Fulling mill

Fulling is the signature process in the manufacture of loden. For fulling a mixture of water, soda and various fulling agents (=mash), as well as the mechanical effect causes matting to the raw fabric. The result is that there is shrinkage in both warp and weft direction of up to 30%.

What distinguishes a high-quality loden is that it is almost impossible to see the original weave. The loden is washed after fulling and this rinses out the mash.

As the wool is likely to contain impurities (vegetable matter) from the Australian pastures, this must be removed by scouring. Here the loden is placed in a bath of diluted sulphuric acid and is then heated to approx. 120°C. To remove the sulphuric acid and scoured vegetable matter, the loden is returned to the washing machine.

As the fulling and washing of the loden is always carried out in drapes, the fabric  then has to be smoothed out and rolled on to large winding machines.