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From Fleece to Yarn
The yarn, plied from 2 S-spun yarns, is ready for knitting. The yarn construction is based on extant sample of knitting found at Barnyard’s Castle, dock construction second quarter 14th century, New Fresh Wharf, 14th century waterfront revertment dump, and Billingsgate, late 12th century waterfront revertment dump. Crowfoot, Pritchard and Staniland describe these extant pieces in Textiles and Clothing 1150-1450.
“Two groups of knitted fragments were found with the late 14th century deposits at BC72 [Baynard’s House, commonly known as Baynard’s Castle, Queen Victoria Street BC4, 1972] and further fragments were recovered from 14th century waterfront deposits as FRE78[New Fresh Wharf, Lower Thames St. EC3, 1978] and BIG82 [Billingsgate Lorry Park, Lower Thames Street EC3, 1982]. These are among the earliest example of wool knitting found in Northern Europe and are of considerable interest and importance.”
“A number of characteristics are common to all four of these knitted items, namely the type of yarn, which is lightly plied from two S-spun yarns, and the use of the stocking –stitch, and the absence of fulling."(1)
The color of the yarn is a choice of mine, based on an interest in natural dyes.
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Scouring the Yarn
Scouring is the process by which the dirt, lanolin and squint (dried sheep
sweat) is removed. The process of scouring remained the same for centuries.
The wool was immersed in tubs containing 3 parts hot water to 1 part urine.
This was then left overnight, dissolving most of the squint and lanolin. This
produced "clean" but offensive smelling wool.
A Diderot Pictorial Encyclopedia of Trades and Industry
Great care was taken not to stir or agitate the fleece, as
this would cause felting.
When the fleece was removed from the tubs, it could be placed over bushes to
dry, or placed in a lightweight bag and swung around in circles to remove some
of the excess moisture, then spread out to dry.
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Picking or Teasing the Fleece
Picking or teasing the fleece prepares it for carding, combing, or spinning.
It is simply
picking out the tangles in the wool along with any foreign matter left after
washing and drying. While not a complicated process, it is time consuming.
A Diderot Pictorial Encyclopedia of Trades and Industry.
Carding or Combing wool
Carding or Combing wool, arranges the fibers in parallel lines to facilitate
spinning. Combing separates the longer from the shorter fibers: The longer
fibers being “combed” or drawn away from the shorter fibers. Carding
straightens and aligns the fibers. This is accomplished by “brushing” them
between two carding paddles, made with many rows of iron wire teeth.
Spinning the Wool with a Drop Spindle
Spinning wool dates from pre-history. Spinning with a drop spindle was the
primary way to spin wool for centuries in Europe, until the introduction of the
spinning wheel from India in the 15th century. A description of spinning with a
drop spindle attributed to Catullus in the first century B.C. Cathedral,
Forge and Waterwheel: Technology and invention in the Middle Ages “Holding
in her left hand the distaff, a short forked stick around which a mass of the
prepared raw fibers were wound, the spinster took some of the fibers between the
finger and the thumb of her right hand, twisting them together as she drew them
gently downward. When the thread thus produced was long enough, she tucked the
distaff under her arm or in her belt and tied the thread with a slipknot to the
top of the spindle, a top-like rod with a disk shaped weight attached to the
bottom to increase rotation and gave it a turn. The suspended weight pulled the
fibers slowly through the spinster’s fingers, while the rotation twisted them
together in to yarn. The process depended on the practiced skill of the spinster
in controlling the release of the fibers. Drawing out more fibers from the
distaff, she repeated the operation until the spindle reached the floor, when
she picked it up and wound the spun thread into a ball.”(4)
The process never ceased, and the skill was universal, especially for women of the lower classes, who always had a spindle in hand, even while cooking, feeding the livestock, or minding the children (or, to believe one medieval miniature, having sex). Spinning was identified with women that the female side of the family was known as the “distaff side” or the “spindle side.” Primitive thought the technology seems, hand spinning created an excellent product, one not easily matched by machinery even centuries later. (5)
Mordanting the wool
The first step in the dyeing process, is to Mordant the wool. According to the Weaving, Spinning and Dyeing Book, by Rachel Brown, Mordant comes from the Latin word mordere to bite. The mordant seems to bite into the fiber, allowing the dye to penetrate more fully into the wool. She goes on to explain “What actually happens is this: The mordant and the dye, although each separately is soluble in water, combine on the fiber to make a more or les insoluble chemical compound.” (6)
In A History of Dyed Textiles, Stuart Robinson
discusses the history of Mordant dyes. “Pliny, writing of the Egyptians says
‘Garments are painted in Egypt in a wonderful manner, the white clothes being
first coated not with colors, but with drugs which absorb the colors.’” (7) Alum
has been used as a mordant for centuries; it is mentioned in both The
Plitctho de Larte de Tenori first published in 1548 by Giovanni Ventura
Rossetti, and The Innsbruck Manuscript from the 14th Century.
Dyeing the wool, or yarn
Volumes of books have been written on the subject of the history of dyes, and the guilds that developed during the end of the 14th century. Sarah Garland in “The Complete Book of Herbs and Spice” gives a brief history of natural dyes, “Plant dyeing is an ancient traditional skill. It was already an established craft in China by 3000 BC. Egyptians of the same period used mordants, and dyed cloth red and yellow with safflower and blue with indigo or woad… and by the Middle Ages large tracts of agricultural lands in Europe and Britain were given to the cultivation of herbs used in dyes.” (8)
Wool was dyed before spinning (in the wool) or in skeins, after it was woven, fulled, or even after the cloth was sold. Robinson discusses home dyeing, “Wool was often dyed before spinning, and many of these operations were carried out in the home to provide ordinary or common clothes as distinct from the finer, more luxurious ropes spun and woven by artisans.” (9)
1 Crowfoot, Elisabeth, Pritchard, Frances and Staniland, Kay. (2001). Textiles And Clothing 1150-1450. pg.
2 The Complete Spinning Book, Candace Crockett, 1977, pg. 153
3 The Complete Spinning Book, Candace Crockett, 1977, pg. 153
4 Gies, Frances and Joseph. (1994). Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel. pg. 51
5 Gies, Frances and Joseph. (1994). Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel. pg. 51-52
6 Brown, Rachel. (1983) The Weaving, Spinning, and Dyeing Book. pg. 250
7 Robinson, Stuart. (1969) A History of Dyed Textiles. pg.?
8 Garland, Sarah . ( 1979) The Complete Book Of Herbs And Spices. pg. ?
9 Robinson, Stuart. (1969) A History of Dyed Textiles. pg.?
My Process Journal
Scouring the Yarn
With my first sample, I pretty much followed the period method, lacking the one part urine. I relied on the urine content of the very dirty fleece. I filled a bathtub with hot water and soaked the fleece overnight. The smell was incredible. The water was murky and brown. To remove the excess moisture I used my washing machines spin cycle. I was not happy with the smell, the look, or the very greasy feel of the wool after the first scouring so I cleaned the tub and refilled it with hot water to repeat the process. The next day I again machine spun the water from the wool. This time the appearance and feel seemed to be better. I placed it on a rack in a shaded area to dry.
I decided that there was still a very sticky feel to the
wool, and that this might have led to some inconsistencies in the dyeing. I
decided to create a second sample. I used a gentle soap and soaked the wool
again. Once again I spun the water from the wool with the machine. This was also
dried on a rack. There is a definite difference to the feel of the wool that was
scoured with soap. It had a much drier, more brittle consistency.
Picking or Teasing the Fleece
With the first sample, I dyed the wool before I teased it. This resulted in very uneven coloring of the wool. It may have been a combination of the extra grease left in the wool and the matted texture. The tips of the wool, that were matted together were dyed a dark orange, and the colors in the body of the wool ranged from a chartreuse, to a burnt orange. As I began to tease the wool and pull out the knots the colors began to blend.
The second sample, I teased before dyeing the wool.
I had chosen not to comb or card the wool for either sample. I enjoy the texture of the wool spun from the teased fibers. In hindsight I would indeed comb the fibers, the sample that had been washed more to remove the natural grease was more difficult to tease, and spin. It clumped more, creating “fuzzy” areas in the yarn. This would be lessened by combing the fibers.
Spinning the Wool
I began spinning the wool using my heavier drop spindle with a wooden disk whorl. It was very difficult to start the yarn with the heavier spindle. I switched to a lighter spindle with a small whorl tied with twine, this worked much better, and I was able to spin an adequate amount. I spun the whorl clockwise to create an S-spin to my yarn. After spinning approx. 2 yards with the drop spindle, I made the choice to transfer the yarn to my spinning wheel. This was done to allow me to finish the spinning in less time. I spun 2 full bobbins of the dyed wool. As I stated above, the wool that was soaked, only in water was much easier to work with, with less knotting.
Plying the Yarn
Once again I began plying the two strands of wool with the drop spindle. This time I was able to use the spindle with the heavier whorl. The spindle is spun counter clockwise to release some of the S-spin and plies the two yarns together. This spin is referred to as a Z-spin. The faster the whorl spins, the tighter the ply will be. After a yard or so, I returned the wool to the spinning wheel to complete the task. Once again there was a noticeable difference between the wool that had been washed with a detergent. The finished skein was much courser and rougher to the touch. I would not be comfortable wearing a knit item from this yarn next to my skin.
Mordanting the Wool
I used Alum and Cream of Tartar to mordant the yarn. The recipe I used is from “The Complete Book Of Herbs And Spices” by Sarah Garland.
10 oz. Alum (potassium aluminum sulfate)
Sufficient soft water to cover the wool
Dissolve the alum and cream of tartar in a little boiling water and stir into the remaining water. Set over the heat and when warm slide in the thoroughly wetted wool. Take 1 hour to slowly bright the solution to simmering point. Simmer gently for a further hour. Remove the wool and place in dye bath. (10)
Dyeing the wool, or yarn
I chose to dye the yarn with onionskins. My goal was to achieve a rich golden/orange color. I followed the recipe in “The Complete Book Of Herbs And Spices” by Sarah Garland.
Onion
Allium cepa
Mordant:
Alum and cream of tartar.
Use 4 oz. dried onionskins, boil for 2 hours.
Dyeing method:
Bring slowly to a boil and simmer gently for 2 hours, Strain discard the skins and let the liquid cool. Slip the wetted, mordanted wool into the bath and slowly bring to a simmer. Simmer gentle for a further hour. Lift the wool gently from the bath, rinsing in hot, then warm then cool water. Hang to dry.(11)
The wool had been mordanted several days previous, so was wetted with warm water then hot water, so that the dye bath did not have to cool as long. At the end of the dyeing process the wool is rinsed, in hot water, then cooler water, and again in cool water. Great care must be taken to prevent felting when dyeing “in the wool”. The wool was then hung to air dry. As mentioned previously, the wool dyed rather unevenly with the darkest colors at the tips where the wool was matted together. The color range was from chartreuse, to a burnt orange, The mordant and dyeing processes for the skeins of wool were much the same as for the un-spun wool. This wool was again rinsed in warm water then cooler water and finally in cold water, and hung to dry. I used the same recipe for both processes, but came up with a much darker color for my finished product. I had thought that the spun and plied wool would be darker, much as the matted tips were darker, that the compacted wool would accept the dye more completely, but I was surprised by the amount of difference in the colors. Part of this difference could very well be the fact that more of the lanolin had been washed out of the wool as well as the wool being plied.
10 Garland, Sarah . ( 1979) The Complete Book Of Herbs And Spices pg.?
11 Garland, Sarah . ( 1979) The Complete Book Of Herbs And Spices pg.?
Bibliography
Amos, Alden. (2001) The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning. Colorado: Interweave Press.
Birrell, Verla. (1973) The Textile Arts. New York: Harper and Row.
Brown, Rachel. (1983) The Weaving, Spinning, and Dyeing Book. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Crowfoot, Elisabeth, Pritchard, Frances and Staniland, Kay. (2001). Textiles And Clothing 1150-1450. London: Museum of London
Crockett, Candace (1977) The Complete Spinning Book. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.
Fraser, Jean. (1983) Traditional Scottish Dyes. Edinburgh, Scotland: Canongate Books
Garland, Sarah . ( 1979) The Complete Book Of Herbs And Spices. New York: Viking Press.
Gies, Frances and Joseph. (1994). Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Robinson, Stuart. (1969) A History of Dyed Textiles. London: Studio Vista Limitie, Blue Star House.
Rosetti, Gioventura. (1548). The Plictho. (Sidney M. Edlestein ad Hecot C. Borghetty, trans.) Cambridge Massachusetts: M.I.T. Press.
Copyright 2002 by Carol Schnetter aka HL Brighid Ros - prepared for Baronial A&S Championship Yule 2002 Posted Jan, 28 2003
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