Can you "wash" roving?

[Hooker]

I just received 8 oz of roving from an Ebay seller and it smells a little.....sheepish. I figured I could air it out tomorrow, but could I soak/wash it without felting it? Or is it possible to dye it before spinning with Kool-Aid or Easter Egg colors?

I think some of it is just from being in a bag for a few days in shipping. I do smell the lanolin a bit, but also a bit like a sheep! LOL! Earthy, but not necessarily bad.

Also in the possibly stupid question department:

Do different wools (merino, romney, finn...etc) each have a distinct "smell"? This roving is a mixture of Merino, Targhee, Romney, etc.

[jacqui]

Yes but you have to be careful not to felt it. You use hot water A squirt of dishwashing detergent or some washing powder add your wool DO NOT AGGITATE just push it into the water and leave it till the water is cold. Then you drain the sink and gently squeeze the excess water put the wool to one side while you refill the sink with warm water and add the wool again. leave it to cool repeat the warm rinse once more then you can use a spin cycle of a washing machine to spin out the water. You can dry it on a sweater rack or wire netting in the sun. Or in a net curtain Pegged on a clothes airer. Then you can dye it but be sure to check out the dyeing hints in this forum won't you. Good luck.

[Hooker]

Thank you! I think I'm just going to air it out for now (I'm horribly impatient). Or I could seal it in a bag with a fabric softener sheet or a washcloth that has a few drops of lavender oil on it and see if that helps a bit.

[HollyM]

I'd let it air out a bit and see where that takes you.

If you can stand being in the same room with it, I think you'll have better luck spinning it first, then washing the finished yarn. Less chance of disaster striking :eek

If I have spun yarn that needs a bath, I use a small squire of Suave Lavender shampoo and put a small squirt of Suave lavender conditioner in the rinse water. :flowerHubby made me several niddy noddys out of PVC, I can leave the yarn on them to wash & dry w/out it getting tangled or over-agitated.

Holly

[Hooker]

Holly, I think I have that shampoo here so that would work (and make it smell better). It's not a super strong smell, but up close, it's not altogether pleasant.

Thanks for the suggestions!