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Joined: Sep 2008
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Hi JoanJ and everyone!
I find this all so fascinating! Loved our sheep when we had them but didn't know anything about spinning. Did know the sheep needed to be sheared in a special way to keep short cuts out but didn't know how to find someone to do it.

Now I'm wanting a little menagerie. I'm thinking about alapacas, sheep, angora rabbits. I even read about a pygmy/angora goat mix called a pygora. Does anyone know about them?

I want to keep my animals on the smallish side so maybe I can do the shearing myself and take my time. By the way, does the fleece have to be kept in one piece?

Then there are vegetable fibers. I've read cotton can be spun straight of the seed.

I could sit here for hours reading what all of you have to say. I think I'm becoming addicted and I haven't even taken my first class. The one in my area isn't till April 25. Can hardly wait!

I've written down the different web sites so I will be gathering information, which is something else I can get lost in.

Difinitly want to thank everyone for their input. Lynn your articles are so informative. I could go on and on and on but guess I better not.


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thanks so much for all the great websites and info!

I have another question since I'm new to spinning. How much yarn can you get from a typical fleece from an alpaca or sheep? I realize the answer probably depends on many factors but just a ball park answer?

Also, how much roving would I need to buy to get enough yarn to weave a scarf, for instance?

Thanks
Joan

Joined: Oct 2007
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Hi Joan,

Wow! Your questions are impossible to ball park smile
The answer is - it depends. It depends on so many different factors that it simply cannot be ball parked with any degree of accuracy. For Sheep, I recommend the book "In Sheep's Clothing" which gives average fleece stats for a good number of popular breeds of sheep, along with much info on spinning, selecting fleeces, processing, etc.

As to how much roving you need to buy to weave a scarf - again, it depends. First, you have to know how much yarn you need to weave the scarf. Which means that you need to know the on-loom dimensions of the scarf + your allowance for take up, shrinkage, and loom waste (which will be less if you use a dummy warp for the waste portion). Once you know the yardage needed for the scarf, then you have to figure how many yards of that sized yarn you can spin from an ounce of the chosen fibers. Then you can figure out how much roving to buy.

There are 2 articles on the main Bellaonline spinning site to help you through the process of figuring it all out:
How much Fiber Do I need? and How much Yarn Do I need? Another article, Spinning to a Size, gives info on how to spin yarn to the exact size you need.

Or, there is the quick and dirty "eyeball" it method smile
First, spin the yarn. Then measure how many yards of yarn you have. Determine the width and length of the scarf, adding extra for takeup, shrinkage (I figure this at 10% of length) and loom waste (or plan to tie onto a dummy warp). My average loom waste is 27 to 36" depending on which loom I use. Remember to add more length if you plan fringe, or you can plan to use loom waste for the fringe. Then figure your sett and calculate how many yards you will need for the warp. Now figure how much yarn you will need for the weft - the length of each pick plus allowance for takeup and shrinkage (I use 10%). Add total yardage needed for warp + total yardage needed for weft and you have the total amount of yarn needed. How much fiber you need to spin that amount of yarn depends upon how you spin smile

Llyn


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Llyn, Thanks so much for the info! I'll take a look at the articles on Bella for sure.

I subscribed to the magazine SpinOff and it had a great project in the current issue for weaving a scarf and then felting it. I haven't done any weaving in a couple years so I'll have to remember all the finer points.

Joan

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Does anyone knows a good way to prevent moth? I work with the wool of my sheep but I have this problem every year.....
Thank you very much


icartaxo
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This looks to be an old topic by the date, but since I was interested n it, I've been reading through it. Just as a side note, a good friend of mine is seriously allergic to nearly all the camalid family of critters, including alpaca. She is miffed because she is a spinner and can hardly bare to be in the same room as alpaca fiber. It's also not really noted as a good "beginner" fiber for new spinners. Lovely stuff though it is, it's darned slippery for beginners. A "grabby" Coopworth or Shetland wool (or something similar) will be less frustrating. Once you have the hang of spinning, then try your hand at alpaca and see what you think. :)


Deb Frost
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Last year I demonstrated with a group of spinners at an Alpaca ranch for Nat'l Alpaca Day(or maybe week). This took place in N.W.Arizona. This place gets desert hot....because it's the Mohave! But it gets pretty darn chilly too. Most fur~babies get sheared in the spring, so they won't suffer in the heat of summer.I don't own any myself, so I could be wrong. I just spin them...;~)

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An update on our alpaca plans. We've decided we're "too old" to start a business like that. However, I still do love alpacas and just this week, when visiting my family in Oregon, I bought some beautiful Alpaca yarn.

The yarn shop had a yard outside and had some real llamas and alpacas there for demonstration. they sure are cute! In fact the yarn I bought came from one of them.

Guess instead of raising my own, I'll just have to buy yarn others have raised and spun.

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Or, you could buy alpaca fiber and spin your own yarn smile


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