If you have decided to do needlework and have purchased raw sheep’s wool for your purposes, do not rush to put it to work right away. First you need to clean and wash. Unprepared wool still contains the smell of sheep, there is a lot of garbage and dust in it. It is simply unpleasant to touch, and there is no question of using it at all. It is not so easy to wash it, if you do it incorrectly, you will simply spoil the material. First, you should carefully study how to wash sheep’s wool, what tools are needed for this, and how to dry it. We will talk about this now.

Be sure to prepare for this process. Gather all the necessary tools and cleaning products. Just don’t wash the raw material in the sink with soap, you will only spoil the material.

How to wash raw sheep's wool

You will need the following items for washing wool:

  • Detergent for woolen products. It is better not to wash with ordinary powder, as it does not wash well and can destroy the fiber structure. As a last resort, you can take a regular shampoo or gel for washing pets.
  • Dishwashing gel or other grease remover.
  • A grid, a grate, a colander and a container in which you will wash. The ideal solution is a cat tray with bars.

The net is necessary so that it is easy to raise and lower the wool into the water, it is undesirable to touch it, and it will be inconvenient to collect it when changing the water, which will happen often.

  • Respirator. Wet wool has a specific, unpleasant smell, so it is better to cover the nose.
  • Gauze or a net on which the wool strands will dry.
  • A comb for wool or a regular wooden comb.

Stages of washing

  1. Sort through all the sheep’s wool. Remove large debris, straw, grass from it. To make the process go faster, you can take a comb (for example, a comb for cats or dogs) and comb the sheepskin. Additionally, you can knock out the garbage with a stick. This method has been used since ancient times.
  2. Fill a container with hot water and dilute the fat removal gel in it. This is a very important stage, since you cannot wash sheep’s wool without washing off the lanolin. Lanolin is a natural animal fat that was secreted from the sheep’s skin and remained on the wool.
  3. Spread the sheep’s wool on the grid and lower it into the prepared water. Lower and raise the net for 5-10 minutes, change the water, add detergent and lower and raise again. It is not necessary to mix and wring sheep’s wool, it is better not to touch it, so as not to damage it.
  4. After half an hour of such manipulations, drain the soapy water, rinse under the pressure of hot water and add a new one, having dissolved in it a means for washing woolen products. It is necessary to wash in hot water, as at a high temperature the sebum will dissolve faster, and the wool fibers will not fall off.
  5. Soak the sheepskin for one and a half to two hours, changing the soapy solution every half hour. If the water cools down faster, change it more often. Do not allow temperature shock.
  6. Drain the soap solution for the last time and collect clean hot water. Rinse the wool, again wash only with a net. Change the water. Repeat the procedure until all the mud and soap solution are washed away.

So that the woolen curls do not fall out, shine and are easily combed, you can treat them with a balm for oily hair. Gently apply the balm, leave for 20-30 minutes, wash off under warm water.

  1. Carefully separate the wool into strands and lay them out on gauze or a net where they will dry. Spread in an even layer, no more than 1.5 cm thick, otherwise it will not dry well or fall apart.
  2. It should be dried in a well-ventilated place. Better outdoors in the sun. In the conditions of the apartment, it is allowed to install near the battery.

how to wash sheep's wool

This completes the washing of sheep’s wool. As you can see, this process is different from how to wash things from wool . After all, finished products have already undergone all the necessary processing and their cleaning is much easier, although it has many limitations.

Further work with wool depends on what exactly you are going to do. For example, if it will be hair for a doll, and you want to get curly curls, then after drying, the woolen strands can be combed. Just take them apart.

In other cases, dry strands must be carefully combed. Go through them with a wide-toothed wooden comb, then comb out with a pet comb. It is necessary to comb until the strands become parallel. The mutton will be homogeneous and suitable for further work.

How to wash sheep’s wool (raw): instructions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.