Midwest Fiber Company

Sales Catalog | Fiber Artists | Processing Mills | Links | Tips/Articles | Fiber Workshops/Events | Home
How to Sort Your Fiber for Processing
What is acceptable:
Llama & Alpaca fiber that is:
1 -  Debris free, insect free, mat free.  Please take the time tPhoto llama fleeceo remove clumps of debris and mats.  If your fiber contains signs of insects, please do not send it. The photo at right is a fleece containing lice nits.
2 -  Collected from the blanket or neck only.  Please do not include belly or leg wool, as this is very coarse and contains too much debris. 
3 -  3" – 6" long.  Most mills will not accept fiber shorter than 3", or longer  than 6".  
4 -  Please check the tensile strength
Testing for tensile strength - Grasp a bundle or lock of fibers between two hands, spaced about an inch apart. Hold the fibers near your ear and pull gently. If you hear lots of popping, you know that there are many fibers breaking with the low force you are placing on them. These will not be able to withstand the stresses of commercial spinning. They will break and be lost.
Snap Test - Holding the lock between two hands, the lock is snapped smartly with the fingers. If the fibers break, the tensile strength is too low. 

  Please do some preparation of your shorn fiber in order to separate out contaminants and second cuts.  Sort out as you go either by keeping the good fiber separate during shearing or skirting out the belly and leg fiber afterwards.

  Most of us prefer first quality yarns, but for the most part, it is the amount of guard hair and debris that keeps it from being first quality.  If you would like to improve the quality of your fiber, top brush or pick your animal and use a blower to blow out small pieces of debris before shearing.  Shearing in a clean area and skirting the fleeces as you go is very helpful.

Fleeces that will not be accepted: Photo, fleece evaluation

  1. Fiber that is matted and can’t be easily pulled apart.

  2. Fiber that is too short  - it needs to be at least 3" long.

  3. Fiber that is too long - do not send anything over 6".

  4. Fiber that contains excessive debris such as:  mud, feces, vegetation, infestation, or mold.

Photo above-right is Lee Ann & Cherreene sorting fiber.          

If all or some of your fiber cannot be accepted, it will likely be returned to you or destroyed.  Please note your preference on the submittal form.