Press your woolies into the water and massage until saturated.
Press and squeeze out as much water as you can. DO NOT WRING OR TWIST...it can damage the fibers and skew the fabric.
Prepare your lanolin and soap materials. Solid Lanolin. Wool Wash Bar w/ Lanolin (knife for cutting). Glass dish or container for mixing. Spoon for measuring/mixing. Basin for soaking. (I've also shown a liquid wool wash -- I find that it's only good for freshening, not full lano process.)
I use a pea-size amount of lanolin...it's not exact, more or less is ok. Cut a sliver of wool wash bar (I use a small white sample piece in a few photos.). Fill the mixing dish (baby food jar) with HOT water. I can use hot tap water but don't be afraid to nuke it if your water isn't hot enough. However, it only needs to be hot enough to melt the lanolin.
Soap piece in the water, lanolin in the spoon.
Stir...
Keep stirring...
Keep stirring...there's still a thin layer of lano on top. (I ran out of soap and had to add another piece. The beauty of using solid soap is that you can take it out when it's done, and use it in the next batch!)
There it is...the magical milk color. Nothing floating on top (well, almost nothing...there may be tiny bubbles or foamy stuff)
Take out your soap bit for use later (these are the two different pieces I used today).
Now you want to add the lanolin mixture to a basin of warm water. BUT! You need to temper the mixture so it doesn't form too many clumps. (Think of tempering chocolate or meringue.) I hold the dish close to the water and splash the basin water in while letting some of the mixture spill out until it looks like the mixture in the dish has diluted. Then I just mix the basin with my hand.
Add your wool and press into the water until saturated. Let sit for at least 30 min...longer is ok! I keep my woolies turned inside-out so if there are any clumps, they can be rubbed in and add to the waterproofing.
When your time is up, empty the basin and press out as much water as you can. DO NOT WRING OR TWIST!
To dry your items, you have 2 options. First, you can lay them in a towel, fold it over, roll it up and then step on it. Secondly, you could use your washer's spin cycle. (I line my washer basin with towels...it's new so I just take that precaution. Lanolin won't harm your clothing any more than dryer sheets do!) Then just lay your woolies flat to dry!
