Help!!! I have recently gotten my hands on a trash bag full of raw alpaca fiber....yeah. My problem is that I am a newbie spinner using a homemade drop spindle. I have watched numerous videos online and have got the basic hang of spinning. I need some instructions on how to get the fiber into roving or something that is more usable. The fibers are only a few inches long. How can I get them into a longer roving that will make it easier for me to draft and give me a more consistent yarn?
Get a drum carder or a set of hand carders. My local fiber store, Paradise Fiber, is really awesome and will ship stuff. Call them up if you wanna ask any questions about different equipment, they're super helpful! Another place to look is craigslist. I got my spinning wheel, drum carder, and loom from a lady who was moving to Hawaii, all for $300.
The drum carder will make batts, which you can split into more manageable pieces to spin.
The hand carders will make rolags, which you can also spin from.
Another option would be to send the fiber to a mill, where they'll process it for you.
Hello Marla - hope your alpaca isn't full of paddock trash - those animals do like to roll.
You may like to try the following - wash carefully if necessary using shampoo (doesn't need to be expensive) using a lingerie washing ,esh bag to comtain the fibres - this makes it easier to handle and keeps it together better. Dry, and select a staple, fluff out using a fine dog comb or one of those multi-wired cat/dog slicker tools. Once this is done, it should be possible to gently pull it into a narrow roving ready to spin. If there is insufficient fibre in one staple, add another, overlapping and pulling out as before. It is more fiddly than using carders, but should get you started in the meantime.
Good luck with this - let us all know how you go. I find it needs a bit more twist than wool with a similar micron measure.
I am going to try your suggestions over the weekend. My fiber has some debris in it but not too bad. With some practice, my drafting is getting a little better. A friend is loaning me her spinning wheel so that will be another adventure. She has never used it so wasn't much help. I will let you all know how I progress.
I did rinse some of the alpaca fiber in a mesh bag and hung it out to dry. It does seem to work much better than before. I was also able to pick up some wool roving so that I could focus more on the spinning and that has worked out well. I will probably try to ply it with the alpaca since the colors would mix well together.
I spin mostly alpaca (have 26 pounds of the stuff right now!) It does definitely spin better if lightly washed. The nice thing about alpaca is the lack of lanolin/grease that sheep wool has. You are mostly washing the dust and barnyard debris out of it. If it is really fine alpaca, the fibers are long but slippery and can be difficult. A little extra twist definitely helps, and the yarn softens up nicely when balance plied. I will have a bobbin that feels horrible as a spun single and then will bounce out light and fluffy when plied.
As far as carding..do it *gently*. Since I am doing business production I use a drum carder, but the same applies for hand cards. If you are drum carding, the slower you card the better results you will get, and it will take fewer passes through the carder. Alpaca seems to break easily under the normal tension of a drum carder..and that is ANY alpaca I have used regardless of quality.
If you are using hand cards, the same applies. Load the carders with smaller amounts, card gently and card just until you have a spinnable quality. Alpaca is easy to overcard. I keep a spritzer bottle of carding spray (look online for recipies) as well, as alpaca gets very static-y in dry climates.
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