Well prepared fleece is the foundation of great spinning. Learn how to wash wool in preparation for carding, combing, dyeing and spinning. We talk a lot about carding and combing and rolags and top, but the first step in any of those prep processes is cleaning that fleece. And an important step it is, too: leave any grease or dirt (or soap!) in the wool and you will regret it with every stroke of the card or comb.

This collection of gems from Spin-Off’s archives is full of ways to clean wool, from low-tech and easy to painstaking and labor-intensive. What all the articles have in common (besides a certain patina—these are oldies-but-goodies and don’t have the same design as our current issues) is a focus on getting each prized fleece from stinky to spectacular.

Before you head to a wool show or click the “buy” button on your next fleece, read the words of wisdom from Spin-off's panel of experts. You may find them not in perfect agreement on some points... so you will have to try out their methods and see for yourself. (Please note that this may call for more than one fleece. We know that’s a terrible prescription.)

Highlights of this booklet include:

Plain talk on Scouring Fleece by Cathi Till

Another Look at Wool Scouring: Ingredients, Problems, Techniques by Lee Raven

Washing Your Wool and Getting it Clean Enough for a Commercial Processor by Connie Delaney

Washing Wool for Combing by Paula Shull

What's in the Wash? by Pat Slaven

Preparing Raw Wool in 30 Minutes by Harley Bruce Stevens.

All of Halcyon Yarn's ebooks, are printed in full color on acid-free coated stock, saddle-stitched and ready for immediate browsing and convenient posting next to your wheel.