I've been working on some hella filthy fleece. Well washed but still clogged with VM. On the combs, I find it helpful the first combing, to do quick short stabs to comb debris out rather than pick up strands, until strands appear, then pick those out, but still mostly combing the tips of the locks and letting the pickup happen more by happenstance. This has reduced a five round combout to three. My waste wool is being felted into "utility felt pads" full of bits of crap, but still perfectly useable for camp seat padding or insulation or under mattress padding, that sort of thing. I collect it in those shopping bins they they sell, and separate layers with tea towels. The stuff is crammed under my working combing bin, so it starts settling before wet felting, while I build up a few layers to work together, separated by cotton towels, wrapped in an old sheet. I put them all back in a bin and use my feet to stomp it into felt.
I've been working on some hella filthy fleece. Well washed but still clogged with VM. On the combs, I find it helpful the first combing, to do quick short stabs to comb debris out rather than pick up strands, until strands appear, then pick those out, but still mostly combing the tips of the locks and letting the pickup happen more by happenstance. This has reduced a five round combout to three. My waste wool is being felted into "utility felt pads" full of bits of crap, but still perfectly useable for camp seat padding or insulation or under mattress padding, that sort of thing. I collect it in those shopping bins they they sell, and separate layers with tea towels. The stuff is crammed under my working combing bin, so it starts settling before wet felting, while I build up a few layers to work together, separated by cotton towels, wrapped in an old sheet. I put them all back in a bin and use my feet to stomp it into felt.