Thrift Wools

Today my husband was back to work on the floors, so I had to give up my living room for this weekend.
I decided it was time to make a dent in the thrift wools that have been sitting and waiting to be cut up.
This is what I did today, a couple are new buys, but most is the older wools I bought and wasn't thrilled with.
Now I need new blacks along with thick and thin wools for braiding, so I am glad I decided to keep it.
It is a pain, but it is how I can afford to make hooked rugs and all of the other wool projects, I love to do.

If you want to try thrift wool, check out your local salvation, goodwill or savers. Check you labels, 100% wool, will usually have a tag, unless someone ripped it out. Sometimes I take chances and buy wools without tags and do the burn test. Wool will burn, but not stay lit, it goes out on it's own. It will turn into a powdery ash, so rub the ash when cool and if it is hard or turns into a ball, then you probably have acrylic in it. It also smells like burning hair. If you are making rag rugs a bit of other fabrics won't hurt, but wool will hold up for years and repels dirt naturally. Also, if you want to dye your wool, acrylics will not take the wool dyes, but nylon will. So, don't be afraid to grab those jackets that have 20% nylon. Another thing you can watch out for is the wear on the jacket. If it is worn or knubby, it usually is not wool.

When you buy your jackets, make sure to wash them right away, you never know what is in them and moth eggs could be hidden inside. Just throw them in a warm/cold wash and then in the dryer. Don't forget to save the good buttons. They are great on dolls and penny rugs.