Washing a Fleece

I bought a spindle off Etsy around Christmas last year, along with some combed top and an Icelandic lamb fleece.  Though I wanted to get started right away, I set the fleece in the closet, waiting until I had gained a little confidence to tackle such a large project.  I’ve finally gotten started processing the fleece by washing it.  Since Icelandic fleece is generally low grease and this is a lamb fleece, I didn’t boil the water for it, I just used the hot water out of the tap and some Dawn dish soap.  I used a lingerie bag and did the fleece in two batches to try and keep the locks mostly together.

It was kind of a dirty fleece, but considering it came from an animal that lives outside and eats hay, it wasn’t too bad.  I washed each batch twice, and rinsed two or three times to get the soap out.

This is after only one wash, so the fiber really released the dirt into the water.

After squeezing as much water out as possible, I put the fiber onto towels to dry.  I flipped the fleece over once or twice a day to keep it well circulated and to keep the wool from getting musty.  Now I begin the long task of separating the coats into tog and thel, the tough outer wool and softer inner wool that Icelandic sheep are known for.  I haven’t totally decided what I want to do with it yet, but It will probably become some kind of outerwear.

This is what just over a pound of wet wool looks like, freshly washed.