# Getting little pices of VM out of fleece



## Pearl B

How do you do it? Before or after you wash it.
The pieces are small enough it's hard to get ahold of it. The fleece is sticky too.
Do you wash it & then comb it out?

Suggestions appreciated


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## Miz Mary

Washing it gets alot of it out ...... then when you comb/card it, more will fall out ..... and when your spinning it, even more will fall out ! You can pick out what you can as your going through all above steps too !


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## Pearl B

Thank you Miz Mary,
That's kinda what I was thinking would be the best way.


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## chickenista

I use an afro-pic style comb thingie to flick through fleeces before I wash them.
It opens up some of the tighter, clumpier spots that get squished together in storage and gets a lot of the VM out.
To be done outside..


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## Pearl B

Thank you Chickenista & WIHH,

I just got some African & other large combs at the dollar store hoping I could use them as combs. A couple of them are big enough :hysterical::hysterical:

A good shaking sounds like good idea too-will definitely give that a try!

Thanks Everyone!


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## Pearl B

While I got this thread going........
On some of the ends of the locks are heavily feece encrusted. Do you soak those out, or clip & toss?

I've been doing both. I almost think it's best to clip & toss, am curious how everyone deals with them.
Tia


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## Pearl B

Thank you WIHH,

I'm buying fleeces in 1pd bags. With my current kitchen set-up I can only do 4 ounces at a time.

My first batch I soaked & soaked & tried to clean it all. After that I thought maybe being a little more selective would be a good thing.

I wish I could sheer a few sheep. Just so that it would hopefully be easier to recognize what part of the fleece I'm working with. I've noticed differences. I'm not sure how to describe it.
Locks are easy to recognize. Then there are parts that seem kinda fluffy-might not be apt description, that what it seems to me.
I've noticed those fluffy parts are really hard to comb or card, or do anything with really.

I think I'm going to adopt your 3 'piles' method & definitely more selective,
Thanks!


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## frazzlehead

Hey, I recognize that 3 piles method. 

Definitely make the 3 piles. Then fluff the cleanest pile open with your fingers and shake the dirt out. Then soak all the 'good stuff' in cold water for a day or two, then pull it out and let it dry (much of the dirt will come out and settle to the bottom of the bucket - so you wanna soak in LOTS AND LOTS of water, like a Rubbermaid or a garbage pail, and then pull the wool out and drain it somewhere, so that the settled dirt stays in the bottom of the bucket and doesn't get all stirred back into suspension).

Then let that dry, then do the flicking or combing. 

THEN whatever is left is worth scouring. 

I used to wash the whole thing too, but I've learned that it is much better to save yourself the trouble and sort it first, and only spend the time and energy and money on the best stuff.

Honestly, fleece with a lot of little bits of dirt and stuff in it often ends up in Pile #1 now ... I can't be bothered trying to get all those little bits out.


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## Pearl B

Thank you Frazzlehead!


> Honestly, fleece with a lot of little bits of dirt and stuff in it often ends up in Pile #1 now ... I can't be bothered trying to get all those little bits out.


That's the kind of stuff I've got. I could be days picking out little bits. I'm really 're-thinking who I've been buying from. 

I swear by your method of cold soaking 1st. I'm going to try like you suggested,
Thanks!


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## frazzlehead

If it looks like bits of pepper, it's not worth it. It won't come out.

You can try a cold soak, and see where you are at after that, but honestly, it's just way too much work. On my guys, it's dirt, not hay bits, gritty stuff and it's a real hassle.

Now, some of it will just fall out as you spin - so it's worth it to take a little and try spinning it to see what happens. If you are getting it stuck in the yarn, then yeah, give up.


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## Miz Mary

When skirting, do you cut off the tips that are crispy-dried-gross ??

Are there videos for washing DIRTY fleeces ?? ..and sorting DIRTY etc ...


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## Pearl B

All my good links are on my now non-functioning laptop. I found a few though.


http://www.google.com/#q=youtube+how+to+wash+raw+wool


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## frazzlehead

Miz Mary, you don't need a video, trust me.

If it is poopy, you don't CUT it off, you RIP it off. Just grab the hunk that is all covered in manure and PULL. EVERYTHING that comes off with it goes in the compost heap. The objective here is not to preserve as much of the fleece as possible, but to get rid of as much LESS THAN IDEAL wool as possible. You only wanna keep the good stuff. LOTS will end up in the compost. That's okay. That's expected. Some shearers/producers will get rid of most of that for you. When I shear, I skirt as I go, since I do not take the fleece off all in one go like a proper shearer does. Only the best of the fleece even makes it to the sorting pile - probably 1/3 of it goes straight to compost.

So: if it has poop on it, yank and toss. If it is full of hay and seeds (like the stuff at the back of the neck), yank and toss. You do NOT want to cut, you want to YANK. Yanking gets a good handful out - all the nasty and everything attached to it. That's what you want. Be aggressive.

If it is a sheep-shaped fleece (i.e. came off in one piece) you will probably yank off at least a hand's width all the way around: belly wool, neck wool, leg wool, and butt wool. 

Then sort what is left by length and softness. Put all the stuff that "feels the same" and is approximately the same length in one pile. Anything that is not "nearly clean enough to spin just as it is" (assuming you got the grease out, I'm talking VM here) put it in the Pile #2 - the "maybe I can get this clean" pile. You will probably end up only working with the Pile #1.

So: longest, softest, nicest wool goes in one pile. Pull the locks out straight to check length: grab a handful of the fleece, check the length, put it in the appropriate pile.

That's sorting.

Then washing: put the best fleece in a bucket with a LOT of water. Room temperature. Just let it sit for a day or so. Change out the water once or twice if it's really really dirty, but just soaking does wonders.

Then let it dry. Lift it out (do not dump) and lay the fleece out to dry.

Now fluff it all with your hands and see if it's come cleaner. Shake out VM and dirt. Flick with combs if you wanna get out more of the VM.

Then, if it was a really light lanolin fleece, you might spin it as is, if it is heavily greasy, you will need to do the hot soapy water washes. Lots of info on that in other threads, or we can tell you more here.

Really, it is a matter of being REALLY aggressive with the sorting: if you have a whole fleece that came right off the sheep, chances are good you'll ditch 1/3 to 1/2 of it - depending on where they lived, of course. If they live in a dirty dusty place, lots of that will come out in a cold soak. If they ate flaky feed and were fed from feeders that let them really get into the hay, you may toss a lot because it's full of VM. If they were poorly shorn and you have a lot of second cuts, you may toss a lot there too. 

Like absolutely everything else in fibre arts, *it depends*.


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## Maura

Are you buying one pound at a time, or do you have a fleece and just washing it one pound at a time? What you need to do will depend on the fineness of the fleece and what the little bits are. I bought 5 pitch combs for some beautiful fleece that had little bits of veg matter in it. I combed it after a soak, but before washing. That gets out so much. Then it gets washed. After that I comb it again. Some will be tossed- too much trouble. Most is saved. 

A fleece heavy with lanolin is going to be very hard to comb prewashing. My Corriedale is not heavy with lanolin, so I can comb it first.


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## Pearl B

Thank you Maura,

What I get is raw wool in 1pd bags. It seems to be mostly locks, though no real consistency of what part of the overall fleece. I think some bags come from the front end & some from the back end, or belly. You never know beforehand.

The VM is like small twigs that have dried & broken into speck like pieces & fleece lock tips on some sections.

I have white Bfl,one bag really nice looking, one really dirty. A correidale that looks really nice. A wennslydale that looks nice & coopsworth.

The one I'm working on now is a Tunis, & it's giving me a really hard time.
It seems lanolin loaded & the small pepper like twigs/straw.

I will definitely give your suggestions a try also!


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## Pearl B

Frazzlehead, Thank you Frazzlehead post #15! 

I'm going to check with my local yarn store & see if I can get a line on a quality supply of fleeces. This is a small town. Travel to other towns would be cost prohibitive.

Does anyone have a online source for good quality wool/fleeces?


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## Wind in Her Hair

this graphic helped me learn what fiber is worth extra effort and what isn't.



http://www.spinningdaily.com/blogs/...ed-and-true-spinning-resources-digitally.aspx

the last Icelandic fleece I sorted was FULL of hay down the back- I just ripped the whole back out and tossed it without a second thought.


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## Pearl B

Thank you WIHH,

Wow, thats not much left to work with. It's good to know though.


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## Miz Mary

AWESOME info you guys , thank you !!!! 

This fleece was just thrown in a bag, when I pulled it all out, it was not in the shape of a sheep !

ok, here is a pic of the before locks on the right ....the rest is after I cut off about 1/4" of the tips , then washed ........ see how the tips are still yellow/kinda dirty ?? Am I being too picky, or do they need washed again to get the tips cleaner ??


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## frazzlehead

That's a CLEAN FLEECE! Even the before is clean.

A cold soak would get rid of most of the dirt (that's what is making it brown) - then I would comb it, as mentioned above, or, with locks as pretty as these maybe flick card it - that would open the tips so that the actual scouring would get them clean. This is why I like to soak (remove dirt) then dry and fluff (comb, ideally, fluff by hand as an other option) *then* scour, then do the final prep for spinning.

See, this is the troublesome thing about trying to preserve lock structure while washing and scouring - how do you get the tips clean without opening them up?

Anyway ... if you flick those tips open with a flick carder, you can preserve your lock structure *mostly* and still get it clean. But unless you open those tips somehow, I don't see how you're going to get it clean.

Then again, once you flick those open, they may be clean enough to spin - the remainder of that yellow (lanolin) will probably come out when you wash the yarn. I bet if you flicked a few of those open, you'd find that it already IS clean enough to spin. Or, if not, it'll be really close and one more wash with opened tips will do it for you.

I also wouldn't bother with cutting tips off. Flick carding locks like this is a great way to get them 'naturally' opened up and the nasty bits break off. 

Others may know more though - I don't do a whole lot of raw fleece prep these days.


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## Wind in Her Hair

agreeing with Frazzlehead - the longer I am "in it"- I find my definitions of "dirty" changing. 

MizMary- that is NOT a dirty fleece- that's what I would call a relatively "clean" unwashed fleece.

Remember, even those yellowed, stained tip ends will mix into the entire fleece as you spin it and your fleece won't be yellow - it will be more creamy white. And if you intend to dye it, the tips will take dye a bit differently but will add dimension to the color you are dyeing. 

I am not a tip cutter :nono: - only because I feel like *fresh cut tips = pokey ends *and pokey ends are more likely to work their way OUT of the core of your yarn and up against your skin. 

The big difference (besides all the caustic chemicals used to process it) in mill spun wool and hand-processed wool is the reduction in breakage and damage and chopping and cutting and mixing of odd short bits of fibers. 

The less "injury" to a single strand of fiber, the more likely the fiber is to retain its original, natural handle and character. And that means "less pokey". That's why I am so hesitant to add half again as many pokey ends to the mix by cutting the tips. (Or is twice as much? I was a biology major, you do the math! )


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## Miz Mary

oh WOW !! WHO KNEW !! Yay, I picked a good bag of fleece !! 

That makes total sense WIHH ... cut tips would poke out more ! 

Ok frazzlehead, today I'm going to try soaking the locks in thier package , THEN scouring later .. maybe that will open up the tips .

I am finding as I go through this fleece, I dont think it was skirted .... the lady I bought it from was not a spinner/knitter etc...she just had sheep .  
Pulling out second cuts , poo and fuzzy un useable parts ....I actually enjoy this whole process !! 

You guys are so amazingly helpful , thank you !!!!!!! :spinsmiley:


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## IowaLez

I would say, personal opinion only, that the fleece tips are yolk stained and will not come pure white, Ever, no matter what you do. I don't see any dirt in the tips, myself. I think it's washed just fine, as it is. The yellow stains will blend in as you process the wool further. Some fleeces have stains like this, others not so much.

The tips are more exposed to the sun, rain, wind and feed/hay particles, so takes a real beating during the year of wool growth. In a covered fleece, the tips get rubbed into a bit of feltiness.


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## Marchwind

I always wash my yarn when it is finished. Once it is spun up you can be a bit more heavy handed with it, specially if it is spun worsted. That will get more of the dirt out of the finished fleece.


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