BYC Spinning Fiber

[itsy]

Hey peeps.

I'm going to be carding and spinning an alpaca fleece for someone - but I have never carded before and will need to buy hand cards. Could anyone suggest a brand/type? I can't spend a fortune and would love for the carder to be dual purpose and able to card some wool as well as alpaca.

 

[Hucklekree]

You probably could have some luck on craigslist. I got my favorite pair on there. Just make sure that for alpaca you have a good needles per square inch number like 90 or higher. 90 is good for wool too as long as it isn't too coarse. Other than that I don't have much to say on brand.

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

The higher the TPI (tips per inch) or PPI (points per inch), the better for carding finer fibers.

I have some 72 TPI hand cards that are great for wools but my drum carder (Patrick Green 'Deb's Deluxe) has more TPI for carding finer fibers.

You can always card coarser wools on a finer cloth with good results, but you will get good results carding fine fiber on a low TPI cloth.

How much alpaca do you have to card and how often will you be carding? It may be just as much or cheaper to send the fiber off to a fiber mill as it would buying carders. Something to consider.

 

[itsy]

Thanks for the responses, ladies!

Mullers - the deal is - she sends me one full alpaca fleece to spin for her into bulky yarn and I get one fleece for free. I have no idea what's involved with prepping alpaca or the carding, but I figure it's a good time to learn! She offered to send me the free fleece right away, but I told her that I would be more comfortable sending her the finished product first - and if she wasn't COMPLETELY happy with it that I wouldn't want her to send me the free one. I figure it's a good learning experience for me and I enjoy spinning, so it's not like I'm losing out. She had them professionally cut (is sheared the proper word with alpaca?) and she said there aren't many second cuts. She said all and all, they are pretty clean, but a little dusty (which I'm familiar with when spinning alpaca roving.) I asked that she send me one of the cleaner ones for me to start with because I'm new to the carding world.

So - you think I should send it out and have it done? I figure if I buy the carders, I could use them in the future for myself. I've found new 90 carders online for like $55 plus shipping. Figure that sounds good.

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

Itsy, ask the lady if she is including just the 'prime' #1 (the blanket area of the 'paca') or #2s (neck & leg fiber - more coarse) and #3s (belly & britchen - very coarse). You only really want to work with the #1 prime blanket area. If it was shorn by a professional, then these 3 grades were separated at shearing time. Ask her how much VM (veggie matter, i.e. hay, grass, seeds, et al) is in the fleece. The more VM, the harder it is to get it clean & spun. (Good thing about alpaca fleece, is that VM can be carded out easier than sheep fleece.)

Also ask her the average staple length of the fiber. Some mills will not do alpaca because of the length. Also a consideration when hand carding.

When I process raw alpaca, I don't bother with washing it first ... especially for loosely spun bulky yarn. There is no lanolin you need to get out. Usually a couple of quick flicks or a 'flicker' or 'flick carder' to open up the ends is all it takes to spin it.

For this adventure, I would look into either flick cards or even a single dog slicker (do a search on dog slicker brush) to open the ends. Just make sure you spin it loose. Alpaca fiber is long enough that a loose twist to hold it together is all it needs for a nice fluffy yarn.

Better to invest < $10 in a slicker brush than more for carders. If you do decide to get hand cards (which aren't always friendly with long staple length fibers), get one with a TPI over 100.

If it were me, knowing what I know now after processing more than a few alpaca & llama fleeces but not having the equipment available, I would go to a pet store and get a dog slicker and just flick both ends of the fiber, lay it aside until I accumulated enough to spin, then spin it loose.

 

[itsy]

Cyndi - you are a wealth of information!! Thank you so much for all of the advice. I will do everything you suggested! I'm looking forward to spinning this fleece.

 

[itsy]

I got sent a sample today! She's having me spin it to see if she likes the end product to know whether or not I'll be doing more. It seems like there are some shorter pieces mixed in with longer pieces, but it may simply be the shorter pieces that have been pulled apart and are attached. It's dusty and has a little VM. I'm going to do what you suggested, Cyndi, and try the dog brushes. I'm wondering if this is too short for me to easily spin bulky. Maybe I'll mix in some of my plain offwhite cormo/romney blend to give her another option in another skein. Here are some photos:

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

The shorter pieces are 2nd cuts. Separate them from the longer fiber before you card/comb the fiber.

The staple length is pretty short, but with carding, then rolling into a rolag then spinning from the end, you should be able to spin a bulky yarn.

 

[itsy]

So if I'm separating them out... can I still use them? Or will I have to blend them in with another fiber?

I wish you lived closer, Cyndi! I'd take every class you had!

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

You can use them blended with another fiber (or with the alpaca) to create an 'art yarn' full of bumps and lumps.