I buy 99% of my wool from thrift stores in the form of clothes. I completely take it apart, remove any button, snaps, zippers, everything. I wash it in very hot water with little soap and dry it as hot as I can until it as dry as possible. It will never shrink or fade again. Sometimes I like to over dye too, using different dark wool colors with light wool colors. You can get some interesting colors that way. No fabric softner or dryer sheets. Check you dryer vent often as it will make a lot of fuzz.