Working with a Remarkable Substance

"Wool is a remarkable substance!" So says the excellent book, Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep by Paula Simmons and Carol Ekarius, and I agree!

Last month, I helped out at a farm where I watched a master shearer at work. Corralling the sheep, catching the sheep, holding them just right so they are immobile, and cutting SO MUCH wool. Hard work indeed! As trade for my assistance, I took home some fleece.

Sheep prior to shearing; one has a hay crown

According to recent Consumer Reports article, wool dryer balls are "impressively effective." I have used wool dryer balls for a long time, and I can attest to their abilities to reduce static, reduce drying time, and reduce wrinkles. Plus, they last many years even with heavy use. I thought I would try my hand at making dryer balls. And now my hands are really tired.

Fleece hides little burrs and seeds and pieces of straw and dirt. All this should be picked out as best as possible. I then sorted some fleece into colors. And picked more vegetation out. Then I put batches through the extensive washing process.

I mixed hot water and detergent into a plastic tub and lowered in enough fleece to fill the tub, pressing down gently. I removed the fleece and did a second detergent soak. I followed up with two rinsing hot water soaks.

First cleaning soak of the raw wool

I dried the cleaned wool on sweater drying racks. Even after washing, the wool keeps hold of little bits of vegetation and is clumpy, kinky, and matted. People long ago developed a method to brush the non-wool bits out and align the fibers and create a fluffy, dreamy, and remarkable substance. The brushes are called carders and the result is called roving.

Cleaned wool drying on sweater racks

I had never used a carder, so I needed to learn how to hand-card wool. I ordered some great carders on Etsy, and then reviewed several books and websites. Mainly, I watched this video about a hundred times. I love Amanda Hannaford's soothing voice and I think her method is perfect for a beginner.

Spending many hours carding I was able to listen to some fascinating episodes of the podcasts 99% Invisible, Radiolab, and A Way with Words, so time well spent!

Using the roving from the hand carder, I twisted 2 ounces of wool into a ball, put it in a sock, and washed and dried it.

Voila, a hand-crafted wool dryer ball!

Completed wool dryer balls in a bed of roving

Check out the video Stephanie Campbell recorded of me explaining the process at the Discover Driftless Market!

Video of me explaining the wool dryer ball process