It’s a common question among spinners, fiber artists, and anyone new to working with fleece straight from the sheep. While clean, processed wool is completely safe to handle, raw wool can contain dirt, bacteria, manure, parasites, and agricultural residues that may cause skin irritation, respiratory issues, or illness if handled improperly. The good news is that getting sick from wool is rare, and with simple safety precautions, working with raw fleece can be both safe and enjoyable. 

The goal of this post isn’t to scare you—it’s to help you take simple precautions that make fleece handling safe and enjoyable.

Safety First: What You Need to Know When Working With Raw Wool

There’s something deeply satisfying about working with raw wool straight from the sheep. The lanolin, the texture, the connection to the animal—it’s a sensory experience that many fiber artists love. But raw wool is exactly that: raw. And like any natural agricultural product, it deserves to be handled with care.

Understanding a few basic safety practices will help you enjoy the process while protecting your health.

What’s in Raw Wool?

Raw fleece isn’t just fiber. It can also contain:

• Dirt, dust, and plant matter

• Grease (lanolin)

• Manure and urine residues

• Bacteria and fungi

• External parasites (mites, lice, ticks)

• Agricultural chemicals from pastures or sheep treatments

Most of these aren’t dangerous when handled properly—but ignoring them can lead to skin irritation, respiratory issues, or illness.  Especially if you have an underlying respiratory condition or poor immune system.  Also, just because alpaca fiber looks clean it is not, I assure you.

Potential Health Risks

While serious illness from handling raw wool is rare, there are some risks to be aware of:

• Skin irritation or rashes from lanolin, bacteria, or residues

• Respiratory irritation from dust, dander, and fine particles—especially when skirting or opening fleece

• Bacterial exposure, including organisms found in manure

• Allergic reactions, particularly in those sensitive to wool or animal dander

Smart Safety Practices for Handling Raw Wool

1. Work in a Well-Ventilated Area

Always process raw fleece in a space with good airflow. Outdoor spaces, garages, or well-ventilated studios are ideal. Avoid shaking or snapping fleece indoors where dust can linger.

2. Protect Your Hands

Wearing gloves—especially during skirting and washing—can prevent skin irritation and reduce exposure to bacteria. If you prefer bare hands, wash thoroughly with soap and warm water afterward.

3. Mind Your Lungs

If you’re sensitive to dust or working with very dirty fleece, consider wearing a dust mask or respirator while skirting. This is especially important if you have asthma or allergies.

4. Wash Hands (and Clothes) Afterward

Always wash your hands after handling raw wool, and avoid touching your face while working. It’s also a good idea to change clothes if you’ve been processing especially dirty fleece.

5. Keep Food and Drink Away

No snacking while skirting! Keep food, drinks, and kitchen tools far from raw wool to prevent cross-contamination.

6. Clean Your Tools and Surfaces

Tables, tubs, and tools should be cleaned after use. Raw wool should never be processed on surfaces used for food preparation.

Washing Wool Makes It Safe

Once wool is properly scoured—using hot water, appropriate detergent, and good technique—the risks drop dramatically. Clean wool is safe to card, spin, dye, and store without special precautions.

This is why proper washing isn’t just about beautiful fiber—it’s about health and safety too.

Respect the Fiber, Respect Yourself

Working with raw wool connects us to centuries of textile tradition, but those traditions also included smart, practical handling methods. A little awareness goes a long way.

With basic precautions, raw wool is safe, rewarding, and a joy to work with. Respect the fiber, respect the process, and most importantly—respect your own health.

Learn how to scour wool and wash alpaca properly with this 5-star rated book CLICK HERE to get one today, your health will thank you.

How to dye your own yarn and fiber

THE BOOK IS FINISHED!

Let's Dye Yarn and Fiber for beginners to advanced Step-by-Step guide with fun techniques with acid dyes and food-grade, safe to dye in the kitchen, dyes.

My new dye book, Let's Dye Yarn and Fiber is finally done!  It took a year to write. Why?  Deep researching, experimenting, dyeing, picture taking, editing, etc., take time.  But I have loved every minute of it!

My dyeing journey is extensive. I started dyeing about 15 years ago when I had a herd of 25 alpaca.  The only information about dyeing back in the day was to throw dye at fiber and wish for a happy accident. I mean, there was even a book that encouraged dyeing in your kitchen with acid dyes!  We now know better that this is not a good idea, at all.  Oh, and there was no mask wearing either. No bueno.

After failing so many times I realized there were some very important pieces missing, such as quality of water, temperature per a given dye, amount of dye per fiber weight, cook time, acid, etc.  So I went on a quest and researched published papers about dyeing and deeply in depth books on commercial dyeing.  Man were my eyes wide open!

After I put all the puzzle pieces together I was a success! And I mean a great success. Colors were vibrant, no more muddy color, no more bleeding fiber or felting. I could re-create colorways with no issues. There is something to the science of dyeing after all.

I put it all in this book. Every calculation, tip and trick that will also make you a dyeing success.

Where can you get it?

USA buyers can get it at Camaj Fiber Arts with free shipping.

Amazon has it for Canada, UK, The Netherlands and Australia.

Canada dyers CLICK HERE

UK dyers CLICK HERE

Netherland dyers CLICK HERE

Australia dyers CLICK HERE

As an extension to the book will be my soon released Yarn Dyeing Academy. Why? Because there are so many ways to dye yarn and fiber I would not fit them all in this book! Click the photo to sign up to be notified when it goes live.

Prepare to dye my friend.

Talk soon.

XO 

Mary Egbert

Spin the yarns you want

Spin the yarns you want

When I was a new spinner some four years ago spinning balanced yarn was really just a crap shoot.  When it came out balanced I would ask myself, “How in the world did I do that?”  And when it was over twisted, when my goal was a balanced yarn, again I asked myself , “How in the world did I do that?”

Over the years of spinning I finally got a grip on how twist impacted my finished yarn, especially on plied and core-spun yarns.  Now I only make balanced yarns…oh happy day! 

I made myself a little cheat sheet to tell which way, for example, my base core yarn was spun so I had a balanced yarn in the end.  I even started writing down notes regarding twist, direction and finished yarns.

I thought if this helped me it has got to help other spinners.  So I developed a multi use Eszee Twist Tool© and a 24-page manual and yarn planner guide. 

The Eszee Twist Tool© comes with a plastic card that is a multi function tool;  a yarn thickness guide, WPI gauge, angle of twist gauge and a guide to determine if your yarn was spun in the S or Z direction.  You will also get a 24-page full color manual and yarn planner, a magnifier to be able to see yarns and a zipper pouch to hold the kit and any other goodies like your diz or orifice hook.

The Eszee Twist Tool will be the most indispensible tool in your spinning arsenal.  You can find it at www.camajfiberarts.com. 

Happy Spinning

Mary Egbert
 

  9/24/14 update: There was a printing error on the card and it needs to be re-printed.  We are looking at a date of no later than 10/6/14 before it is on the market ready for sale.
 

 

PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE

PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE


It's interesting how businesses evolve.  And mine is doing just that.   I love working with fibers and spinning yarn and I also equally love finding new pretties for my spinning friends to experience and spark their creativity.

I have found a  few wonderful suppliers in India of colorful and rich ribbon yarns, cocoons, silk waste, silk salvedges and other silk delights.  They focus on working with women co-ops to provide a living for the poor women of India.  I have been asked many times "why not the USA...why not help people at home?"  The answer is quite complex.  The US has many resources for the poor to survive...medicaid, section 8 and food stamps.  In other third world countries the poor have no resources...they mearly die.  Poor women especially have a difficult time in these countries, for instance, women generally have poor nutrition eating only what is left after the men in the family eat first.  Which leads to malnutrition and poor health. Women are considered lower class and are often times abused and have no chance of schooling.

By buying products from fair trade companies we are all helping the poor women of India perfect a craft, bring money home to their families and put food on the table. It empowers these women to have self worth and self esteem, thereby,  being productive in society and being good role models for their children.  It's a great thing!

So know that when you are purchasing Camaj ribbon yarn, cocoons, silk salvedges or silk waste know you are helping a poor woman help herself and her family.

My friend, Ruth Pohl Hawkins, used this amazing sari silk ribbon yarn to create the most beautiful bag. She is so very talented.

I also used the ribbon to make a market bag and scarf.

           

       HERE IS THE PATTERN FOR THE MARKET BAG

I made a couple of changes to the pattern:
-  I only made mine 17 inches long..that is plenty long for this bag
-  I did two rows of single crochet to improve the strength of the handle.
-  My next bag I will single knit the last 4 or 5 rows to further strengthen the base of the bag.


A bowl of beautiful ribbon yarn

                                                       PLEASE JOIN ME ON FACEBOOK

MOVIN' ON

MOVIN' ON

We moved from Utah to Florida this past June. It's been a ton of work but so worth it! We moved because my middle daughter was pregnant with twins...and...my oldest daughter was expecting. She and her family live in NC. The twins were born August 6 and the NC baby was born August 13. We are so very blessed to have three beautiful, healthy boys to our family.

Now that things are settling down I'm back to business. So what to do in the hot, humid summer day in Florida...ice dye of course! I've seen it done on silk scarves, which makes beautiful patterns that make the eye dance. So I thought why not try it on wool top. Her is a little video I made dyeing wool top with ice.

A close up of my ice dyed yarn

You can dye fiber a multitude of ways...just have fun and go for it!

Happy new year

What a great year 2011 has been.  I sold well over 100 skeins of handspun yarn, pounds of roving and lose fiber and hundreds of wool dryer balls.  People, me inlcuded, love these little orbs of wool.  It seems that most people are tired of piles of garbage that is non biodegradable and how big businesses are dumping toxins on this earth.  But there is a green theme with big businesses to clean up their act.  We are demanding it.  You can do your part by using wool dryer balls.  Cut down on electrical use and stop using toxic dryer sheets.  Move toward a healthy home, for you, your pets and your kids. 

We had so many people interested in our dryer balls we thought it was time to expand.  We got a facebook page up and running and I am working on a webpage.  Please "like" us on Facebook and show your support for a greener and healthier world.  Even if it just starts with orbs of wool.

CLICK HERE TO "LIKE" LEAPING SHEEP WOOL DRYER BALLS

Faux dyeing

Ah, the day after Christmas and a day off work.  Time to dye!  I had some faux cashmere that I have been wanting to dye so today was the day. 

This stuff is amazing!  It takes the dye like no other fiber I've seen...vibrant and rich!  It's silky soft and blended with other fibers gives it not only softness, but strength. 

  

Here's wishing all my friends a happy, healthy and safe new year:)  2012 holds amazing things to come!  XXOO

Balls, balls and more balls

I am up to my ears in balls....dryer balls that is.  These are 100% wool, felted balls.  They are perfect to use for dryer balls.  You just toss 5 or 10 (the more the merrier) in your drying load and they cut your drying time by 25%...more if you use more balls.  How does this work?  Well, it fluffs up your clothes allowing the air to circulate more efficiently thus cutting down your drying time.  And, this is the best part, you don't need to use dryer sheets.  I don't anymore and I live in the high desert.

I know what you're thinking...what else can I use these balls for?  They are the perfect dog toy...they love em!  And the more they slobber on the balls, the more it felts and the more dense it gets. The wool soaks up the slobber so the ball doesn't feel slimy.  I hate slimy dog toys:(

Oh and you can use them for juggling balls for all you jugglers out there. And kids love 'em too!

What else can you do with a dryer ball....leave a post if you please.


GET YOUR DRYER, JUGGLING, DOG, KID BALLS HERE



Yarn Eye Candy

Beaded spiders??

I thought I was done with festivals this year, but there is a festival at Wheeler Farm in Salt Lake City that I really wanted to do.  It's a charming historical farm and I thought it would be a fun show.  So I talked to my friend who does a ton of shows all year and she said the show was closed and had a long waiting list.  Well I called the person in charge anyway and sent her some pictures of my yarns.  She called the next day telling me someone had cancelled and I am in!  Woo hoo!   I've gotten into more shows this way:)   If you're in the Salt Lake area come on by and say hello.

http://www.wheelerfarm.com/

I thought I would give a plug to my friend who makes these amazing beaded spiders.  Yep, you heard me right....beaded spiders.  Check 'em out.

http://twistedspiders.com/

Happy Holidays:)

It's been a while since I've blogged, but for some reason the darn program would not let me post!  So finally I get it working.  I have done a few shows around town and the picture shows just a sample of the yarns I have spun.  I would have to say I have spun at least 100 skeins of yarn.

I did a three day show a few weeks back and spun for three days straight.  A couple days after that my right leg and ankle started to hurt.  Shin splints, I believe.  Who knew?

The last show I did was at a local cultural center.  I absolutely love the small, homegrown shows.  I even met a "lost boy of Sudan".   He was part of some 20,000 misplaced children during the war in Sudan and they sent them all across the US to start a new life.  My booth neighbor was a young man from Ghana that started a company to help the women out in that country by providing them with income from selling their woven baskets in the US.  Man and are they nice baskets.  I bought two and they will sit beside my couch to hold my many fibery delights and I will look at them fondly knowing they were made by hands of a true artisan.

So, one of the things that sold like hotcakes at the shows are my new dryer balls. Yes, dryer balls. They are a solid wool ball that you throw in the dryer with your wet clothes.  They fluff up the clothes as they dry letting the air circulate, cutting your drying time by about 25%.  They eliminate the need for a dryer sheet and clothes are more wri

nkle free.  I use 10, but I think you could use as little as 5.  But the more you use the better the results.  Check my Etsy in a couple of weeks for more amazing dryer balls:) 

I've been busy destashing, as my husband is having trouble walking through our small basement...oops.  Little does he know he's making room for more stuff...shh don't tell him.

I'm getting busy for Christmas, shipping gifts, yarns and batts.  I have some amazing fleeces waiting for me to wash and dye them.  I have the most amazing merino fleece!  It's virtually has no VM, is very fine, crimpy and cards with no noils.  That is gonna be something special.

So if I don't talk to you all before the holiday, I wish you all a very, merry, happy and healthy holiday:)  I love and appreciate you all!



Thick, thin and coily things

 Just got done with a Utah fiber fest and did quite well!  Lot's of folks interested in spinning and sold a ton of my yarns.  It makes me happy that the labor of my love is going to good homes;)  On to the next show....I signed up for a local craft and holiday show in Salt Lake. It's one of the biggest shows of the season here. What was I thinking!!  I am spinning like a crazy woman to get inventory for the show. Luckily a friend of mine who raises alpacas, knits and spins will share the booth with me.  Between all the washing, dying and spinning I finally made two videos....one on spinning thick and thin yarn and the second how to make coils from the thick and thin yarn. 

Enjoy the videos and when you make your thick and thin or coils I would LOVE to see your work! 

Cheers,
Mary

How to spin thick and thin yarn

How to spin coiled yarn

How to dye groovy tye dyed top

I dyed my wool top with this really cool technique that I would love to share with you. I used wool top superwash, just because I had to "man handle" the fiber a bit with this technique. Here is how it will look when it's done.

The first thing you will do is weigh out 4 to 5 ounces of top superwash.

Next, make it into a tight chain. Here is a video that shows you how to do that.

Next, pre wet the chain in luke warm water with a splash of vinegar. Soak for about 30 minutes.

Prepare a dye pot with orange (or blue) dye.

When the fiber is pre soaked, put the chain in the dye pot. Turn the heat to just about boiling then turn the heat to simmer for about 30 minutes or till all the dye is exhausted and the water is clear.

Take out the chain and put it in the sink to cool a bit. You could even run cold water over it because it's superwash! It's won't felt! When it's cool enough to handle, take apart the chain.

Now here comes the trick. Re chain, yes I said re chain, the fiber.

Make a new dye pot with yellow (or green) this time.

Put it in the pot and simmer for 30 minutes till all the fiber is exhausted and the water is clear.

 

Take apart the chain and hang the fiber out to dry.

 You can use any colors you like, it's best to go from dark to light.  You can also use more than 2 colors to get a more groovy look.

Here are some beautiful thick and thins spun from this type of top.

Thank you for visiting and become a groovy "follower" of Camaj.

Click here to visit my Etsy shop for wonderful yarns, luscious batts and instructional videos on how to spin art yarn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can spin like me

I love making instructional videos and have many posted on You Tube.  I thought, hey why not charge a small pittance for some of my videos.  Hey, a girls gotta eat ya know.  I have come up with a few unique spinning styles that you spinners might like to learn how to do.  They are yarns that incorporate a few yarn spinning techniques and if you can already spin they will be easy peasy.   I will even show you how to ply on pearls!   And the best part they are only 5 bucks.  Here's where to buy my instructional videos

Ugh, it's been 100 degrees here in Salt Lake, UT the past couple of days and it's just too hot to think about yarn.  So, let's think about chocolate!!  I made these fun little chocolate cups and wanted to share how I made them with my fans. 

I used to run chocolate fountains in a past life and even wrote a book on how to run a chocolate fountain business! Here is where you can find my book "Sweet Taste of Success".

Turning poop into gold

I received this Blueface Leicester fleece about a month ago.  I finally threw it on the skirting table and man was I surprised.  It was the  dirties, greasiest, stinkiest fleece I ever had.  This was going to be a scouring challenge.  I soaked part of the fleece in a huge bucket of cold water overnight.  The next day I washed it in super hot water with Dawn dishwashing liquid.  It was so dirty I had to wash it twice.  I rinsed it two times and in the final rinse I added a little Unicorn Rinse.  Right after the final rinse I chucked it in a pot of dye.  Man did it ever turn out lovely, shiny and silky soft.

Scouring, or washing, raw wool is all about chemical reactions.  Once you understand the way soap reacts with grease and water temperature you are golden.  I did a quick video on how to wash wool if anyone is interested in seeing my side of the golden fleece.

It's so big!

So, I finally broke down and bought my second spinning wheel. I'm well on my way to becoming a truly addicted fiber artist.  I currently have a Louet S10, which is very sentimental to me since it was my first wheel. It does a great job spinning yarn, but the orifice is a bit too small for my bigger yarns.  Hence the new wheel. My new shiny prize is the Ashford Country wheel with an orifice that is nearly one inch!   The bobbin is enormous!  I bet it could hold a pound of fiber, but I've yet to test that out.  It comes "naked" and needs to either be painted, stained or just leave au natural.  My dear husband stained the new addition to my fiber family a lovely, deep stain and sealed it with a Minwax oil.


So to try out the giant orifice I spun a super huge, bubble core spun yarn. I'm always trying to push the envelope...trying to make things bigger and more interesting. Stay tuned for more wonderful yarns.

Dye baby dye

I love dying wool and yarn.  I have been using the Country Classic brand dyes, but have recently tried the Jacquard dyes.  The Country Classic have citric acid right in the dye powder and have more of a veriegation of colors.  For example, the Pansy will turn out many shades of purple.   Where the Jacquards do not have the citric acid included, the colors are extremely vivid and do not have the veriegation....the purple is just purple.

If you want a good book on dying fiber check them out on amazon.  My favorite book is "Dying to Knit" by Elaine Eskesen.  A color wheel is also a great tool for the dyer.

I usualy kettle dye my wool top, but had fun today dying my wool top with dye stock solution.  My last post was how to make the dye stock solution.  My most recent video shows you how to use that stock solution to dye wool top.  Take a look and have fun!

How to dye wool top

You can use the same technique to dye wool yarn

Click here to see how I steam my wool or yarn after it is dyed.

How to make a dye stock solution

How to make a dye stock solution to dye yarn or wool

I made a little video on how to make a dye stock solution.  I have kettle dyed rovings and yarn.  I have also handpainted yarn, but I really want to try and dye roving with squirt bottles of dye stock solution.  I used the technique from the book "Dyeing to Knit" by Elaine Eksesen.  It's a wonderful book on dyeing techniques that translate well into amazing knitted garments. 

Let's spin!

I picked up on core spinning very quickly and now it's one of my favorite techniques.  You can core spin fluffy or smooth, it just depends on the look you want.  I especially like to spin silk waste.  I buy silk waste directly from india...it is the fiber waste when they make sari's.  It is super soft and so light weight.  Here is the video I made and some pictures of fluffy core and smooth core spun yarns.  Give it a try!