BellaOnline Forums Hobbies and Crafts Spinning Professionally Processed fiber?

<img src="/images/graemlins/rolling.gif" alt="" /> Hi, I'm new to spinning, but a totally obsessed knitter;
If I have an unusual fiber; let's start with my dog's undercoat, and I want to eventually move on to angora rabbit and then alpaca. I read about having it "professionally processed" to remove dander, etc. I am, technically, alergic to these animals. All the animals at my house live outside the house itself. I always have to take a chance with natural fibers that I will have to give up knitting with it. It doesn't seem to be all the yarn of one specific animal's fiber, but maybe some chemical they use to process it. I'm usually fine with alpaca, but I got some beautiful blue yarn at a festival, and I choke up and start tearing after about 30 min. of knitting with it. I have to think it's that particular color dye.
Who does the professional processing? Where do I start to find someone to do that? I'm in a small town in the middle of nowhere. They're not in the yellow pages. The only spinner I know doesn't think anything of using fiber straight off the animal.
And, I am totally intrigued that I've been reading ads for Possum fiber yarn. Possum? Really? Do they mean the possums like the Beverly Hillbillies ate, like the road kill in my neighborhood? That would be so cool! Finally, a purpose for one of the earth's most repellent creatures. They're really only cute in cartoons. They're not very nice in person. That would definately require somekind of special processing to get the smell out. It's only a step or two better than skunk. <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
TIA

Tia - there are fibermills - like frankenmuth fiber processors and ohio valley processors - that process not only wool but specialty fibers too. The fee is somewhat different, I believe, for specialty fibers, but you could check with them to see how they do it and what chemicals they use for it. they may be able to enlighten you as to what chemicals may cause reactions, or what dyes are more prone to this than others. There are some that process with organic methods, but I don't know their name right this second.
Hope this helps.
Beth, Spinning editor

I have problems with some dyes - dark blue in particular is often a problem for me. When I had allergy testing, I actually reacted LESS to dog dander than plain saline.

In your case, there are a number of pet shampoos and rinses intended to make your pet non-allergenic. (I've also seen a do it yourself recipe involving listerine and something else, but I can't find it now.) I know a number of people who report great success using them. You might want to try using one of those on your fibers yourself (or hire a local teenager) and avoid the possibilities of other chemicals from processing.

As for the possum - I've seen fur from an Australian possum that is nicer and less course than the US possum, I'd suspect that's what you are seeing.

Julie

I have bought and spun wool blended with possum fibre. The hair is taken from the brush tailed possums from Australia that have been released in NZ and are feral. I would have thought you would be allergic to the animals dander rather than the hair itself so as long as you buy commercially prepared fibre you would be at less risk of allergy from dander as chemicals. As they are pretty harsh the way the prepare it. Often using chemicals that you don't get from a handspinners prepared fleece. Dyes are another thing altogether,even natural dyes need a mordant and the mordant is often a nasty chemical that makes the dye react and stick to the wool.I would suggest you find a spinners guild near to you and contact them to find someone who may be willing to sell you yarn from more gently prepared natural colored fibre. Spin Off magazine is a good place to start as it lists a lot of US guilds.

Tia - you might also try dying fiber yourself using Kool-aid. It doesn't need a mordant to set it, as it is an acid dye, and stays where you put it. If you washed your fiber in the hypoallergenic shampoo, let it dry, carded it a bit, and then dyed it yourself, you might have some luck and not have to use the harsher chemical processes that commerical places use. Just a thought.

Hi Tia, are you still out there wondering how to handle the fibers? I wash all the wool, dog hair, etc in my shampoo and do final rinse with my conditioner.

Now for the lovely fiber yarn you bought that you couldn't use: try putting it in a skein, tie it loosely all the way around using a number of ties no more than 6 inches apart. Don't cramp the yarns by tieing it too tightly. If it is machine washable, toss it in on delicate, if not toss in sink full of warm water and shampoo. Wash several times and hang to dry.

A lot of people are allergic to the chemicals professionals use to clean fibers and even more are allergic to the dyes themselves.

Angora is a lovely fiber. Keep it in the Freezer and only take out as much as can be spun in 15 minutes. Keeps it from flying all over the place. Kid Mohair, the same thing.