Fiber Processing

Rustic yarn is all about creativity and imperfection. It’s about taking the fiber that you have and creating something that goes beyond the limits of what everyone else is doing. In the beginning, the knowledge and the skills may be less than expected, but improvement comes based on some aspect of natural talent, good luck, and the willingness to learn from the things that didn’t work. It also helps if you have someone nearby who initially knows more than you do. more »

A survey of several mills and their processing of suri. more »

Information and suggestions on knitting suri fleece. more »

This Suri Fiber Harvesting Code of Practice has been developed for Suri alpaca breeders by the Suri Network Product Development Committee in order to provide producers with clear and concise guidelines to maximize value. It can be implemented regardless of the operation size, location, or final textile destination. This step by step guide will enable producers to use standard fiber preparation, shearing, sorting and packing techniques, thereby improving the national clip and creating credibility in the textile marketing industry. more »

As soon as an alpaca – suri or huacaya - is restrained on the shearing table or floor, its fleece becomes a commercial commodity. The genetics, breeding, awards and animal’s name and temperament are no longer important. The priority at that point is to obtain the highest commercial yield possible from individual and groups of alpacas with the key being ‘consistency’. That means aiming to have consistency within a single skirted fleece and within the total fleece clip of your alpaca herd. more »