tiffany - someone was once moving and gave me a BUNCH of old itchy wool army quilts, that olive green color. after looking at them for almost a whole year, i ran them through hot, hot, hot water (they had been stored in her attic for g*d nows how long) and then washed again in cool water with a load of softener. then finished the shrinkage in the dryer.
when i was done i had the softest wool. thick, soft, warm as could be, and 2/3 the size. but i knew what i was working with. my cats each got one for himself. YAY! the rest are inside quilts all over nj. some have been carefully joined to make bigger batts. oh, and you wouldn't believe the wool lint that lets go in the wash. all that lint would have been inside a quilt working its way out. after washing, wool fibers are practically glued together. they make the best batting ever.