“We love our
fleece and the time we can spend with it; even washing it.
It’s
the “experience” we
anticipate, from the first clip of the blade to covering our
bare hands, feet or shoulders with the hand warmers, socks
or elegant shawl we’ve made from fibre we have washed,
carded, spun, and fabricated. It’s the process
we love.” —Connie
Alexander, Fibre Hobbyist, Indiana
Unicorn Fibre Wash and Fibre Rinse Instructions for the fibre hobbyist
“Scouring” is a term used in the commercial fibre industry loosely defined as: washing in hot soapy water several times, followed by thorough rinsing and drying. Scouring removes the natural grease in the fibre, the suint or body excretions, dirt and dust, and prepares the fibre for further processing.
Note: The following scouring suggestions for fibre hobbyists are for less waxy fibre such as Alpaca, Cashmere, Bison, Qiviut and Angora. Please consider trying Unicorn Power Scour for fibre with heavier burdens of grease, wax and suint found in sheep and goat fibres. Refer to the Power Scour and Fibre Rinse sheet for further scouring information.
General guideline Use lower temperatures, 40°-50°C (104-122°F), for fibres such as Cashmere, Alpaca, Bison ,etc. Use higher temperatures, 50°-55°C (122-131°F), for fibres with more oil/wax or oils (sheep, etc.)
Fibre scouring:
1.
Add approx. 1/2 oz. of Unicorn Fibre Wash to 2 gallons of water (hot, yet comfortable to the hand). Swirl water to incorporate Fibre Wash into the water.
2.
Loosely fill a garment bag with fibre.
3.
Fully submerse garment bag into the washing bath (until no air bubbles surface.)
4.
Let soak for 10 minutes.
5.
Very GENTLY lift garment bag from the bath and GENTLY squeeze excess dirty water from garment bag and set aside.
6.
Very GENTLY lift garment bag from the bath and GENTLY squeeze excess dirty water from garment bag and set aside.
7.
Drain dirty water and repeat steps 1-5 three to four more times.
Fibre rinsing*
1.
Add 1 oz. of Unicorn Fibre Rinse to
2 gallons of lukewarm water.
2.
Swirl water to incorporate Fibre Rinse into the water.
3.
Fully submerse garment bag containing fibre into
warm rinse bath.
4.
Let soak for 5 minutes.
5.
Very GENTLY lift garment bag from
the bath and GENTLY squeeze excess
dirty water from garment bag and set aside.
6.
Drain dirty water and repeat steps 1-5 one more time.
*To maximize the bonding of dyes to fibre, rinse as above without adding Unicorn Fibre Rinse. Finish up the dyeing process with a final rinse using Unicorn Fibre Rinse.
Fibre drying
1.
To extract as much excess water as possible, you may put garment bag into washing machine along with a few items (such as clean, old blue jeans or towels) to balance the load.
2.
Set machine on SPIN CYCLE ONLY – to extract excess water
without “felting” the fibre.
3.
Carefully, remove clean fibre from garment bag and
evenly distribute on a drying rack (a
mesh sweater drying rack is a good choice)
4.
Periodically (3 to 4 times a day) rotate fibre from
the bottom to the top to encourage even drying.
The goals of the Unicorn Fibre
Wash & Rinse system
are to optimize the latest chemistry to maximize cleaning
effectiveness at low temperatures while imparting fibre conditioning
for ease of handling and processing. The goal of providing
these benefits with the use of only safe and environmentally
sensitive ingredients was paramount. Laboratory testing
has verified these results. United States Patent pending.
No Phosphates – No Enzymes – No
Fillers
Biodegradable – Non-Yellowing – Earth Friendly
