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Raw wool was unusable—greasy, dirty, matted, smelling distinctly of sheep. Converting it to spinnable fiber required multiple labor-intensive steps.
The Skirting:
Immediately after shearing, the fleece was skirted—the dirtiest parts (around the sheep’s rear, under the belly) were removed and discarded or used for crude purposes (stuffing, coarse cordage).
The Washing:
The fleece was washed in hot water—not boiling (which would felt the wool irreparably) but warm enough to melt the lanolin and release embedded dirt. Multiple washings might be required for very dirty fleeces.
The washing water became valuable—rich in lanolin, it could be used for leather conditioning, soap-making, or medicinal preparations. Nothing was wasted.
The Drying:
Washed fleece was dried carefully—laid out on racks or hung over branches, turned regularly to ensure even drying, protected from rain and dew. Damp wool was prone to rot, so thorough drying was essential.
The Carding:
Once dry, the wool was carded—combed with paddle-shaped tools covered in wire teeth or teasel heads. The carding aligned the fibers, removed remaining vegetable matter, and created fluffy rolags (loose bundles) ready for spinning.
Carding was time-consuming but necessary—uncarded wool was impossible to spin smoothly, produced lumpy, weak thread.
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