The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Food & crafts => Crafts => Topic started by: Orinoco on February 06, 2013, 08:48:21 am
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Hi
We would love to buy some alpacas and wondered if i could ask some advice.
Are there many people looking for fleece to hand spin?
Is one colour more sort after than the rest?
How long does 1 fleece take?
Is there any profit for hand spinners and if so how much does it work out per hour of work roughly, or should i say can it provide a worthwhile return
Trying to work out the demand and if its likely to be a growing demand and consistent or more fickle and hobby (labour of love).
Any info would b fab
Ta
K
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Orinoco, I belong to a Spinners guild and one of the ladies there spins alpacca although I wouldn't say she does a great job of it. She has bags and bags of the fleece and can't give it away. She gave me a bag of black and I find it quite difficult as it is so smooth and silky, doesn't seem to grip like sheep fleece.
It is supposed to felt too but I also found it too slippery for that on its own and blended it with some sheep fleece.
At Wonderwool Wales last year there were several alpacca stands selling fleece and it was quite expensive and nicer looking than the fleece I was given. As with sheep I am sure that there are some alpacca with better fleece and these will demand a premium to buy the animal as well as the fleece.
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Hi
In regards to the fleece, yes there are vastly different qualities as far as I undersand and the animals with the better fleece are generally more expensive (if breeding females), there is also the 2 different types of alpaca the Suri is generally touselled and greasier than the Huacaya which is more crimped.
Maybe I should have a go at hand spinning before I decide what to buy (we either buy as expensive pets/ attraction for the holiday let or for the fleece and this will dramatically affect the price we pay and our future potential with the animals which is why I thought a few questions and a little research first would be worthwhile).
Thanks
K
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Hand spinning alpaca is not for a beginner the fleece has little to no oil and does not twist with ease. I would generally blend it and it makes a lovely yarn if mixed with silk or even a very soft sheeps fleece, merino for instance or even a good shetland. You get a fair amount of fleece from one animal but the colour is a bit flat which makes it less interesting. it does weave into a beautiful cloth and one idea would be to have it spun by machine and then woven into a suit weight, not cheap I would add. To sell the fleece I would go for the lighter colours, the gold is very pretty or the white that dyes well.
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I am new to spinning and Alpaca was the first fleece I spun granted its a wee bit thick in places but I loved spinning it I washed then carded it on carding drum adding a wee bit of silk am knitting it up now its quite rhick but knits up ok nice and soft considering ive never done any of this before im pleased worh the results i like spinning Alpaca and want some good quality pure black fleece to spin
Arlene
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Well done Arlene! :thumbsup:
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thanks Sally :wave: its lovely I am getting away with spinning it a little thinner now
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Hi Arlene
Thanks for the response, I am aiming to get a good quality black so will let you know when I have some, although not sure if you are close, but its good to know what colour you would like to try.
Ta
Karen