llama/ alpaca wool

vivinlaguna wrote

on Jan 11, 2012 2:22 PM

hi my name is viviana, I live in Orange County...does anyone know where I can take my wool to be washed and prepared to be spun? 

Boudicea Farm wrote

on Feb 13, 2012 1:23 AM

I have Alpacas and thought the best way was to send mine off   what i found out is it costs a lot of money to have it done. Most mills charge extra for cleaning and washing your fleece, to save yourself money and time waiting for your processed fiber its fairly easy to do yourself. First shake out as much vegetable matter as possible, if you have a picker or access to one run your fleece thru it will loosen the fiber making it easier to shake the Vm out. Then take your fiber in batches and place in a garment bag used to wash delicates in the washer. fill a sink with warm water and add dish washing detergent just a few drops is plenty, since alpaca does not contain lanolin a mild soap is best,  I make soap so I make a mild to wash my fleece. Just place the bag in the water and gently press it down until the fleece is wet and then let soak for 10 to 15 min. Fill an other sink with clean water roughly the same temp as the wash and rinse your fiber the same way press down until under water and let sit for a few min. Never agitate the fiber it can cause it to felt,  repeat process if the fleece is really dirty,  then remove from rinse water and let drain over a sink on a rack, I use and old cake rack the fits over my sink let air dry. Its more waiting than work and can cut your processing bill by a third since the processor will only have to card your fiber. Also check with your local craft store that cater to spinning sometime's they have a drum carder you can rent and do the whole process yourself.