How to process alpaca fiber

In this video filled post, I show you how I process alpaca by hand beginning with washing, then carding, spinning, followed by plying, I finish with instructions to complete a detailed yarn tag. This shows the entire process from raw fiber to spun yarn!

Strauch drum carders are perfect for carding alpaca fibers - here's why!

I have been hand-processing my Alpaca's fiber since 2006. I thought I would share with you how I do it. Alpaca fiber does not have any lanolin in it, but it does have a lot of dust and dirt from them rolling in their dust bowls as you can see in the picture below. During the shearing process we collect the fiber in three different bags. The main blanket, is tagged with the alpaca's name and number 1. The neck and some of the other fiber as number 2 in a separate bag. Then the leg fibers go…

We started raising alpacas about 10 years ago. Being a knitter and crocheter, I was very interested in using the wool from our animals in my projects. After our first shearing, I looked at their dirty fleece and thought, “What am I supposed to do with that?” I have figured out a few things over the years. Even if you don’t have your own animals it is much less expensive to buy the raw fiber from the farmer and prep it for spinning yourself. This 4 bucket method for cleaning the fleece is the…

Fiber of the suri alpaca grows vertically down the side of the body, hanging in long, separate, distinctive locks. These individual locks are made up of many lustrous fibers. Separating the locks of fiber is not hard, but it does take time. I am a novice when it comes to video, so hope you'll bear with

Shearing season is upon us, and with it the need to process all that fiber. Ever wonder how it's done?

Check out what I did with all of this year's alpaca fiber from our animals.

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