfest and had 2.5 ounces of pink Angora/Merino/Silk/Angelina blend that I had spun up into a light worsted/sport weight yarn at 12wpi. Even though the pattern called for a bulky with a gauge of 2 1/2 sts per inch, I wanted to see how this would knit in the angora blend and figured I could hold on to it for a Christmas gift later. The finished hat is perfect size for a child of preteen age, say 8-12.I used a US 10 16-inch circular for the main portion of the hat, and switched to (4) US 9 DPNs to finish it off once I finished the round at (p1,p2tog,p2tog,k10,m1). From there I continued to decrease until I was left with a total of 15sts total, I decreased 2 more rounds as stated in the pattern and pulled the working yarn through the final 9 sts and finished off the hat. Using the tail of the cast on edge I seamed up the 2 edges of the garter stitch band at the bottom and weaved in all ends.I am very pleased with the results and can't wait to make another one of these luxurious hats. Imagine my joy at seeing how the wonderful Halo on this fiber appears in the final photos.

Scrumptious!