From Alpaca Fiber to Yarn — Washing, Carding, and Spinning

Select a raw alpaca fleece. The alpaca produces more than 22 natural colors — white, cream, beige, light brown, dark brown, silver gray, charcoal gray, and black. Each color can be spun without dyeing. A fleece weighs between 1.5 and 3 kg.

Lay the fleece on a clean surface. Remove the edges — wool from the belly, legs, and dirty or tangled parts. The best quality fiber comes from the mantle (back and sides).

Separate the fiber into groups: fine fiber from the mantle (for soft yarn), medium fiber from the flanks (resistant yarn), and coarse fiber from the neck (for rugs or felting). Alpaca fiber ranges from 18 to 30 microns depending on the body area.

Soak the fiber in warm water (30-35°C). Alpaca has no lanolin, so it doesn't need strong soap or very hot water. Let it soak for 20 minutes — don't agitate, as the fiber may felt.

If there is stubborn dirt, do a second wash with a drop of neutral soap in warm water. Soak gently — never scrub. The absence of lanolin makes cleaning much faster than sheep wool.

Rinse the fiber in progressively cooler water until the water runs clear. Two passes are usually enough. Drain gently without wringing.

Lay the washed fiber on a net or towel in the shade with good ventilation. Turn occasionally. Alpaca fiber dries faster than sheep fiber because it doesn't retain grease.

Take each dry lock and gently pull it apart with your fingers to open the fiber structure. Remove any remaining plant debris. Work through the entire batch — this greatly facilitates carding.

Place a carder on your knee with the teeth facing up. Spread a thin layer of alpaca fiber over the teeth. Don't overload — a thin layer cards much better.

Pass the second carder over the first with gentle, long strokes, transferring fiber between the two. Repeat 5-6 times until all fibers are aligned in the same direction. Alpaca fiber is more slippery than sheep wool — slow movements work better.

Roll the carded fiber off the carder forming a loose cylinder — the rolag. Alpaca fiber has less elastic memory than sheep wool, so the rolags will be looser. This is normal.

Tie a leader yarn (60 cm of any existing yarn) to the spindle shaft, below the whorl. Pass it over the edge of the whorl and to the tip. This leader yarn allows you to attach the new fiber.

Pull a thin tuft of fiber from the tip of the rolag and overlap it with the leader yarn. Alpaca fiber is more slippery — make a larger overlap (8-10 cm) to ensure good grip when the twist enters.

Flick the spindle shaft to make it spin clockwise. Let it hang freely — the weight of the whorl maintains the rotation. The twist travels up the yarn and enters the stretched fiber above the pinch point.

When the spindle slows, stop it between your knees. Draft more fiber from the rolag, release the pinch point to let the twist enter, then wind the finished yarn onto the shaft. Alpaca fiber needs slightly more twist than sheep wool because it is more slippery.

When you have two spindles full of single yarn, wind them into two balls. Hold both yarns together and spin the spindle in the opposite direction of spinning. The two single yarns twist together forming a 2-ply yarn, stronger and more balanced.

Soak the plied yarn in warm water for 20 minutes. Squeeze gently — never wring. Hang with a light weight on the end to dry under light tension. This permanently sets the twist.

When dry, wind the yarn around your forearm or a chair to form a skein. Tie at two points to prevent tangling. Your alpaca yarn is ready — for weaving, knitting, or taking to natural dyeing.