Scouring

Raw sheared fiber is packed into large burlap
bags and delivered to the mill.

Bags are opened and hand-sorted across a special
table to remove parts of the fleece with excess
vegetable matter and damaged fiber.  It is then
weighed into baskets and awaits being loaded into
the fiber washer.

The fiber washer uses large amounts of hot water and detergent to
remove the greasy lanolin in the raw fiber.

The washer spins excess water from the clean scoured (washed) fiber
making it ready for the drying racks.