“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
HOW TO SCOUR RAW FIBRE
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. . . it removes the natural
grease in the fibre, the suint or body excretions, dirt and
dust… and prepares the fibre for further processing.
Rule of Thumb: LOWER temperatures, 40°-50°C
(104-122°F),
for finer fibres (Cashmere, Alpaca, Bison ,etc.)
HIGHER temperatures, 50°-55°C (122-131°F),
for fibres with more oil/wax or soils (Merino Wool,
etc.)
How to Scour Fibre:
1.
Add approx. 1/2 oz. of Unicorn Fibre
Wash
to 2 gallons of water (hot, yet comfortable to the hand.)
2.
Swish water to incorporate Fibre Wash into the water.
3.
Loosely fill a garment bag with fibre.
4.
Fully submerse garment bag into the washing bath
(until no air bubbles surface.)
5.
Let soak for 10 minutes.
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.
8.
Repeat steps 1-7 three to four more times.
How to Rinse Fibre:
1.
Add 1 oz. of Unicorn Fibre Rinse to
2 gallons of lukewarm water.
2.
Swish 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.
7.
Repeat steps above one more time.
How to Dry Fibre:
1.
To extract as much excess water as possible, you may put garment bag into washing
machine along with a few items (like 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.
5.
Pick out any vegetable matter that remains in the fibre.
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
