In answer about washing, carding, combing and spinning your Churro fleece: A good solution For those who wish to spin grease wool without including the 'yuck' factor may find interest in using the salt wash prep method. Because I use very tightly spun churro wool cording from fleece that are often very full of dirt, debris, vegetation and other foreign matter equal to as much as half their weight, such cords would never come clean if spun before being washed. OTOH, I find some lanolin content not only desirable but almost a necessity to the type of cording I require in my blanket weave. So after skirting and 'slamming' or vibrating most of the loose vm, sand, dirt and foreign material from a large hank of fleece, I give it a wash in canning and pickling salt and baking soda. Using the same rules to prevent felting as used in other washing methods. Adjusting time and temperature to leave lanolin while removing dirt. It is a way that has always worked for me. Your mileage may vary. ��������������������������� First, ��Let me say as many ways will pop up as the number of people who will answer you! ;) ��I can only tell you what very little I know about it. Many others will no doubt be able to advise you in more up to date and modern methods than mine. ��First, is to wash the fleece in a way that pleases you, as well as the fleece. I like to gently submerge it into a salt water bath of very hot water, to soak as long as is needed to loosen hard tags, or prove they will not loosen. ��Then transfer it into a clean hot water bath that may or may not have salt, depending on the success of the first. I normally only use one. ��This can be done in some large metal troughs with a fire built under them, or in a large pan on a stove. ��I have started using the small batch method as of late. I use a metal single enamelled, double crisper drawer, from the bottom of an old refrigerator. It will span two burners on a stove. I find it is also easier to deal with a section of a fleece that will fit this pan and is as much as I will work with at one sitting. It is better for keeping it upright and as it came from the sheep. ��I also use a wire rack with handles, which was made from an old fridge shelf, that fits into the bottom of the pan, for lifting and submerging , without disturbing the fleece overmuch. ��To this container, I ad around three gallons of water and about two cups of ice cream salt, depending on the fleece's dirt content. ��Once it has soaked for 30-45 min. I raise the rack and use a large wooden spatula to gently mash out most of the water, to keep it from running onto the counter. I place the rack across one sink while I dump the dirty water into the other, then re-fill it with fresh hot water from the canning pot that I have had heating on the stove. ��While it is OK to let the fleece cool down some, and to also end up rinsing in cool water, you must not "Shock" it by going from hot to cold water. While I use the stove's burners to heat water, as well as keeping it hot, for long soaks of very dirty fleece, you must watch that it is not allowed to boil. ��Once it is clean enough to suite me, I place the rack over the sinks to gently press out all the water I can, without agitating the fleece, which may cause it to felt. This is something never done, throughout the washing process. ��I then place the rack over a fan, or out in the sun to dry. Or near an A/C exhaust vent, if one is handy. ��I find this method of salt washing is much preferred to using soap, as it leaves the wool with a much nicer feel for spinning, as well as with a very nice luster in the finished weave. ��On no account do you ever want to use a detergent to wash your wool, as this opens the platelets of the wool and causes it to become stiff, dry and much more brittle later on in its life. If a soap is needed then use soapweed or a mild dishwashing liquid, such as whatever is the cheapest non perfumed one off the shelf of the store. All detergents must be labeled, so check what you use to avoid them. ��Aslo never agitate wool while washing, as it will felt. (a note:) Keep in mind that this is a method I use on Churro fleece because it works well for me. If you are washing another breed that has more lanolin content, or even a churro with a lot, something else that I do is to use a second rack that will hold the wool well below the water level. In this way the scum of lanolin that floats to the top may be skimmed off. One other thing to mention is the addition of baking soda to the first wash, in order to remove odors from the wool. I have never found a small amount (1 tbsp. per cup of salt) to do any harm. An addition of vinegar to the first rinse can also help do this, as well as 'sweetening' the wool's PH. On a final note, I must also state that this way of washing is easy on the wool, the spinner's hands, as well as leaves the sheen on the finished yarn. But is probably not the best way of washing when preparing it for dying. ��I will write a little note on spinning in another message, as this one is becoming longer that my spell-check will accept, and my time on-line is over!!! � ;) BTW: Always be sure to check that no sheep is attached before trying this method! Walk in beauty. ��Chu'a

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