The Corriedale Conundrum

Recently, I bought some fleece from a friend of mine who keeps sheep as pets. Let me repeat that: she keeps them as pets.

This is important to know because she doesn’t care about their wool; she cares about them as if they were her children; to her, the wool is as immaterial to her as the hair on my children’s head is to me (when compared to my children themselves).

Needless to say, the sheep aren’t coated and they don’t live in a field on forage; they are fed very well in a barn in which they choose to spend most of their time (because that’s where the food is!). This means that they spend a lot of time lounging around in their own pee and poop. Such is the nature of sheep…

So, when I began skirting today, I was mostly pleased with the Jacobs fleece except for the fact that equine pine was used as bedding and there were teeny- tiny bits of it throughout the fleece. No fun! For the most part, though, the Jacobs fleece was fairly clean.

Naturally, I expected the same from the Corriedale.

As I unrolled the Corriedale, I soon realized that this fleece was another horse- of- a- different- color; it was nasty!

Be advised that the pictures do not- and could not- effectively communicate the horror that I felt as I  unrolled the fleece...

It seemed as if this sheep pooped from every part of itself; there were dung tags everywhere! Not only that, the tips of the fleece were stuck together- not felted or matted exactly- just stuck together. There was tons of large and small VM- as well as tiny pits of equine pine.

I tried combing it out- which helped a bit- but the poopy and sticky tips would not budge. Also, combing did nothing to rid the locks of the dreaded equine pine. There was absolutely no way I could scour this fleece as- is.

As I stood there looking over the fleece, a terrible thought entered my mind: could it be that the fleece was beyond help? There isn’t a handspinner in the world that enjoys giving up on a fleece but it seemed pretty hopeless.

What could I do? If combing didn’t work, flicking might- but my flicker is packed away somewhere; perhaps it is still in Ohio? Picking might just tear the stuck bits- along with the tips of the wool. Carding would open up the lock structure too much and it would be a pain in the butt to hand card it all- while using the drum carder would also tear the wool apart (or break the tines on the drums).

Now that I was thinking clearly, I began to think logically about the skirting/ processing process. I started to define my goals and set priorities. Obviously, I eventually want- and need- a clean fleece but first I must (somehow) remove the dung, VM, and get the locks to loosen up a bit.

Earlier that day- just for fun (which is how most good things end up happening)- I put a few locks from the fleece in a bucket containing rain water. By the time I was on the right track as far as doing something with the fleece, I was able to observe that the locks had separated and the locks were much cleaner. This led me to wonder if, perhaps, I could simply soak the fleece to get the locks to loosen up a bit while, at the same time, being able to make some progress with regards to the dung- crusted bits.

As a result, I decided on the suint method and, from there, decided to experiment a bit. I have read Wool Ewe’s  blog post on the suint method and have felt intrigued by the fermentation process of de- greasing wool ever since. I like fermentation; I like kefir and natural yeast starter… But I digress… So, I decided to begin a suint vat, as Corriedale- being a high suint, high lanolin wool- will be perfect to start a vat.

In truth, there isn’t much out there on the suint method and so I am flying blind. I am not sure whether or not the dung will be loosened or used as fodder for whatever microbes are responsible for the suint method. I am not sure whether or not the locks will loosen up, either. I feel as if it’s worth a try, though.

Being that I really don't know much about the suint fermentation method, I would be hard- pressed to explain it is a succinct way; however, I will try, while- at the same time referring readers to Wool Ewe's explanation; she really does a great job! Or, if you are into the science behind the method, check out Blue Barn Fiber's post.

Basically, the Suint method uses suint (sheep sweat) to clean the fleece. Somehow, a microbial brew is created that is used to de- grease the fleece by way of fermentation. While some people claim that we really can't say that there is fermentation going on in our suint vats, I'd have to disagree since bubbles (ie. evidence of breathing and excretion) occur. Surely the fleece itself is not de- gassing?

When starting a suint vat, one must use a high- suint, high- lanolin fleece. It can take 1-2 weeks for the fermentation to occur and so the fleece should be checked every so often and evidence of microbial life should be noted. After the initial fermentation is successful, other low- lanolin, low- suint fleeces should be treated. I use the word "treated" because the suint method is not the same as scouring; it isn't really cleaning per se and so some fleeces will still need scoured after being treated in the suint vat. Subsequent treatments should not take as long; and, in some cases, de- greasing might only take a few days. The rate at which the fermentation, and thus de- greasing occurs is dependent on temperature; too high and the microbial agents will be killed; too low and they may not be able to multiply fast enough to get the job done. Room temperature- or as close as one can get- is suggested.

What is really great about a suint vat, though, is that it is reusable. Also, because there is no agitation or change in temperature, felting should not occur. What is not great, apparently, is the smell...

I used rain water in a large, plastic bin. I put the fleece in a mesh laundry bag and squished it into the water. It still floated, though, so I will have to either move it around every once in while or weigh it down with rocks in order to ensure that the entire fleece is saturated. I covered the vat with a large tray from a rabbit cage (because, you know, it was just laying around...).

I picked and shook out as much of the large VM as I could but left the tiny bits.

The purpose of my suint vat is to (1) start a re- usable vat for future use; and (2) to loosen the locks a bit- thus better enabling me to pick pick out the VM.

Above: My Suint Vat

Again, I do not expect the fleece to come out as white as a newly fallen snow; my goal is not to wash the fleece but, instead, to make it possible to get the bits of VM out without having to harm the fleece or ruin the lock structure. I feel like I must state that I do not expect miracles. Moreover, a high- lanolin, high- suint fleece like Corriedale would likely need scoured post suint vat, anyhow. The goal is to loosen the locks up enough so that I can scour and process the fleece.

Immediately, after I immersed the fleece in the water, the water turned brown. Yuck!

Of course, I couldn’t stop there. From the suint method and the soaking experience I had earlier, I decided to experiment a little.

While researching the suint method, I came across an Ask the Bellwether post in which Amelia describes a 3- day water/ soap soak followed by three rinses- as taught to her by Judith MacKenzie. Ask the Bellwether describes the method as “gentle”- which is just what I am looking for.  

Bucket A will be soaked in a rainwater/ Dawn dish soap solution for three days- after which it will be put through three rinses and dryed. Again, the purpose of this bath is not to clean the wool as much as it is to loosen the locks- better enabling me to clean the VM bits out of the fleece.

Above: Bucket A; 3 day water/ Dawn dish soap soak

Bucket B will be soaked overnight in plain rainwater and then dried. I don’t want to scour the fleece after the soak because the VM trapped in the fibers can lead to felting while washing.

Above: Bucket B; overnight soak in rainwater

To be continued….