# How to soften coarse woolen yarn?



## DorisT (Mar 26, 2011)

I was given two skeins of what I'm sure was expensive woolen yarn from a company in Maine. It is much too scratchy for a scarf or hat as it is. Do you think it's feasible to wash it in Woolite before I use it, or wait until the item is knitted or crocheted and then wash it, hoping it will soften?


----------



## courier770 (Jan 29, 2011)

Woolite is merely a detergent and will not offer any "softening". Since wool is hair, you could try hair conditioner, though I'm not sure if it would really help all that much. Worth a try I suppose.

Generally the higher priced wool yarns are not scratchy. It might be a good yarn to use for felting though.


----------



## e.ridenh (Jan 24, 2011)

((((((((( I'd be tempted to work it up first into a non-wearable item then hand wash the item/s as you would your own hair but use Woolite (or an equivalent), run it through another handwash using hair conditioner or even on the first go add hair conditioner.

I would not wash a skein as is = hard to dry and no doubt would get tangled. Thus, K or C something out of it first.

It's good that you have no more than two skeins, eh? (

Good luck & HAND!!!
~~~~~~~


DorisT said:


> I was given two skeins of what I'm sure was expensive woolen yarn from a company in Maine. It is much too scratchy for a scarf or hat as it is. Do you think it's feasible to wash it in Woolite before I use it, or wait until the item is knitted or crocheted and then wash it, hoping it will soften?


----------



## Naughty Knitter (Apr 1, 2011)

I was told that soaking a garment in fabric softener (like Downy) softens rough wool. I have not tried it yet but since I knit for charity and was given some very rough baby yarn recently, I was planning on making a large swatch to see if it worked. If it softened the swatch, I was planning on rewashing it without the softener and see if the softening held. Due to my schedule, I will not be doing this before the end of June.
If you do the testing before then, will you let us know? 
Good Luck!


----------



## courier770 (Jan 29, 2011)

I never use Woolite. After speaking to the owner of the largest wool yarn mill in the US, I use "wool shampoo". In a pinch, people shampoo will do.


----------



## memere (Jan 20, 2011)

something i never new


----------



## DorisT (Mar 26, 2011)

courier770 said:


> Woolite is merely a detergent and will not offer any "softening". Since wool is hair, you could try hair conditioner, though I'm not sure if it would really help all that much. Worth a try I suppose.
> 
> Generally the higher priced wool yarns are not scratchy. It might be a good yarn to use for felting though.


I googled for the price of the yarn and found out it is $6.50 per 4 oz. so I wouldn't exactly call it "cheap" yarn. The website also stated that is "not" suitable for felting.

Since it is in hanks, think I'll soak one of them in conditioner, rinse it well, roll it in a towel to get out the excess water, then let it air dry. If it will shrink, I'd rathr it shrinks before I knit something out of it. I love the colors - one hank is blueberry, and the other is evening primrose, a soft yellow.


----------



## courier770 (Jan 29, 2011)

You are right that isn't a super cheap yarn so the scratch factor is a little confusing.Though I have paid both more and less and not had that issue. I'm curious as to why it is described as not suitable for felting.

It you wash it by hand in cool water without "agitation" shrinkage should not be an issue. The colors sound lovely though.


----------



## Gramma2many (Apr 4, 2011)

I have a yarn, several hanks, that is rather coarse. I knit hats from it. The people who wear them report that it softens with wear. I have also rinsed it with hair conditioner with success.
I am also a charity knitter, hoping to help build a church in Tanzania.


----------



## DorisT (Mar 26, 2011)

courier770 said:


> You are right that isn't a super cheap yarn so the scratch factor is a little confusing.Though I have paid both more and less and not had that issue. I'm curious as to why it is described as not suitable for felting.
> 
> It you wash it by hand in cool water without "agitation" shrinkage should not be an issue. The colors sound lovely though.


Giving y'all a blow by blow description! I washed the blueberry hank, first with shampoo, it didn't feel very soft, so I used Pantene shampoo w/conditioner, rinsed it well until there were no more suds, then rolled it in two towels that were each folded so there were 4 layers of toweling. I have it drying on a dry towel on the sun porch. Wonder of wonders, it already feels softer! I'll move it this evening when the sun goes down. Right now the porch is shady so I don't have to worry about fading.

This yarn is from the Christopher sheep farm in Maine. I think the reason it may not feel soft is because it's not processed with chemicals, etc., like so many of the finer yarns.

Anyway, I've been wondering what to with it and I think I'll make a hat and scarf for my 6-year-old greatgrandson who has beautiful blue eyes; the blueberry should look good on him.


----------



## courier770 (Jan 29, 2011)

Glad to hear it's working out. There's a woman here locally that raises sheep and spins yarn, then sells it at our local farmers market (no chemicals)...her yarn is pretty soft. Perhaps the breed of sheep may have an influence.


----------



## evesch (Apr 3, 2011)

I know of two reasons that a wool is considered not suitable for felting. One is the breed of sheep that it comes from and the other is that it has been treated to be washable which removes the feltability of the wool in the processing of it. 
I would question the source of the wool. Most of the breeds of sheep that produce non felting wool are courser wools, suffolk, dorset, cheviot. These are very good for outer garments and socks. 
Unless the wool was processed by hand at home by the people there were chemicals involved. Also most yarns commercially produced have a coating on the wool to make things move through the machinery without jamming things up. Some yarns are coated with things to make them easier to use, such as yarns for knitting machines and will change in texture with a wash. 
I raise sheep, wash, comb and spin my own yarns. $6.50 for a skein is cheap for what I do. A skein of yarn from sheep to finished yarn can take a good 8 hours to produce. I will not take that tiny of an amount for my 8 hours of work. I never make what it is worth but definitely do not sell it for that little. So High End expensive is also debatable.


----------



## DorisT (Mar 26, 2011)

evesch said:


> I know of two reasons that a wool is considered not suitable for felting. One is the breed of sheep that it comes from and the other is that it has been treated to be washable which removes the feltability of the wool in the processing of it.
> I would question the source of the wool. Most of the breeds of sheep that produce non felting wool are courser wools, suffolk, dorset, cheviot. These are very good for outer garments and socks.
> Unless the wool was processed by hand at home by the people there were chemicals involved. Also most yarns commercially produced have a coating on the wool to make things move through the machinery without jamming things up. Some yarns are coated with things to make them easier to use, such as yarns for knitting machines and will change in texture with a wash.
> I raise sheep, wash, comb and spin my own yarns. $6.50 for a skein is cheap for what I do. A skein of yarn from sheep to finished yarn can take a good 8 hours to produce. I will not take that tiny of an amount for my 8 hours of work. I never make what it is worth but definitely do not sell it for that little. So High End expensive is also debatable.


Wow! Thanks for your reply. I'm getting quite an education on woolen yarn. But now that brings up another question. How can Christopher Sheep Farm produce their yarn for only $6.50 per skein?


----------



## N.Y.kntwit (Mar 31, 2011)

I was told by a lady who spins to rinse the hank in a combination shampoo/conditioner such as Pert. I have tried it after knitting a hat and it really works.


----------



## StitchDesigner (Jan 24, 2011)

There is another reason for scratchy wool: Fiber length. Short fiber yarn has more ends. It's those ends that scratch and make you itchy. I have purchased expensive Japanese wool and found it quite scratchy. I have purchased wool from KnitPicks (inexpensive) and found it very soft (plain wool). There's no rhyme or reason to it. Conditioner does help.

The LYS I worked at has a standing rule: Never wash wool in Woolite. It can cause shrinking, color bleeding, and it leaves a residue in the wool.


----------



## welderhead (Mar 11, 2011)

Chances are it was treated with chemical to prevent shrinking. That's how you get scratchie wool. Most wool is soft enough to wear, but if it is treated to keep it from shrinking in the wash, hence scracthie. P.S. I'm a bad speller, please forgive.
This info is from the largest mill in northern Wisconsin. We just took all of our Alpaca fiber to her to have made into yarn. All 45 lbs. of it. You want SOFT, I'll let you know when it comes back. Welderhead. Will post pictures.


----------



## BarbaraSC (Mar 2, 2011)

When I took a weaving class, the instructor told us to never use Woolite b/c it strips the oils. Wool is hair, so should be treated as hair. She said to use a mild shampoo - even baby shampoo works well.


----------



## Knitting Cruiser (Mar 19, 2011)

courier770 said:


> I never use Woolite. After speaking to the owner of the largest wool yarn mill in the US, I use "wool shampoo". In a pinch, people shampoo will do.


I found out about not using Woolite several years. They do a ton of advertising and really hype their product but its a very poor product to use. Apparently it is very harsh. I use other products for wood also.


----------



## peskycat (Mar 10, 2011)

Check out Eucalan on the web. This might be what you're looking for to soften yarn.


----------



## Kateannie (Mar 21, 2011)

I also received a number of hanks of a very coarse yarn and didn't know what to do with it. It not only was scratchy, but it had an odor. I rolled some of it into a ball and found that it worked rather well for knit purses. Because of the lack of a soft fiber, it knitted up nice and tight and the cables showed up beautifully. I do have some more of the same yarn still in hanks and am going to give the hair conditioner a try. I can only make so many purses of this yarn and I do have a lot of it.


----------



## DorisT (Mar 26, 2011)

N.Y.kntwit said:


> I was told by a lady who spins to rinse the hank in a combination shampoo/conditioner such as Pert. I have tried it after knitting a hat and it really works.


Yes, that's what I used and it really worked. Although my brand was Pantene!


----------



## sockyarn (Jan 26, 2011)

The quality of the wool has to do with the breed of the sheep, and the age as well as where on the sheep the wool comes from. Lambs wool will be the softest to have next to your skin. I was given some wool that I spun up and it is like brillo pad. Still trying to think how I will use it. I'm thinking maybe as part of a felted purse. I do not know how much hand spun you have used or purchased but $6.95 is cheep. I have a friend that makes skeins that run about 105 yrds. and she charges between $30 and $45 for them. She sells them faster then she can spin them up. Yikes!


DorisT said:


> courier770 said:
> 
> 
> > You are right that isn't a super cheap yarn so the scratch factor is a little confusing.Though I have paid both more and less and not had that issue. I'm curious as to why it is described as not suitable for felting.
> ...


----------



## Purplemuse (Feb 13, 2011)

When I have come upon scratchy yarn I use it for hats and ear bands and line the inside with fleece. You could do the same with a scarf or mittens.

(I also was told that wool is essentially hair and to sparingly use a good shampoo and conditioner (and to use a good ethnic conditioner to soften course wool). )

Instructions:

*hat/ headband:* http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2008/06/fully-lining-hats-with-polar-fleece.html

*Mittens -Side Thumb:* http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2009/10/lining-mittens-part-1-thumb-at-side.html

*Mittens - Off-set thumb:* http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2009/10/lining-mittens-part-2-thumb-on-front.html


----------



## TracyH (Feb 10, 2011)

I was given about 16 hanks (8 brown and 8 cream)of wool that are very scratchy. They are from Norway and the information is all written in Norwegian. Does anyone know something about yarn from there? THanks for all of the info on washing the yarn to soften it up.


----------



## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

StitchDesigner said:


> The LYS I worked at has a standing rule: Never wash wool in Woolite. It can cause shrinking, color bleeding, and it leaves a residue in the wool.


Really? After seeing it advertised for decades, I was pretty sure it would be good for my woollen sweaters. They're bought, not hand-knit by me. (I prefer to knit things where gauge and *fit * are not a question. Blankets, shawls, washcloths, and pot-holders are _truly_ one-size-fits-all.) I guess I'll just use the rest of the jug for ordinary laundry.


----------



## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

DorisT said:


> I was given two skeins of what I'm sure was expensive woolen yarn from a company in Maine. It is much too scratchy for a scarf or hat as it is. Do you think it's feasible to wash it in Woolite before I use it, or wait until the item is knitted or crocheted and then wash it, hoping it will soften?


I had a slew of unlabled balls of wool. In an effort to sort out the super-wash from untreated wools, I knit them all up into plain squares/rectangles and tossed the lot into the washer. The square made from the coarsest, ugliest-to-handle yarn did felt somewhat, *and* it positively *bloomed*! It didn't felt as much as the others, so maybe that's what the maker of yours means. It did felt some, and it became unbelieveably SOFT! As yarn in the hand, it shed short little bits copiously. It wasn't barnyard crud that was shedding; it was very short bits of wool. I knit up the rest of that sickly looking yarn, and it is now serving as a hot-pad - and a permanent reminder not to judge a yarn by its pre-washed appearance.


----------



## Gweniepooh (Jan 29, 2011)

This is why I love this forum...you learn so much and about things you might never have thought of. Thanks to everyones input!


----------



## pjstitches (Jan 26, 2011)

Wool is hair; therefore, wash gently (baby shampoo), rinse well, and add a good conditioner that you would use for your own hair. 
I was given several skeins of what I knew to be a good quality yarn, butI itch at the thought of weaing wool. I have used conditioner on the mittens that I made and get by with wearing them. I am a personal fan of Humectres conditioner as I have fairly long, very fine, dry hair.
Handle the skeins/hanks as if you were going to dye them; loosely tie in 4 to 6 places with cotton string/yarn.
Good luck! pj


----------



## ChocPieMom (Feb 8, 2011)

Some needlepoint wool was donated so I knit it up in striped homeless hats. To say they were scrathy was an understatment. So I made a solution of water and a little conditioner, swished the hats in the solution, rinsed many times, pressed the water out between towels, laid them out to dry for 3 days and they're very soft now.


----------



## TracyH (Feb 10, 2011)

Thank you so much for the info. I am going to try the conditioner to soften the wool up. Thanks again to everyone who posts on here. I have learned so much.


----------



## MimiM (Mar 17, 2012)

Just found this forum. I have had experience with this yarn and will share.

I purchased a large amount, enough for 4 sweaters, many years ago. This yarn is coarse, and scratchy...if you are wearing against the skin it would be uncomfortable, however, the sweaters I knit for myself and my husband are worn daily in our cold NH weather and keep us very warm*! I have knit and felted two hats with this yarn and they came out great! The yarn does have a "moth ball" odor....which I assumed is there to protect from pests, it does fade away and of course they hand wash just fine. If you are looking for a nice, heavy, warm wool for an outer garment, this is the yarn for you!
*In fact this past fall we had a surprise snowstorm and lost power for 4 days. We stayed in our home, with no heat source, and by the 4th day the in-door temp had reached 50 degrees. Our Homemade wool sweaters and socks made it MUCH more tolerable! 

Posting a picture of me wearing the felted hat made from same yarn as the sweater I am wearing in the photo.

Hope this helps 

Ps. never used hair conditioner on my yarn....but will definitely try the next time I wash the sweaters!


----------



## Gweniepooh (Jan 29, 2011)

I absolutely love your hat! Is it a pattern you can share or give us the source for it?


----------



## MimiM (Mar 17, 2012)

Thank you! It was my first attempt at felting anything! It was SO easy, took only about 2 hours to knit. Felted with assistance from a friend who has top loader machine and has done a great deal of felting and knitting. Here is the pattern. You can purchase and download from this site....but I purchased the actual pattern (paper copy) from my LYS.
http://www.fibertrends.com/product/296251/AC1e/_/AC1e_Felt_Hat_with_brim_variations___PDF


----------



## Gweniepooh (Jan 29, 2011)

thank you for the quick response. I will make this pattern purchase for sure. You did a lovely job on the sweater too.


----------



## MimiM (Mar 17, 2012)

Thank you That sweater is worn almost daily....and I made it about 12-14 years ago! The yarn is holding up beautifully! (No pilling as I have had with other much more expensive yarns)

Good Luck with your hat! Make sure to post pics when it's done

Ps. I also handmade the buttons with polymer clay to match the yarn color.


----------



## Gweniepooh (Jan 29, 2011)

I have been wanting to try polymer clay; have the clay and a pasta machine to use with it but just haven;t found the time yet. LOL Too many crafts , too little time.


----------



## MimiM (Mar 17, 2012)

Oh Boy! That sounds familiar! Never enough time! Can't imagine ever being bored with life, that's for sure! So many things I want to do!


----------

