Smelly, Greasy Hair into Gold

I thought I'd take a break from philosophy today and talk about my process. It wasn't that many years ago that I did a Google search on "how is yarn made" but now that spinning has become so common place in my life I tend to take for granted that that is still a really good question. So here goes.

I almost always start with raw fiber. The funny thing is, raw fiber is gross, really gross, but I look at it now and gasp "Isn't that beautiful!?!" and then laugh at the fact that I just called something that smells like barn and is covered in dirt and grease beautiful. When you work with raw fiber you start to see potential. You can look at a pile of smelly fleece and see the scrumptious yarn that it will eventually become. That's one reason I like working with raw fiber. Another is that I like to have control over the whole process. The down side is that my turnaround time is almost a month because each stage of the process takes most of a weekend and I really only have weekends to work on my yarn. Sometimes my husband tells me I should just buy roving (ready to spin fiber). I think I must feel the way Job did when his wife told him to "Curse God and die". I raise my fist to the sky and exclaim in my most triumphant voice "Never!".

When you buy raw fiber there are a few things to look for. Low VM (vegetable matter) is one. Unless the animal wore a coat over it's fleece (and some do) there will always be some VM to pick out. So, "low VM" or "coated fleece" are selling points. Also, raw fleece is sold by the weight so you only want to pay for the fiber you are going to use. All animals have parts of their fleece that are better than others. The process of picking off the less desirable bits is called "skirting". This is usually done by the shepard. I always buy well skirted fleeces. I'm hard core, but not THAT hard core.

When it comes to washing the key is patience. Raw fiber, especially wool, is like a lasagna pan on Sunday morning that you forgot to wash after the big family feast on Saturday night. It doesn't matter how much soap you use or how abrasive your Brillo pad is, that sucker has to soak. I soak a fleece first in it's own muck, *then in soapy water, then in vinegar water, and then in plain water. Repeat from * until clean. You can't agitate it or it will felt. You can gently squeeze it, though.

BTW, you know your a knitter if your chuckling right now.

I dye my fiber "in the wool". That means I dye it after I wash it but before I card or spin it. Dyeing in the wool makes for less consistent color, which is my goal. I use a crock pot or a stock pot, cram it full with wetted fiber, and then pour a mixture of dye powder, vinegar, and water over sections of the fiber. Using this method you can get lots of different colors from one dye pot. This also yields unpredictable variations, which I like.

In case your wondering, a weak vinegar solution has a pH close to protein (animal) fiber. An acidic environment is needed for the fiber to take up the dye. It is also useful for balancing pH after you use soap, which is really alkaline. That's why in the old days people used to pour vinegar water over their hair as a conditioner after they used shampoo. It works. Try it. Wash your hair or hands or face with some really strong soap or shampoo on a really dry day. Feel your skin or hair turn all Sahara on you and then rinse with two tablespoons of vinegar in two cups of water. Be amazed. Which brings up a good point, you are made of the same stuff animals are. Your hair is a fleece or sorts. Anything you use to dye wool will dye you. Got it? Good.

This is getting kind of long, so I think I'll call this part one. And because I can't let you get away with out any philosophy, I will leave you will a quote.

"There isn't anything in the world that won't reveal itself to you if you love it enough."

That is one of my favorite quotes but I don't remember who said it. Free yarn for anyone who can tell me. At any rate, it means that the most important part of any process is love. If you really love fiber, it will teach you how to make yarn.

Peace