Date of Publication:
May 11, 2018

Publication:
Interweave

Excerpt:
Lynn Edens, owner of Imperial Yarn and Little Creek Farm, has transformed a passion for spinning alpaca fiber into a thriving business and is on a mission to help other American-grown alpaca ranchers in the United States find success.

Lynn was running a horse farm when she became interested in spinning. The first time she spun with alpaca, she was hooked. Alpaca fleece is available in grades as fine and uniform as cashmere yet offers distinct advantages over that other luxury fiber. “I loved the buttery handle and the brightness of the best-quality alpaca,” she says. “It was as soft as cashmere with comparable loft, but it also had great strength and longer fiber length, which makes for easier spinning and more consistent yarn.” She also discovered that this premier alpaca fiber was affordable relative to its quality. “This is because unlike cashmere goats, for instance, top-quality alpacas can produce pounds instead of ounces of elite-quality fiber every year.”

Read the rest of the article: https://www.interweave.com/article/knitting/american-grown-alpaca

Date of Publication:
1999

Publication:
Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 39(8) 941 - 948

Abstract:
Summary. The topmaking performance of fleeces from sheep that were ranked high or low on index selection using objective measurement was compared with that of sheep from the same flock that were ranked high or low on visual assessment.

A flock of 451 15-month-old fine-wool Merino sheep were classed by 2 experienced fine-wool sheep classers into 3 grades: best, average and culls. Forty-four sheep were assessed as ‘best’ and 77 sheep were graded as ‘culls’ by both classers. These sheep were defined as the ‘best visual’ and ‘worst visual’ sheep, respectively. Measurements of clean fleece weight, mean fibre diameter, coefficient of variation of fibre diameter and body weight were used in a selection index to rank all sheep in the flock. The selection index was designed to rapidly reduce mean fibre diameter and slowly increase clean fleece weight, whilst maintaining staple strength and body weight. The 44 sheep with the highest index value were defined as ‘best index’ sheep and the group of 77 sheep with the lowest index or obvious physical faults were defined as the ‘worst index’ sheep. Twenty-five fleeces were randomly selected from each of the ‘best’ and ‘worst visual’, ‘best’ and ‘worst index’ sheep for individual processing through to top.

The fleeces from the ‘best index’ sheep produced greater quantities of tops that were significantly finer, longer, of lower curvature and produced less noil than all other groups. In contrast to the large difference in quality between tops from the ‘best’ and ‘worst index’ sheep, there was little difference in quality between tops from the ‘best’ and ‘worst visual’ sheep. This indicates that the traditional wool producer views of wool quality are unrelated to processing performance. It was concluded that Merino sheep selected by index selection using direct measurement of fleece weight, mean fibre diameter and coefficient of variation of diameter as selection criteria produced greater quantities of wool of superior processing performance to that from sheep selected using visual assessment.

Read the rest of the article: https://www.publish.csiro.au/AN/EA98177

Date of Publication:
June 8, 2006

Publication:
Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 46(7) 921-925

Abstract:
TA benchtop scouring procedure was used to evaluate the ability of conventional detergent scouring systems to adequately clean fleece samples from a selection of Western Australian Merino wools. Sixteen fleeces were selected from the Western Australian Department of Agriculture resource flocks, covering a wide range in yield (49.2 to 77.5%), wax (7.3 to 26.9%), suint (4.9 to 11.6%), and dust (1.4 to 16.3%) contents. Using a simple detergent-based system, 50% of the fleeces were classified as effectively scoured, based on residual wax content. When scouring liquor was not refreshed between subsamples drawn from the same fleece, wool wax, staple length and dust content in the greasy fleece accounted for 93% of the variation in the rate of residual wax increase observed in sequential 10 g samples of wool. Residual ash content also increased but the greasy fleece parameters measured were not statistically significant predictors of residual ash changes. The rate of scoured wool colour change, when sequential samples of greasy wool from the same fleece were scoured without liquor change, could be predicted from greasy fleece yields. The scouring efficiency of the more difficult to scour wools was improved by the addition of sodium carbonate to the main scouring bowls.

Read the rest of the article: https://www.publish.csiro.au/AN/EA05352

Date of Publication:
unknown

Publication:
New England Alpaca Fiber Pool Inc.

Excerpt:
Our goal is to keep fiber grading as straight forward as possible on the farmer’s end. Our system is designed to be simple to understand while identifying the areas of the alpaca with different levels of fineness and staple length. We ask that all farm’s submitting fiber keep it separated into the three basic grades, based on how it comes off during shearing. Fiber should be sheared, kept separate by shearing location, and quickly skirted to remove barn yard debris and short cuts under 1.5″ in staple length.

Read the rest of the article: https://www.neafp.com/index.php?dispatch=pages.view&page_id=14

Date of Publication:
August 2002

Publication:
7th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, August 19-23, 2002, Montpellier, France

Introduction:
Felting of wool is a major problem in the manufacture of knitted and woven products, as it is related to yarn shrinkage, which is a critical problem of the finished product. Felting is a unique property of animal fibres and a desirable characteristic in the making of felted products. However, felting is a particular problem with fine wools. Non-shrink woollen products are currently produced using chemical treatments during processing. Chlorination is the first step and it degrades the fibre surface. Fibres are then coated with polymers to cover degraded scale structures and/or to bond fibres together to prevent felt shrinkage. This process minimises frictional effects on wool fibre surfaces, limits relative motion of fibres in all directions, and increases hydrophilic properties of the fibre surface (Chen et al., 2000). Although these processes have been highly successful in shrink-proofing wool, they are expensive and detrimental to the fibre. Furthermore, the chlorination process is environmentally unfriendly and there are difficulties with residue disposal.

Greeff and Schlink (2001) have shown that felting is a heritable trait, which implies that altering the ability of wool to felt through breeding may make a considerable contribution to wool’s processing properties and will enhance wool’s clean and green image. However, felting is strongly influenced by fibre curvature, fibre diameter (Scheepers and Slinger, 1968 ; Hunter et al., 1982 ; Kenyon et al., 1999 ; Veldsman and Kritzinger, 1960) and clean yield (Schlink et al., 2000). Lipson and Rothery (1975) showed that Merino wool has a significantly higher felting ability than Polwarth wool in spite of the fact that there were no differences in fibre surface friction, scale frequency or elastic properties between the breeds.They did note significant differences between the breeds in “swellings and necks” at intervals along the fibres, but conclusions were not clear because these wools differed in micron and curvature was not recorded. The OFDA2000 (Brims, 1997) has algorithms to measure variability and unevenness traits along the fibre which may be used to identify samples that may cause spinning problems. The objective of this study was to identify whether these along fibre variability traits influence felting and whether they are heritable.

Read the rest of the article: http://wcgalp.org/system/files/proceedings/2002/genetic-variation-merino-wool-felting.pdf

Date of Publication:
2011

Publication:
Alpaca, Spring 2011, p.28

Excerpt:
So we’d sorted, prepared and now we needed to spin the fleece. Marilyn showed us two methods, the first using a drop spindle which is still favoured by Peruvian women (nearly all of their daughters can spin by the age of three). Fitting neatly into one hand, the drop spindle is highly portable and spinning can be done even while walking. The demonstration then progressed onto using a treadle spinning wheel with a discussion on how the resulting yarn can be plied to create 2 ply, 3 ply, etc.

Read the rest of the article: http://www.bas-uk.com/sites/default/files/downloads/alpacapedia/Jan/BAS%20Magazine%20-%20Spring%202011%20-%20A%20day%20in%20the%20fibre%20workshop.pdf

Date of Publication:
unknown

Publication:
The British Alpaca Society

Excerpt:
The oldest and most traditional method of turning alpaca fibre into yarn is hand spinning. Alpaca is a very attractive fibre to the hand spinner as unlike sheep’s wool it is a dry fibre, containing minuscule amounts of lanolin and so can be spun straight from the fleece without the need to scour. Many BAS members sell individual fleeces in all colours to hand spinners. Some will sell carded (or combed) fleece and some washed and carded fleece in small quantities down to as little as 50-500g. The average unsorted alpaca fleece is around 2.5kg and will give a hand spinner enough fine fibre to keep them busy for a very long time.

Read the rest of the article: http://www.bas-uk.com/alpacapedia/alpaca-fibre-processing

Date of Publication:
unknown

Publication:
Alpacas as Pets???

Excerpt:
Mark arrived early in the morning and asked where to set up. He needed a flat surface with posts or ‘O’ rings to attach some pulleys, explaining that this was a restraint system to hold the alpaca still while quickly shearing the fleece off. With only a semi-enclosed loafing shed with dirt floor for sheltering the alpacas, Mark looked around and decided on using our concrete patio under the deck. The support posts for the deck would work well to anchor the restraints.

Read the rest of the article: http://webpages.charter.net/alpacaatlantic/2-4shearing.htm