wool-combing-msg – 4/15/10

Wool carding and combing. History.

NOTE: See also the files: wool-clean-msg, wool-hist-msg, textiles-msg, weaving-msg, spinning-msg, knitting-msg, felting-msg, sheep-lambs-msg, The-Sheep-art.

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    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 11:11:52 -0600 (CST)
From: "Pixel, Queen of Cats" <pixel at hundred-acre-wood.com>
To: Cross Meridian <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Re: fleece washing question

Well, in the documentation I have, it says that carding combs didn't reach
England until the mid- to late-13th c., and before that people used
teasels and regular combs. Carding combs and the spinning wheel were in
Europe a bit before that, they just didn't make it to England until
the late 1200s.

If you don't scour your fleece before combing it, it sticks to the tines
of the comb and makes a huge mess, but that's with metal tines. Early
combs may not always have had metal tines, and it's possible that the
lanolin sticks to other materials much less. Someone with more experience
than I is welcome to correct me on the subject.

 I don't use carders, they're not period for me, so I wouldn't be able to
tell you what happens to greasy fleece prepared that way. I'd imagine that
it wouldn't matter if the wool was greasy or not if you were using
teasels.

I've read in a number of places that the lanolin was left in the wool to
provide a measure of weatherproofing--this would imply that it was spun in
the grease. I would think that the wool was at least rinsed in hot water,
to get rid of all the dirt that sheep accumulate during the year--this
would take out some of the lanolin but not all.

Margaret FitzWilliam


Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 20:34:25 -0000
From: "Melanie Wilson" <MelanieWilson at bigfoot.com>
To: <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Re: fleece washing question

>If they didn't have hand-carders did they always use combs? Or did they
>just sometimes tease the fleece before they spun it?

Carding is probably more common once the sheep are sheared, primitive sheep
are often not sheared but plucked.

By the 13rth C I'm pretty sure shearing was in, probably a good while before
that too.

> I'm glad that spinning in the grease is period! That hurdle seems to be out of > the way.

Until recently much English yarn was buyable in grease, I'm pretty sure it
was spun way back in grease too when needed.

Mel


Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 08:11:24 -0500
From: Ron Charlotte <ronch2 at bellsouth.net>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: fleece washing question

>it sticks to the tines
>of the comb and makes a huge mess, but that's with metal tines
>
>Look to skeletal material

According to MacGregor's _Bone, Antler, Ivory & Horn_, there have been no
skeletal material carding combs found.  There are several with skeletal
material handles, and metal (uaually iron) teeth, although all metal one
date back to the Roman era.  One side note is that most such combs had
multiple rows of teeth, but the Scandinavian peoples frequently used single
row combs (different wool type??).

	al Thaalibi -- An Crosaire, Trimaris
      	Ron Charlotte -- Gainesville, FL


Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 09:49:08 -0600 (CST)
From: "Pixel, Queen of Cats" <pixel at hundred-acre-wood.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: wool combs, Icelandic fleece

On Fri, 22 Dec 2000, Ron Charlotte wrote:
> At 08:35 PM 12/21/00 -0000, you wrote:
> >>it sticks to the tines
> >of the comb and makes a huge mess, but that's with metal tines
> >
> >Look to skeletal material
> 
> According to MacGregor's _Bone, Antler, Ivory & Horn_, there have been no
> skeletal material carding combs found.  There are several with skeletal
> material handles, and metal (uaually iron) teeth, although all metal one
> date back to the Roman era.  One side note is that most such combs had
> multiple rows of teeth, but the Scandinavian peoples frequently used single
> row combs (different wool type??).

Icelandic sheep are double-coated, with a long outer coat (tog) and a
short inner coat (thel), which is softer and fluffier than the
outer. Combing separates the long fibers from the short fibers, and the
more rows of tines, the more short fibers are taken out. I, personally,
being English, have double combs. ;-) However, if what you are combing is
Icelandic fleece and you wish to keep the thel with the tog, then you want
single combs, elsewise you'll end up combing out all your thel.

At the moment in my sewing room, I have something like 18 pounds of
Icelandic fleece that needs to be washed and combed. Using the double
combs on it won't be a problem because it's going to be weaving warp, and
having short fluffy fibers in warp yarn is sort of
counter-productive. ;-) If I were planning on using it for knitting,
though, I'd want the single combs.

Margaret FitzWilliam


Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 20:28:50 -0000
From: "Melanie Wilson" <MelanieWilson at bigfoot.com>
To: "LIST Sca Arts" <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Re: fleece washing question

>According to MacGregor's _Bone, Antler, Ivory & Horn_, there have been no
>skeletal material carding combs found

Whilst this is correct Macgregor 1974 suggests some long toothed combs of
cetacean bone found in Orkney, as did Coughtrey 1872

Ryder in Sheep & Man states 'bone combs have survived from prehistoric
times'

And also refers to Clark 1947 with ref to bone combs.

Combs found in Shetland had only 1 set of teeth, and function to straighten
the fibres rather than seperate the long & short fibres, which to lesser or
greater extent are present on all sheep coats as the wooly undercoat has
been bred for (by man) to increase in length over the (now) shorter 'hair'
coat.

I would suggest that wool prepared & used in the grease was mainly done in
the outer regions, firstly because this was where it was needed as such and
secondly because their type of wool is better suited to it. Wheras in
mainstream England, a fine wool was breed for and produced, indeed we were
very famous for it !

It has to be recognised that the main archaeology takes place in threatened
areas, eg the digs in the large cities such as London, York & so on,
whereas, little is threatened in the western isles for instance and
consequentlt less archaeology happens there. Which doesn't prove anything
definately but should always be borne in mind that our finding are unbalanced
and prejudiced.

I think to see what was used for in the grease production you need to look
specifically at the right area for that type of production, methods there
can vary greatly. Just an idea :)

Finally are you using your metal combs hot ?

Mel


Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 22:32:51 +0100
From: Anna Troy <owly at hem.utfors.se>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: wool combs, Icelandic fleece

Tip, when carding or coming greasy wool keep it warm. and it will be much 
easier to work with. Carding wool was a typical task for those long winter 
nights in front of the fire here in Sweden. I suppose it should work if you 
spread the wool out on newspaper and then put the blow drier on the highest 
setting and blow the wool a little now and then. I haven't tried it though. 
Oh, there are two types of cards at least here. There are a pair of bigger 
ones with stiffer, shorter bristles that are called "Skrubbor"  Scrubbers 
if you translate. One of them is put in a big vice bench and then you can 
rough-card much more wool at once. I used my Black & Decker workbench as 
the vice :-)

Anna de Byxe

>At the moment in my sewing room, I have something like 18 pounds of
>Icelandic fleece that needs to be washed and combed. Using the double
>combs on it won't be a problem because it's going to be weaving warp, and
>having short fluffy fibers in warp yarn is sort of
>counter-productive. ;-) If I were planning on using it for knitting,
>though, I'd want the single combs.
>
>Margaret FitzWilliam

<the end>
Edited by Mark S. Harris	wool-combing-msg	2 of 4