The process of combing wool creates static that can make the fibers uncontrollable. In order to combat static and tame frizz, the wool needs to be lubricated. Traditionally that is done either with olive oil or with an emulsion of water and oil sprayed from a bottle. Spin Off has covered various wool lubricants throughout the years and recently shared tips from several well-known spinning gurus.
A few of our readers happily shared their own recipes for combing and carding solutions. We hope you find them to be helpful as you embark on your combing or carding practice.
David Harron uses a combination of olive oil soap and water, which easily washes out of yarn. Background photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Jeannie Sanke combines distilled water with other ingredients, including lavender essence. Background photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Robin Russo’s mixture is removed once she washes her spun skeins. Background photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
A big “thank you” to our readers who sent in their recipes.
Do you have a recipe you’d like to share? Send it to us via our email address.
Further reading:
- “Flicking and Combing Painted Locks”
- “Diz Tips: The Finer Points of Wool Combing”
- “Odd Handspinning Terms: Carding & Combing Edition”
- “A Versatile and Inexpensive Fiber Tool: The Dog Comb”
- “Five Good Reasons to Buy and Use Mini Wool Combs”
- Combing Fiber with Robin Russo Video Download
PS: Here’s an easy way to save the recipes for future use. Just copy and paste the text below!
Olive oil soap for preventing static, by David Herron
• about 1 tsp pure olive oil soap (shaved off of a bar)
• 1 cup of water
- Mix together until soap and water “melt together.”
- Pour into a spray bottle.
- Shake bottle, then apply sparingly to wool.
Notes:
I use Savon de Marseille soap from France.
This recipe is an offshoot from The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning.
Also good for making felt and it washes out easily from yarn or weavings.
Lavender essence mixture, by Jeannie Sanke
• Distilled water
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Food-grade mineral oil
• Lavender essence
- Mix equal parts of the first 3 ingredients in a spray bottle.
- Add 1–2 drops of lavender essence to the bottle.
Notes:
I typically spin fiber from alpacas and dogs, neither of which have ever had lanolin and both of which are extremely fine and prone to static charge.
Solution never gums up the fiber no matter how long the batt or rolag waits.
Combing oil recipe, by Robin Russo
• 1 ounce rubbing alcohol
• 2 lecithin capsules
• 3 ounces water
• 4 ounces olive oil or other vegetable oil
Mix all ingredients in a fine spritzer; shake before using.
Notes:
I comb one evening and spin the next and continue until I’m ready to use the wool in a project.
I wash yarns after spinning as part of finishing the skein, and the combing oil is removed at that stage. Even if fiber sits around for a while before it is washed, it will not become tacky (stiff and sticky) the way it does before lanolin is removed.
Debbie Blair is the associate editor of Spin Off magazine. A lifelong crafter and avid reader, she finds her happy place reading and relaxing next to a mountain stream.