Washing locks

[angie]

I recieved my Gotland locks that I bought from Zara, yesterday. Yay! They are gorgeous as you know from her pics.

So, since I have never had raw wool before, I am new to the washing part. I am really concerned about keeping that gorgeous curl and making sure that I don't felt these beauties.

I have watched videos on washing a fleece. I am leaning toward either making tulle enevopes or using lingere bags. Since they are not dirty like a whole fleece is, should I do a small soak still or would it be ok to just wash them without the soak? I don't have any of the scouring products that people use for a whole fleece. I did read in other posts in this section that using Dawn is ok for this.

So, I guess my question is: what can I do to ensure that I won't lose the curl and does the tulle envelope, Dawn and hot water a good idea? I think I may be a bit anxious. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[MTRuth]

What are your plans for using the locks? You might not need to wash them at all if you are going to use them in felting.

I'm sure Zara can give you some good instructions. I would use the tulle envelope, put each lock individually next to the other, roll them up and dunk them gently in the Dawn and warm water. Don't move them inside the rolled envelope or do any sort of agitation. Then dunk them in rinse water that is the same temperature. Then unroll and lay the locks out to dry on a towel.

I thought Zed had a tutorial or post about washing locks but I can't find it. This is Zara's post about washing fleece: feltingandfiberstudio.com/2015/02/26/from-raw-fleece-to-carded-batts-of-wool/

[angie]

I am strictly going to use them for felting both wet and possibly some needle felting. I am also planning on doing some dyeing with them as well.

Thanks for the link. I'll check that out.

[MTRuth]

If you are using them for wet felting, I wouldn't wash them first.

[zed]

I don't think I did one, Ruth.
I don't wash them before wet felting either, they keep the curl better that way.

Otherwise, I wash them a handful at a time, I put some shampoo in warm water, hold the locks by the cut ends, dip and swish in the water, dip in a middle tub of water, then rinse (all same temp water) pat with a towel and leave to dry.

[halay]

If I am using them in wet felting I don't wash them either. I have some really smelly ones but all the dirt and smell goes away when you start using soapy water. However if you want do dye them I think you need to give them a gentle wash first.

[zara]

Hmm. Perhaps I should have included washing instructions. ;-)

I do mostly wet-felting, so as the wool gets washed during that process, I often just wash the fleeces in cold water. The lanolin in the fleece works as the fleeces own washing detergent, and you do get rid of a lot of dirt in just cold water. I also do a lot of wet-felting with raw, unwashed fleece - but that is usually "outdoor projects" with larger amounts of recently sheared fleeces. Any fleece that you may be saving for some time is good to at least give a "cold-water" wash.

If you plan on dyeing, or needle-felting, or saving the fleece for a longer time, you should give it a more thorough wash. The lanolin can also leave a yellowish stain on white fleece if left unwashed for more than a year. In that case, I use laundry bags and washing detergent meant for washing knitted clothes and soak the fleece in the bathtub in water that's around "body temperature". I just let it soak over night (or at least a couple of hours), and then change the water perhaps 2 times the next day, until the water looks clear. High water temperatures, sudden changes in water temperature, agitation of the wool and detergents are all factors that increase the risk of felting. I wouldn't use a detergent meant for dishwashing (Dawn?) as these are very efficient solvents of fat and I would be concerned about the somewhat harsh effect it would have on the fleece. I prefer having a little lanolin left, which protects the fibres and gives them some shine and softness.

When washing, the main challenge is avoiding felting. As long as they don't felt, the locks will spring back to their original shape when they dry. :-)

[Teri Berry]

Completely agree with what the others have said about "felting in the grease" to borrow a term from the spinners, it helps the looks to keep the curls and stop felting into one large mat. You might need to use a little more soap during the felting process but it will wash out any dirt and sheep smell as you squeeze out cold water to add more hot during the fulling process. That said, the locks I received from Zara were very clean and did not feel particularly greasy compared to most of the other fleeces I have worked with. Here are some pics of a hat made from BFL locks, felted "in the grease". For comparison they are a much tighter curl than Gotland and the staple length was 10-15 cm. I look forward to seeing how you use your lovely locks, they're gorgeous aren't they?!!

[angie]

I was like a little kid on Christmas when I opened the package. Seeing all of the beautiful locks in real life was just such an amazing feeling.

I can understand that if I was going to wet felt them I can not bother with the washing process. My thought right now is to wash them all as I am so scatter brained with ideas. That way if I want to dye or needle felt I don't need to have to wash first then do what I want with them.

I won't use the Dawn on them now. I do have some Woolite. Maybe that would be better.

[zara]

That is a gorgeous hat Terry! And I so agree that "felting in the greese/dirt" is really the way to go if you want to preserve the original look of the locks. Below is an example of that, with Gotland locks (and more photos of the process on my blog: link)

[Teri Berry]

Those curls are gorgeous Zara, I want to bury my face in them! I don't think I could bear to sit on them!!! Off to take a look at your blog....

[zara]

Oct 27, 2015 22:00:02 GMT angie said:

I can understand that if I was going to wet felt them I can not bother with the washing process. My thought right now is to wash them all as I am so scatter brained with ideas. That way if I want to dye or needle felt I don't need to have to wash first then do what I want with them.

Angie - you also have the option of first needle-felting them onto something, and then washing them afterwards. The advantage is that then you have already secured them at the base, so they will not float around freely and felt together when being washed. And if you plan to dye them, you may as well wash them just before as you will want to soak them anyway before dyeing? 

[zara]

And here is an example of locks being prepared for washing and dyeing, wrapped in synthetic netting. If you lay them out as they would "grow on a sheep", you reduce the risk of felting.
 

[Pandagirl]

Good to know Zara, thanks!

[angie]

I saw a video that does the exact thing that you do with the netting, Zara. I was thinking of going this route.

Thanks for all the advice ladies! I truly appreciate it all.