How to Make Cushions From Raw Wool
- 1). Lay out the fleece on a flat surface, such as a table or work bench, and pick out as much loose matter from it as possible.
- 2). Immerse the wool in warm water with a generous amount of mild detergent. Gently agitate the wool with your hands by pressing it down and bringing it up in the water. Try not to press or wring the wool, as this will cause it to mat together.
- 3). When the water is too dirty to clean the wool, gently move the wool to the other tub. Add clean water only and no detergent and continue the process. When the water in the second tub becomes dirty, empty the first tub and refill it with clear water again. Repeat this process until the water flows clear.
- 4). Spread the wool on a surface that will allow air to circulate through it. Consider using a sweater drying rack that is used to dry wool sweaters. A fine-meshed fish net stretched flat can also be used.
- 1). Place a hand-sized bunch of wool on top of a carder or dog brush. Use the second carder or dog brush to comb through the wool on the first brush. Continue this process until the wool is brushed smooth. Be careful to brush the wool along the grain of its fibers.
- 2). Comb the wool with the carders or brushes until the fibers are long, soft and free of foreign matter. A completed batch of fibers is called a "rulag."
- 3). Place the rulags in a basket or box until you have two or three dozen of them. If you have more than this amount, you will have to re-card them before spinning.
- 1). Start spinning with your spindle which is used to twist and wind the wool. Tie a piece of yarn on the drop spindle above the whorl, a round platform on the bottom of the spindle. Bring the yarn over the edge of the whorl, around the short end of the spindle, and then back up to hook around the top. Some spindles have a little hook to help with this part.
- 2). Fray the end of the yarn and match it with a fluffy bit of one end of a rulag. Use your fingers to twist them together, remembering to keep the twist going in one direction. Wool has little hooks in it, which helps it to grab onto itself. As you twist, these little barbs help the wool to make a yarn strand.
- 3). Use your other hand to encourage the spindle to turn like a top. As it turns it will tighten the twist in the fibers, and the weight of the whorl will pull them out into a strand of yarn. Keep feeding the fibers to the yarn, keeping the spindle spinning as you go. This takes some practice and may take a while before you can produce a consistent strand.
- 1). Start with a soda straw loom for weaving. Select about 5 to 7 straws or any durable small tube. Cut one piece of yarn one-third longer than you want the finished cloth to be for each tube. Either tie a large knot or a button on the end of each yarn. These will be your warp threads to hold the weft or the threads that you will weave over the warp.
- 2). Place the tubes side by side. Carefully pick them up, letting the long pieces trail out. Beginning at the base, wind the yarn over and under the sticks. When you reach the last stick, bring the yarn back around the last stick and weave it back through to the other side. Repeat until the straws are full, then gently press the yarn down, sliding it off onto the yarn warp threads.
- 3). When the warp threads are full, tie off each end of the fabric that you have created. Set it aside and make several more until you have enough to equal the width of your planned pillow.
- 1). Thread a coarse, blunt yarn needle with a piece of yarn. Stitch the edges of the strips of woven cloth together until you have a piece of fabric the width desired. Repeat and make a second piece the same size as the first.
- 2). Stitch the edges of the two pieces of cloth together, creating something that resembles a pillow case or flat pouch. Tie off the excess warp threads across the bottom, to create a fringe.
- 3). Lightly stuff the pillow casing with the carded wool. Sew it shut and tie off the warp threads at the top, creating a second fringe.