Since I began home processing my own wool from pet sheep in the neighborhood, I have found it very difficult, nay impossible, to remove all of the vegetable matter before spinning.
I did some research on this; there is a process called carbonizing that dissolves vegetable matter using sulfuric acid. It is used by the wool industry. It is a rather involved process and I’d rather not do it. In fact, I couldn’t find any directions for how to do it at home, which is probably for the best.
The only other way to get rid of all of the vegetable matter is to both comb and card. This is how you make Top – wherein all of the fibers are perfectly lined up. It’s used for making worsted yarn.
In my husband’s role-playing game – set in a medieval Britain-type world, the description of worsted wool is “worsted is the bested.” This justfies a higher Cost of Living for a character wearing it, and earns them more respect from non-player characters, but is not necessarily true in real life. Because it turns out that worsted is the best for strength, while woolen – which allows the fibers to be a bit wonky – is better for insulation because it adds more air spaces. So “worsted is the bested” is only true if you’re not cold.
But I digress. The point is that if I sell any wool that is not Top, it is perfectly normal for there to be some vegetable matter in it.
So I guess I should not be horribly dismayed that my wool is is not without imperfection.
Top takes more labor obviously, so is going to be more expensive. I will gladly do custom orders of it, or I will make woolen roving or rolags to order if you contact me.
The wool in the picture above has been combed only, and I would like any input about whether you think it is clean enough or if there is something else I can do to make it better. Constructive advice is always welcome!