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Fibre Processing | Preparing Your Fibre Proper Sorting and Skirting | Skirting the Alpaca Fleece Sorting While the prime clip or blanket area of the alpaca fleece can come off in one piece, other areas are taken off in sections. While the alpaca is being shorn, many alpaca owners will separate the prime clip from second- and third-grade fibres, and discard all waste fibres. Because an alpaca fleece fits nicely into a plastic garbage bag or feed bag, other owners will separate each fleece in its own bag and sort the prime from the second- and third-grade fibres later. The latter actually makes a little more work in the long run, but it's really a matter of personal preference. When initial sorting of fleece is done during shearing, having three easily distinguishable containers which hold pre-labelled plastic bags for the blanket, the second-grade fibres and the third-grade fibres or remainders makes the sorting job much easier. As the bags are filled, they can be lifted out of their respective containers, weighed, and put aside for skirting.  The purpose of sorting fibre is to create groups of uniform fibre. This will ensure a best end-product for you. Typically, the blanket or prime clip is the best quality and is shorn and separated first. The neck area is of good quality and sometimes portions of it are similar in quality to the blanket, but for the most part should be put in a second-grade bag. If some areas of the neck are of the same weight and quality as the blanket, put them in the blanket bag. The middle legs are usually also of good quality, and should go into the second-grade bag. You'll also need a "third-grade" or "remainders" bag for fibres of less quality than second-grade, such as second cuts. It's a good idea to ask your shearer not to go back over the alpaca to clean up uneven areas until all of the good fibre has been collected. While second cuts aren't a good choice for spinning yarn, they can be used quite nicely to make felt if you desire. This is true also of coarse 'arm-pit' hair, the lower legs, the belly, the britch area or heavily medullated fibres that are found on the apron. Waste fibres that are matted or stained with urine or manure are discarded altogether. If a fleece contains lice, mites or moths, discard it immediately; it can contaminate your other fleeces. If you’re shearing a coloured fleece and wish to separate the colours (and you may not wish to, too), remove the colours one at a time, lightest first (i.e. white, then brown). What would then remain of the fleece would be areas less well-defined between the dark and light areas, a mixture of the colours. Also, you will probably want to process your Huacaya fleece separately from Suri or silky fleece, so keeping them separate until you've made your processing decisions is important. Skirting Skirting is generally done later when the fleeces can be inspected more closely. It is the process of removing sections of the fleece which are dirty, coarse, contaminated, or generally unusable.
If you plan to skirt a great deal of alpaca wool, it would be advisable to build a skirting table. There are many types, but, in its simplest form, a skirting table is a frame with a large screen or mesh stretched over it, supported on a stand. This enables debris and second cuts (staple lengths 2" or shorter) to fall through the screen or mesh. The mesh should have approximately 1-inch holes. Snowfencing material may be an option, for example, or dowells running from side to side of the table with one- to two-inch spaces between, similar to a conveyor belt. Lay your alpaca fleece out for examination. Separate the locks to get at any hard-to-find vegetable matter as you move through the fleece. Pods of seeds which are not removed will later explode in the picker and become hundreds of smaller seeds, which become an exponentially greater problem! If you come across a lock or portion of fibre that is so full of vegetable matter that removing the matter would take a month of Sundays, discard the entire lock or portion. It's typical to find these types of locks in the bird's nest or hay mow at the base of the neck. These sections are generally discarded at shearing time. Overall, you’ll want to spread the fleece over your flat skirting area and carefully remove and discard any: Manure tags: wool coated with urine and manure. Weathered wool: wool that is dry and coarse due to sun damage, water staining, or harsh weather conditions. Vegetable matter: hay, straw, seeds, leaves, chaff, etc. Foreign matter: insect bodies, gravel, twine, anything that isn't fleece. Please see What to Avoid in a Fleece. If you're sending your fibre to us to be washed, label your bags according to their contents (i.e. colours, grades, lot numbers, etc.). It's important to include your name and phone number on your label, as well, for easy identification (see Important Checklist Before Ordering). If you plan to wash your fibre yourself, please see washing instructions. |
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Preparing Your Fibre
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