[Ansteorra-textiles] King's college fiber track so far

[Gerita]

Here ya go:
Make sure the hair is as free of yard debris (grass and the like) as you can
get it.
Assemble for yourself a baking pan (like 13x9, or a jelly-roll pan), some
laundry soap, and plenty of hot water. A sushi mat or old roll-up bamboo
window shade are helpful  sometimes.  Make sure you're working in an area
you can make a wet mess.
At this point with wool, we'd card it to get the fibers running the same
direction, then put about 1/2" in the pan, some soap, another 1/2" wool,
stacked 90 degrees the other way, etc. for 2 - 6 sets of stacks.  Then get
some water on it, and gently agitate the entire mess.  What Should happen is
the hot water opens up the little scales on the hair, and the agitation
causes them to stick to each other.  This looks like the whole thing getting
smaller and looking like a matted mess.  You may have to work with it
awhile - i'm not sure how horsehair will respond - so be patient.  When it's
a good mat, then start rinsing it til the water runs clear.  At this point,
if  i want a sheet of 'felt', then i take a sushi mat and put the felt on
it, then roll it up, squish it out, and let it dry.  It may take some
experimentation to get it just right.  Have fun with it!!

I distinctly recall seeing a horsehair sofa in Juliette Lowe's Birthplace in
Savannah, GA.  I think the fabric of the cushions was woven from mane/tail
hair, and it was stuffed with the shorter body hair.  Slick thing to sit on!

Gerita

----- Original Message -----
From: "ED Reese" <edreese at m7bedlam.com>
To: <ansteorra-textiles at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2003 6:45 PM
Subject: Re: [Ansteorra-textiles] King's college fiber track so far


> --
> Well, hair was hair, and if they could have done something with it, I'm
> SURE they did!
>
> So, I'll go out and grab a couple of handfuls of Sugar melt off (Royal
> Black Sugar, and she sure is coming up black!) and try it. Erm, care to
> give me some instructions on how to try it?