Spinning in the Grease

Over the years I've had a number of blogs and as such this one is no different than the others.  The focus remains on my exploration of history and textiles, preferably but not always, in the same project.

I've been spinning yarn since 2010 when I decided that I should know enough about spinning to demonstrate it to my students of fashion history.  I wanted them to understand how much effort when into many any piece of clothing before the industrial revolution.  As it happens I got addicted to spinning.  It was a perfect blend of artistic talents, productivity, & mediation.  

In the beginning I hated the idea of working with raw fibers; those with the grease still in them.  I still hate the idea of washing a fleece and combing it out afterwards.  It is just not my cup of tea.  So I've begun to investigate spinning wool while the grease is still on the fibers.  Please don't mistake me, some fleeces require washing and processing just to be useful.  Some animals don't, such as alpaca, which is washed after spinning.  In the last two weeks I have bought not one, but two, unwashed fleeces.  Each were picked for qualities that made spinning in raw, not just a possibility, but a better choice then traditional processing in my opinion.  Traditional processing would work but I think I will get a better yarn if I don't wash them.

This first entry are my notes on the first of those fleeces.  

Fleece: 1 pound of Cormo from Foxhill Farm Fibers & Sheep

Color: Buff or light brown

Purchased at: The New York Sheep & Wool Festival, 2014

Staple Length: 4 inches

Grease Content: Light to Medium

Veggie Matter: Very Light (the animal was jacketed) 

Crimp: Light

Sample Yarn Notes: 2 ply, very springy, great drape, came clean in the wash bath with hot water and a light does of Unicorn Scour (the same detergent as you might use on a raw fleece).  I spun it to lace weight to get a two ply fingering weight yarn.  I think this will lend itself to a nice blanket or throw later.  I should also note that the in the grease yarn was smooth before washing and very fluffy after washing.  This is in part, I believe, due to the nature of the Cormo fleece which tends to bloom when washed, even with additional twist in the spinning.

Other Notes: The reason I picked this fleece was that it was very clean from veggie matter, the wool was consistently 4" long throughout the bag, the color was amazing, and the majority of the fiber was in these nice neat clumps (shown above).  Why process this?  The grease was not so bad that it irritated my skin, nor did it smell.  There was not a great deal of dirt or other matter in the wool.  The purpose of combing or carding wool after washing is to get all the fibers unmatted and lined up again.  In the case of this fleece it came that way.  These clumps pulled apart in my hands very easily and pulling off individual fibers for spinning was easy, either from the tip or the side.  I would not want to let the fleeces sit in the bag for a long time or it would mat on its own.  

I was able to spin it very easily from the side, almost like spinning from the fold (see The Intentional Spinner, page 74 for spinning from the fold.)  This is a semi-woolen spinning method that accentuates the natural spring of the Cormo fibers.

I am currently though most of the first 4 oz bobbin.  I do not want to try and ply this yarn from a center pull ball.  I think it would lead to disaster.  I will instead spin a second bobbin and ply it.  Afterwards I will determine how much second cuts remain in the fleece, separate the second cuts and spin the remainder. 

One last additional note: the smell of the lanolin makes the cats want to "groom" the fleece.  Not at all good for the beasties or the fibers.

There will be more to come on this yarn as I work on it.