Washing the Alpaca Fleece

Most people are happy with a pet goldfish, cat or dog but my younger sister has an alpaca or three. They have a wonderful temperament and keep the weeds down in her meadow and also produce wonderful fleece…. which she gives to me !

A Pet Alpaca

Most people are happy with a goldfish, cat or dog as a pet. My younger sister has some Suri alpacas. They have a wonderful temperament, keep the weeds down in her meadow and produce wonderful fleece, which she gives to me !

Alpaca fleece

 

Alpaca fleece

 

Alpaca fleece and the alpacas in a picture

Washing, Carding & Blending

I received the fleece was in it’s raw state but a  good wash and drum card later it was ready for spinning or felting.
I can’t wait to start spinning it.  That reminds me, I need to service my Ashford Spinning Wheel!

 

alpaca fleece carded
Alpaca doesn’t wet felt brilliantly on it’s own, so some of these fibres will be carded again and mixed with other wool fibres. I have some undyed fleece on my stash that I can use to blend it up.
When I’m done, I will make a few projects that can be eco printed or rust dyed.
Are you a felter or eco dyer? What projects are you working on at the moment? Share your thoughts below

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.