I didn't find this answered in the archives... We had our sheep sheared yesterday, and saved most of the wool. I checked into the costs of processing the wool once, and it was way too expensive, especially since they're not a fiber breed and I don't spin anyway! So now I have all this raw wool and I'm wondering what creative uses I can consider for it. Suggestions?

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), March 26, 2001

Answers

how about batting,, for a quilt or something

-- stan (sopal999@yahoo.com), March 26, 2001.

YEARS ago I took a class about making felt from wool. I don't remember how but I'm sure you could probably find directions. DW

-- DW (djwallace@ctos.com), March 26, 2001.

Sell it on EBay to someone who does spin. Other than that Stan has the right idea, stuff a quilt or pillow. Hang a few of the 'leftovers' in a tree for our feathered friends who are starting to build nests.

-- Kathy (catfish201@hotmail.com), March 26, 2001.

Besides batting, you can make pillows for your bed. Wash the wool by hand using regular detergent, let it sit and soak good, and than put in rinse water the SAME TEMPERATURE as what you just used to wash it. Squeeze dry, or run it through your washer just on the spin cycle. Temperature changes and agitation will felt it. Spread the wool out on some chicken wire(like a hammock) or on an old window screen to dry. Than you can pull the locks apart to remove any seeds, etc. A dog comb will work too. An easy project to do while you are watching T.V. Other uses for wool can be as liners for hanging wire plant baskets, mulch for the garden( adds nitrogen as it decomposes) Insulation for walls, although for this you might want to treat it for insect repellence. Locker hooked rugs is taking the combed tufts of wool and pulling them through a canvas, similar to latch hooking.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), March 26, 2001.

What breed are your sheep? A lot of meat breeds still grow plenty of wool to use for spinning. If you make stuffed animals use it for the stuffing after you have washed it like the above post mentioned. Good luck with it.

-- michelle (tsjheath@ainop.com), March 26, 2001.

Hi Shannon. I have also read about wool being used as house insulation. Sandy

-- Sandy in MN (jpevans_56353@yahoo.com), March 27, 2001.

A friend of mine who also raises Shetland sheep used her wool to make cushions for outdoor furniture. All she did was wash it first, no other preparation.

-- Lenette (kigervixen@webtv.net), March 27, 2001.

Wool processing 101

Spread fleece out on a sheet of plywood or other smoothish surface. Remove all manurey tags of wool. Pick out big pieces of hay, sticks, etc. If a spot is really loaded with bits of hay, toss it into the compost pile along with the manurey tags.

Weigh out about 5 poundsn or less of the fleece. Turn off the cold water to your top loading washer. Turn up the heat on your water heater. Go do something else for an hour. Put the weighed amount of fleece in the tub of your washer. Set water level on high and temp on hot. Start the water into the tub. Add twice as much liquid detergent as normal. Keep the lid up .Stay with the washer. When tub is filled and water shuts off, STOP THE WASHER, DO NOT LET IT AGITATE!

Go set the timer for 20 minutes and do something else. After 20 minutes, set the washer to final spin, close the lid and let 'er rip. Stay with the washer. When the washer shuts off, turn the dial back to the start and refill with water. Keep the lid open, set timer for 10 min, come back after 10 min and close lid and set to final spin again. Now you can take the wool out and dry it on screens.

If the wool is still greasy, you can repeat the above process.

Now you can make felt, card or comb it.

You can make felt by layering combed or carded tufts of wool on a section of old sheet. Use 3 or 4 layers of wool, each running 90* from the one below ( criss cross ) . The batt will be thick, at least 4inches thick before you press it down. Make the sheeting as small, say 12" x 12" or maybe 3ft x5ft for a small rug. You will need another section of sheeting to go on top. Then baste the top and bottom of sheeting and the fleece sandwich together with long basting stitches, along the edges and every 3 or 4 inches in a grid. Really long sloppy stitches are fine. If the item can fit in one of those big mesh laundry bags without a lot of scrunging, your washer will thank you. Now put the whole mess in your washer, balancing the load with towel or old jeans as needed. Set the toploading washer on *hot* water, high water level and long agitation cycle. Let 'er rip. Come back before the agitation is ended and reset it to the beginning of the agitation again. Come back again before the agitation is ended and check your batt. Is it felted yet ? If so let the cycle continue. After the washer stops, take the batt out and see if the wool is felted enough that you have trouble sticking your finger through the batt.

Dry either on towels, then a screen or press out as much water as possible, then run the sandwich, less the laundry bag in the dryer for half an hour on high heat for a really firm felt.

Oh yeah, reset the washer and water heater to normal now.

Have fun,

Sara

-- Sara (urthmomma@aol.com), March 27, 2001.

Thanks Sara for the informative post, I once visited a factory where wool was being processed and the stink is still firmly imprinted in my memory. Do you have any secrets on cleaning the washing machine after washing raw wool?

By the way "manurey tags of wool" are in this part of the world known as "dags" also "dangleberries". Common expressions include 'Bit of a dag' meaning a slightly funny or 'hard case' person. "Rattle your dags", meaning to to hurry yourself.

I have just spent an hour or so trying to find the technical american word for such things in a book by Bill Bryson, but no luck. However I did come up with "winnet" (in another source), does anyone know of this word?

-- john hill (john@cnd.co.nz), March 28, 2001.

John, I think your "dags" is the same as our "tags", at least that's the only term I've ever heard used for them.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), March 28, 2001.

Shannon,

If you have kids that are driving you nuts, take Sara's idea of making a large piece of felt and have the kids help. Instead of putting it in the washer, soak it down with soapy water and let the kids run all over the top sheet. Then roll it up like a log and have them jump up and down on it. Take as much time as you want. Unroll it and roll it in the opposite direction and jump some more. This way takes longer than the washing machine, but it's a great way to use up the extra childish energy. Invite friends over to help. It may take a couple of days if you don't want to work at it all at once. Be sure to rinse it out good and then trample it some more. This is a fun project. You can get creative and put colored wool on top and create patterns. Depending on the size you start with you can make a good sized rug or small blanket. Have fun with your wool!!!

Angela 8)

-- Angela Hammer (park_lady@yahoo.com), April 02, 2001.

If you get enough of it, you can pull it over our eyes. There are some political experts out there who could show you how to do it in fine style...

-- sheepish (WA) (the _original_sheepish@hotmail.com), April 02, 2001.

The processing costs seem expensive, but take heart! There are ways to make it more affordable! I have my wool processed at Zeilinger's and at Frankenmuth Woolen Mill, depending who has the best sale. Get on their mailing lists; they will notify you of the sales. Right now (until 11-15-2001), Frankenmuth will process clean wool into roving for $2.95/#; of course, you pay shipping both ways. Here are 3 steps to save on processing costs: 1. For clean wool, the shipping and the processing is less, so washing the wool is your first step. It can't be sticky or tacky; that messes up the machinery. 2. Instead of shipping in boxes (their weight adds to the shipping cost), I put the clean wool in a garbage bag, then into one or two of the kraft paper leaf bags, and tape it down nice and tight. I find that the more I ship, the less it is per pound, and UPS is cheaper around here for >10#. 3. Prepay; you will often get a discount. The processer will tell you the details. I surely hope these hints help someone to save on wool processing costs!

-- Linda Kingsley (lkingsle@rochester.rr.com), October 23, 2001.