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Free Merino Wool

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This is not something I am selling. A lady approached me last night at market and asked if I doing any spinning. Apparently they manufacture mattresses, I think that is what she said, and just throw away the leftover, which she said can be a large amount. It sounds like it comes in sheets and can be used for spinning, felting etc. According to her it is 100% Merino wool.

Anyone interested can pm and I will give her you email address. It is free, but I will have to pick it up unless you live in the area and can arrange something with her for pickup. It would only be the cost for shipping.

I cannot work with wool since my eczema decided to attack my hands after approx 15 yrs of freedom from eczema on my hands. She will not ship it herself. I assume it is in batting form.
 
Did she mention what mattress company she's from? Is she the owner and authorized to do this? I've wanted a wool pillow for a long time but the price is......discouraging. Should you end up going to pick some up, I'd be interested.
 
I am very interested in this. Did she give you any information about the size of the pieces?
 
I am so interested! Thank you for the offer and I would like to be able to reimburse you for your time/gas since you are so gracious to pick up.
Me too! I love the feel of Merino Wool. Quick question... can it be used to make Felted Wool Dryer Balls? Like this:

https://www.diynatural.com/how-to-make-wool-dryer-balls/


Do I have to find someone to spin it for me before I can use it? Totally ignorant here but I've wanted dryer balls since "forever". LOL
 
If merino wool fiber is not treated to be "superwash" then yes it felts. You can't always tell if a fiber is superwash or not just by looking at it. Sometimes you get lucky and can get that info from the supplier, but sometimes you have to try felting it and see how it behaves.

Normal non-superwash merino definitely can be used to make felted soap or make dryer balls. You don't have to spin, knit or crochet the fiber in order to felt it, although you can do that if you want. I don't do that except for special projects.

Superwash wool does not felt. It is best used as stuffing (mattresses, pillows) or to spin yarn for clothing that you want to machine wash, etc.

Sally Gulbrandsen (sallybea) has a nice tutorial on wet felting soap. She uses a clothes dryer (tumble dryer) to do a lot of the work. https://feltmagnet.com/textiles-sewing/How-to-Wet-Felt-Soap-in-a-Tumble-DryerFree-Tutorial

You can adapt her method of felting on soap to making dryer balls -- the core of a dryer ball is just a wad of random fiber rather than soap.
 
Okay, that's good to know!

The core of a dryer ball can be wool -- that's what I usually use -- but the core doesn't have to be best quality stuff. The core can be made from scraps of felt or less-than-perfect fiber. Some people will even wind a small ball of yarn scraps as the core.
 
Sally Gulbrandsen (sallybea) has a nice tutorial on wet felting soap. She uses a clothes dryer (tumble dryer) to do a lot of the work. https://feltmagnet.com/textiles-sewing/How-to-Wet-Felt-Soap-in-a-Tumble-DryerFree-Tutorial

You can adapt her method of felting on soap to making dryer balls -- the core of a dryer ball is just a wad of random fiber rather than soap.
Thanks.gif
 
all wool will felt given the proper treatment. you need hot water, soap and agfitation. felting happens whent he cuticle (scales) on the outside of the wool fibers open which is caused by the soap and warm water. if then agitated, those open cuticles grab onto one anotehr and they form felt. I would not felt Merino, though as spun it is SO much nicer!
 
There's merino and there's merino -- not all merino is the long staple super premium fiber that spinners and knitters lust after. If it's being used for stuffing mattresses, it's definitely going to vary in quality. Some parts of the batts, maybe large parts, might be decent for spinning, but I'd bet other parts will contain short staple or otherwise less-than-prime fiber for yarn making.
 

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