Washing Wool at Home

An online demonstration on how to grade and wash wool in your home for dyeing and spinning.

Learn how to get the most out of your fleece by grading and washing for your specific needs in your home. Focusing on  the properties of wool, grading for quality, and then full scouring for dyeing using a hot water and soap method, Nicola will also cover the process of cold water soaks and suint fermentation for those with outdoor space.

This will be a 2 hour demonstration over Zoom, from 7-9pm PST on Tuesday May 5th. 

Wanna learn how to spin your newly washed fleece once you're done? Beginner Drop Spindle is happening in conjunction with this workshop on May 12th, but either can be taken on their own. 

Materials: At least 200g of raw fleece, soap (dawn dish soap, or orvus paste), a large bucket/sink/tub to wash it in, a scale, a thermometer and a mesh (lingerie) bag. 

Fleece $15

A 1/8th portion of a  Raw Gotland x (Romney) fleece from Susan Russel of Barnston Island can be purchased from Earthand Gleaners once you register for the workshop (link will be sent by email) The weight is near a pound in each bag

Pick up May 3rd 1-4pm from the Earthand Studio in Trillium park. 

Technology requirements: Zoom account, Weshowup account and device to participate in video demonstration and write questions. 

Weshowup is a sliding scale, pay afterwards model. At the end of the workshop participants will receive an email and be prompted to choose an amount of $20, $35, or $50 as course payment. There is also an option to put any amount of your choosing, lower or higher.

The reservation fee will only be charged if you don't attend but otherwise the only payment you will make is the amount you choose at the end.

Instructor

Nicola Hodges teaches with Earthand Gleaners and is a textile enthusiast who's focused her skills on working with wool. She first learnt how to wash fleece by dish soap and garden hose in a strathcona backyard many years ago but has since washed many more fleeces in many more ways, most recently culminating in working at Longway Homestead Mill in Manitoba, washing and grading in a production environment. She brings this knowledge and her experience as a spinner and dyer with her into this workshop.

Virtual Event

Online, Vancouver, British Columbia, CA