{"id":11297,"date":"2024-11-16T07:36:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-16T06:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=11297"},"modified":"2024-11-16T07:43:29","modified_gmt":"2024-11-16T06:43:29","slug":"walking-waulking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/walking-waulking\/","title":{"rendered":"Walking waulking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In September my friend Cecilia and I visited the Skansen open air museum, where one of perhaps five fulling mills in Sweden is situated. Outside the mill the visitors were welcome into a wooden tub for some walking waulking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were thrilled when we saw the fulling mill, I knew it was there but I had never seen it. Cecilia hopped right into the wooden tub outside the mill and started waulking with her feet. I was reluctant at first, but Cecilia persuaded me to hop in the tub. I did, and feeling the wooden tub and the wet wool against my bare feet was surprisingly thrilling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/figure>\n
Outside the fulling mill at Skansen open air museum the visitors are welcome to try walking waulking in a wooden tub.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As I splashed my feet in the tub I thought of a failed fulling experience at another fulling mill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fulling mill in Dala-Floda<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Back in May I visited the fulling mill in Dala-Floda<\/a> with my wool traveling club. I had brought six fabrics to full, three of which were woven with my handspun yarn. The fabric I had the highest hopes for was woven with Gute wool. I spun it back in 2018, and made a woven swatch that I fulled, just to see how it behaved. It fulled very fast and beautifully and I decided to use the yarn to weave a fabric with the intention of fulling it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
My wool board for the fulling mill with the evenly fulled woven swatch top right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The strange thing was that the Gute weave was the weave that was fulled the least in the fulling mill \u2013 only 23 per cent of the total area. This annoyed me since I knew it had fulled so evenly and easily when I first spun it. My theory was that the lanolin must have stiffened and worked as a barrier against the fulling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/figure>\n
Enormous forces with only wood, wool and water at the fulling mill back in May. The Gute weave raw (center) and fulled at the fulling mill (right). The shrinkage was 23 per cent.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A tub in the living room<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A couple of weeks after the tub waulking in the September sun, I decided to try it at home with my Gute weave, with the addition of soap. I figured that if the soap could clean the lanolin off the weave on top of acting as a fulling agent, chances were that the fabric would shrink properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two
No wooden tub and no September sun, but still a fully functioning tub for waulking my Gute weave.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I had no wooden tub and no fulling mill backdrop. Instead I spent half an hour every evening for a week or so waulking while listening to the audio version of Jane Eyre. I was quite generous with both warm water and soap to speed the fulling process up a bit. After a total of perhaps three hours I was happy with the result. The fabric had shrunk 73 per cent from the raw weave, and very evenly, just like my original swatch had. What was once more of a net than a weave had now become a heavily fulled 4 millimeter thick fabric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
The weave is finished after the walking waulking, 28 x 150 centimeters and 4 millimeters thick.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I first got the idea to full the fabric my plan was to sew a vest from it. But now, at only 28 x 150 centimeters [11 x 60inches] there won\u2019t be enough fabric for a vest. Even if there was, it would probably have been too dense and warm for me. Perhaps I\u2019ll sew a pair of mittens and add some embroidery. The possibilities are many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read about the fulled pillowcases <\/a>I made from three of the other weaves I waulked in the fulling mill in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy spinning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You can find me in several social media:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n