Washing Fiber

I use a small laundry bag, the kind we women use to wash delicates. I have a large plastic bowl, you can also use your washing machine or a large bucket with a lid to keep the water hot as long as possible. I fill the bowl with very hot water straight out of the tap and add enough soap to change the color of the water then gently submerge the bag and soak for approximately an hour covered with a lid to keep the temperature hot as long as possible. If the water becomes too cool the lanolin and dirt can re-attach to the fiber.

Many spinners like to use dawn dishwashing liquid or orvus paste. I like to use castile soap or Basic H as I have found these are not as harsh as most detergents. You need to be careful not to swish or agitate the bag too much to prevent felting.

After soaking in the wash I then pull the bag of fiber out and express excess water by gently squeezing the bag. While squeezing I take note of the temperature of the water at this point. I then fill the the bowl, bucket or washing machine with clean water for the rinse. I try to make the rinse water the same temp as the wash water was once I removed the fiber, this will not be quite as hot as the beginning of the wash but still quite hot to touch. I then place the bag of fiber in the rinse water. Never allow water to flow from the faucet over the fiber.

I soak the fiber, covered, in the rinse water for approximately 30 minutes then remove the bag of fiber and express excess water, this time, by either using the spin cycle of your washing machine or take it outside and swing it in a circular motion over your head or out to your side. I know that sounds funny but my washing machine was broken for a while when I first started spinning and I found this technique to work rather well and saves wear on my machine. Then it is time for the final rinse. The water temperature does not need to be nearly as hot. I found warm water will work fine with this step. During the final rinse I add just a "glug" of white vinegar which helps bring the ph back to normal.

There are as many ways to clean fiber as there are spinners and I try something different nearly each time I wash. For example adding a few drops of essential oils to the rinse, like lavender or tea tree oil, can repel moths, and makes the fiber smell very nice. I also like to dip my fingers in olive oil when spinning to add some "conditioning" to the fiber.

Dyeing Fiber

I have not tried dying fiber yet as I like the idea of all my projects being as natural as possible, but there are projects I may want to add a splash of color to here and there so I have decided to use natural dyes. I have obtained a wonderful book Wild Color by Jenny Dean. This book discusses dyeing through the ages, dye plants, techniques, recipes and wonderful color samples that can be obtained using different dyeing methods on each plant. A lot of people rather use synthetic dyes as color obtained from these type dyes are more brilliant, while colors from plant dyes are muted. But again I personally appreciate earth colors. They seem more natural.

I will record my results here as I experiment.