Wool Waulking
Denise and I spent much of yesterday at Fiber Fusion Northwest, at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe. We were getting immersed in wool. The picture above and video below depicts the action of "walking," otherwise known as "fulling" or "waulking" (from the Scottish Gaelic). There was a scene of this in the first season of "Outlander"--though in that featuring of the craft there was a lot more urine involved. The women in the picture standing behind the walkers are singing. They were all working to a sort of chant. I’m not sure, but I think the singers had sheet music. The process involves the cleansing of woven wool to eliminate lanolin oils, dirt, and other impurities, and to make it shrink by friction and pressure. The work delivers a smooth, tightly finished fabric that is insulating and water-repellent. I was invited to participate--but I'm much too shy, introverted, and sullen.
Fiber Fusion Wool Waulking Demo
Outlander “Wool Waulking Song"“
So, what do they use now instead of urine?
From what we gathered in one or two of the narrations, often soap and water, and there are commercial solutions for removing lanolin and other grit and fulling up the knap. There is absolutely nothing being used in this pristine demonstration!