At some point, you will ask, What do I do with alpaca fleece? There are, of course, the standard replies: Send it to the Co-op; sell it to hand-spinners; enter it in a show; send it to a mini-mill for processing. But what if you don't have show quality fleece; you're just learning to shear and you've not done a good job; you don't know any hand-spinners; cash is tight; and/or you just feel adventurous?
Try felting your fleece. It's easy and fun. Decorative projects are suitable for badly sheared fleece. They are also good to practice on. One of the great things about alpaca fiber is that it doesn't contain lanolin, so you don't have to wash it before you felt it or make yarn from it. If you wet-felt your fleece, you will wash it as you felt. That's one reason I like felting so much!
After shearing, first skirt your fleece. This means spreading it on a table made of hardware cloth that allows dirt and debris to fall through. Then you sort through the fleece, separating the fleece that contains large amounts of debris. You can felt this fleece into strips to use as weed barriers in your flower garden, or anywhere else you need to prevent vegetation from growing. Trash fleece is also good to use as insulation. We just replaced our front door and I stuffed the trash fiber into the cracks. I forgot what the insulation factor is, but it is really good.
You will also want to sort your by length and fineness. Try to keep batches as uniform as possible. After sorting, you need to card your fleece. Use carding combs, a dog comb or carding machine. Carding straightens out the fibers so they all run in the same direction.
After carding, you are all set to start wet-felting. You will need plenty of fiber, Dawn dish detergent, hot water, and an area you don't mind getting wet. You can do a small batch in a baking pan, or a large batch in the bathtub. I use my kitchen counter with towels around the area to absorb run-off. Make a layer of fiber all running in the same direction. Make it larger than you want the finished product to be since it will shrink while you felt it. After all, you will be compressing and interlocking all those nice, fluffy fibers. Run the next layer parallel to the first. Continue for three or more layers - however thick you want it to be.
Add soap to the hot water (don't have the water so hot it will burn your hand!). Gently begin wetting the fleece, very gently pressing the fibers down so they don't move elsewhere. Once the whole project is wet, gently press the fibers all over until they begin to lock into place. Once they do, you can apply more pressure. Just be careful not to pull it apart! As it becomes firmer, you can start gently moving your hand back and forth over the piece, a hand's breadth at a time. Whichever direction you rub in is the direction the fleece will shrink. You can use a circular motion now to lock the fibers in more. Felt to the desired firmness, usually until it can't be pulled apart. You may want looser fleece for other projects, such as felting it onto another piece to make a picture. Rinse the felt and let it dry. You can also dye it at this stage if you'd like. It's easier than doing it when it's individual fibers.
To wash raw fleece, run some warm water in a sink, pot or tub, depending on the amount. Add some dish detergent - the kind that's not gentle on your hands. Add your fleece and gently push it under the water until it's soaked through. DON'T AGITATE IT! You will have felt if you do. Let it soak for 20-30 minutes. Lift it out. Empty the water, and repeat. The third time, if the fleece is clean enough, just use clear water to rinse it. After it is rinsed, you can run it through the spin cycle on your washing machine if you're careful not to agitate it in the process. Then you can lay it on your skirting table, out of the sun, and let it air dry.
Now that your fleece is clean, you can dye it or start spinning or needle-felting. Since most of our fleece is white, I dye a lot of it. Kool-Aid works well, just add a little vinegar.
There are several books on felting. Check Quality Llama Products, Useful Lama Items, Amazon.com and Books A Million. A couple I like are:
The Art of Feltmaking by Anne Einset Vickrey
also the video by her - "Feltmaking by Hand - The Basic Process"
Simply Felt by Margaret Docherty & Jayne Emerson
Fun With Felt & Embroidery by Leisure Arts (I found this one at Michaels.)
Try felting your fleece. It's easy and fun. Decorative projects are suitable for badly sheared fleece. They are also good to practice on. One of the great things about alpaca fiber is that it doesn't contain lanolin, so you don't have to wash it before you felt it or make yarn from it. If you wet-felt your fleece, you will wash it as you felt. That's one reason I like felting so much!
After shearing, first skirt your fleece. This means spreading it on a table made of hardware cloth that allows dirt and debris to fall through. Then you sort through the fleece, separating the fleece that contains large amounts of debris. You can felt this fleece into strips to use as weed barriers in your flower garden, or anywhere else you need to prevent vegetation from growing. Trash fleece is also good to use as insulation. We just replaced our front door and I stuffed the trash fiber into the cracks. I forgot what the insulation factor is, but it is really good.
You will also want to sort your by length and fineness. Try to keep batches as uniform as possible. After sorting, you need to card your fleece. Use carding combs, a dog comb or carding machine. Carding straightens out the fibers so they all run in the same direction.
After carding, you are all set to start wet-felting. You will need plenty of fiber, Dawn dish detergent, hot water, and an area you don't mind getting wet. You can do a small batch in a baking pan, or a large batch in the bathtub. I use my kitchen counter with towels around the area to absorb run-off. Make a layer of fiber all running in the same direction. Make it larger than you want the finished product to be since it will shrink while you felt it. After all, you will be compressing and interlocking all those nice, fluffy fibers. Run the next layer parallel to the first. Continue for three or more layers - however thick you want it to be.
Add soap to the hot water (don't have the water so hot it will burn your hand!). Gently begin wetting the fleece, very gently pressing the fibers down so they don't move elsewhere. Once the whole project is wet, gently press the fibers all over until they begin to lock into place. Once they do, you can apply more pressure. Just be careful not to pull it apart! As it becomes firmer, you can start gently moving your hand back and forth over the piece, a hand's breadth at a time. Whichever direction you rub in is the direction the fleece will shrink. You can use a circular motion now to lock the fibers in more. Felt to the desired firmness, usually until it can't be pulled apart. You may want looser fleece for other projects, such as felting it onto another piece to make a picture. Rinse the felt and let it dry. You can also dye it at this stage if you'd like. It's easier than doing it when it's individual fibers.
To wash raw fleece, run some warm water in a sink, pot or tub, depending on the amount. Add some dish detergent - the kind that's not gentle on your hands. Add your fleece and gently push it under the water until it's soaked through. DON'T AGITATE IT! You will have felt if you do. Let it soak for 20-30 minutes. Lift it out. Empty the water, and repeat. The third time, if the fleece is clean enough, just use clear water to rinse it. After it is rinsed, you can run it through the spin cycle on your washing machine if you're careful not to agitate it in the process. Then you can lay it on your skirting table, out of the sun, and let it air dry.
Now that your fleece is clean, you can dye it or start spinning or needle-felting. Since most of our fleece is white, I dye a lot of it. Kool-Aid works well, just add a little vinegar.
There are several books on felting. Check Quality Llama Products, Useful Lama Items, Amazon.com and Books A Million. A couple I like are:
The Art of Feltmaking by Anne Einset Vickrey
also the video by her - "Feltmaking by Hand - The Basic Process"
Simply Felt by Margaret Docherty & Jayne Emerson
Fun With Felt & Embroidery by Leisure Arts (I found this one at Michaels.)
Advice For new Alpacas Owners
1. Find a Veterinarian before you bring your alpacas home! That was the toughest thing I had to do and caused me several problems. (If you live in an area that already has several alpaca farms, this shouldn't be a big problem for you.) We were blessed in that we had no medical emergencies during the time we had no Vet (or after we found a Vet). However, we did have nutritional problems and while Auburn University was only a phone call away, they wanted to talk to my Vet about setting up a herd management program. I did have a Vet at this point, but he was extremely busy, and they could never get in touch with each other. Consequently, I never got the nutritional advice I needed. Try to find one who would enjoy working with alpacas. It makes a huge difference!
2. Budget for the obvious things like a shelter of some kind, fences and pasture, if you don't already have them. But don't forget :Insurance on your alpacas, Transport Fees, Veterinarian Bills, Feed, Education - including books, tapes and magazines, Membership Fees - AOBA, ARI, etc., Stud Fees, Worm Medicine, Needles, Syringes, Halters, Lead Ropes, Buckets, Feed Bins, Toenail Clippers, Soil Test, Hay Analysis, Fiber test.
3. Buy Dr. Evans Field Manual
4. Check with your Extension agent about poisonous plants in your area. Familiarize yourself with the poisonous plants in your area of the country, and check your pastures carefully for them. Your County Extension Office should have valuable information available either free or at a low cost. Ours had a helpful little booklet by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System entitled "Poisonous Plants of the Southeastern United States" for $4.95.
Another book available from various suppliers of alpaca products is "Field Guide to Plants Poisonous to Livestock - Western U.S."
Wilted Black Cherry tree leaves are extremely toxic to livestock. Bracken fern, laurel, buttercup, lantana, oleander, locust, chinaberry tree, Chinese tallowtree (popcorn tree), pigweed, sneezeweed, and milkweed are some other poisonous plants that are listed for the Southeast.
5. A good alpaca training video will help you tremendously in handling your alpacas so you don't learn the hard way.
6. Have a means of transport in case you need to take the alpacas to the Vet.
You can contact me by email at: wyndy@wiregrassalpacas.com
or by phone:
(334) 899-8532
(334) 797-3322 (cell)
2. Budget for the obvious things like a shelter of some kind, fences and pasture, if you don't already have them. But don't forget :Insurance on your alpacas, Transport Fees, Veterinarian Bills, Feed, Education - including books, tapes and magazines, Membership Fees - AOBA, ARI, etc., Stud Fees, Worm Medicine, Needles, Syringes, Halters, Lead Ropes, Buckets, Feed Bins, Toenail Clippers, Soil Test, Hay Analysis, Fiber test.
3. Buy Dr. Evans Field Manual
4. Check with your Extension agent about poisonous plants in your area. Familiarize yourself with the poisonous plants in your area of the country, and check your pastures carefully for them. Your County Extension Office should have valuable information available either free or at a low cost. Ours had a helpful little booklet by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System entitled "Poisonous Plants of the Southeastern United States" for $4.95.
Another book available from various suppliers of alpaca products is "Field Guide to Plants Poisonous to Livestock - Western U.S."
Wilted Black Cherry tree leaves are extremely toxic to livestock. Bracken fern, laurel, buttercup, lantana, oleander, locust, chinaberry tree, Chinese tallowtree (popcorn tree), pigweed, sneezeweed, and milkweed are some other poisonous plants that are listed for the Southeast.
5. A good alpaca training video will help you tremendously in handling your alpacas so you don't learn the hard way.
6. Have a means of transport in case you need to take the alpacas to the Vet.
You can contact me by email at: wyndy@wiregrassalpacas.com
or by phone:
(334) 899-8532
(334) 797-3322 (cell)