Carding Fiber For Spinning

Patrick Green Super Carder & Me

I've got a lot of spinning to do.....mostly alpaca for a friend, but I've also got some angora, mohair, and wool to spin up too from my own flocks. The alpaca is slow going, I thought I had a handle on it but there are still so many bags of it to do yet I fear I'll never get through it all! The good news is that two ladies are going to be helping me in exchange for spinning lessons!

Above you see my weighing method, after it's washed & dried I measure out 2.2 to 2.4 ounces and then put it on the carder below...once the carder kicks out misc dirt and dibris it usually winds up with a carded bat that is 2.0 ounces exactly give or take a thenth or so.

Below you see the beautiful bat being pulled away from the carder, so soft and easy to spin!! Alpaca is one of my favorite fibers for softness, but it's not as nice as angora! Last month I finished up 3 more fleeces...I hope to get through another 5 this month before the baby goaties start hitting the ground in March!