Shelf-life of wool rovings

[Vendie]

Ok spinners and fiber enthusiasts - Angelia and I have a question for you! Is there a shelf-life for roving? In other words, if you have roving that's been around for a few years, does anything happen to the integrity of the fibers that would make it difficult or not possible to work with?

[Ingrid]

I usually look at the bottom for the expiration date. :rofling:

Maybe check the bottom of the sheep? "Born on _____.'

You're not helping, Ingrid!

[Arugula]

along these lines, can you use wool batting as roving? I bought some a while ago to make Waldorf dolls, decided I didn't like them and so I have a couple rolls of it lying around. Couldn't you just pull it into thinner sections and spin? I'm thinking of making myself a drop spindle and trying it out.

[ChroniclesofYarnia]

You mean yours didn't come with adoption papers?

I wouldn't worry about it getting bad, but in the area I live in I woudl worry about silverfish and such. I am told that if you have a trunk that you keep your wool in, you can put Irish Spring bars of soap in the corners and that will keep the bugs away...plus your wool will smell like an Irishman.

[Vendie]

geeesh, you know, you try to ask a serious question and all you get is funny people answering you :rollseyes: Thank you YM for your helpful answer.

[ChroniclesofYarnia]

I found a silver fish on one of my husband's wool suits in the closet. It was rather scarring. They are these mushy things that eat wool.

[Vendie]

yech, silverfish are icky. I used to get them in my dorm room all the time. They really like paper too.

[Silver]

Eeech. Silverfish creep me out. They look like little aliens.

Anyway, no, I don't think there's an expiration date for roving. So long as there's no bugs in it or hasn't been eaten, even if it smells funny, you can always wash the yarn once it's spun. Roving is just unspun yarn. Would you throw yarn out if it had been sitting around for a few years?

[humblestumble]

This is from the website Amy posted in the sticky:

Predrafting the Fiber
If you are using a fiber that has been stored for a long time and has become flattened. You can predraft the fiber to bring it back to life. It is also a good idea to pre-draft commercially prepared fibers that have been compressed to loosen up the fibers and make them easier to draft when spinning. To predraft, you hold a manageable strip of fiber in your two hands and gently pull the fiber until you feel the fiber loosening up and slipping apart. If you pull too hard you will pull the fibers completely apart. You only want to loosen the fibers. When you finish with one section, slide you hands down the fiber and repeat the procedure until you reach the end of the strip.