PRE CARD - CLEANING

First and most importantly – You must “pre-card clean” your alpaca fibre with the view that: 

**What ever you leave in will stay in the fleece, and will be spread throughout the entire fleece during the carding process**
 

Soaking the Fleeces:

Break up the fleece lot into amounts that can be washed easily.  We have found that soaking the fibre for 6-12 hours (or overnight) prior to washing will help the fibres to stay more separated during the washing process to follow.  It also helps with the washing of the fibre.   Please monitor the temperature of the washing water after the soaking stage – no sudden dramatic temperature changes.  This soaking is best done after any large areas of coarse fibres and vegetation is removed.
 

To Wash the Fleeces (Not Scouring):

Use water and either hair shampoo or gentle detergent (or whatever you use for your woollens) in a trough. The amount used will depend on the dirt level within the fibre. If the fibre is very dirty, you should continue to soak it in a mixture of water and shampoo until you see it is ready to continue with the washing process.  Otherwise just let soak for 15-30 minutes, then continue with the rinsing (see below) instructions.
 

DO NOT:

 1.  Agitate (just move & separate fibres gently under the water).

2.   Use hot water with a strong detergent, as we are washing not scouring.

3.  Under no circumstances should vinegar or any acid be added to the fleece. As vinegar is an acid, and this cause’s static build up as the fibre carded. The fibre literally sticks to the carding machine wires and rewashing is necessary.

Next rinse with plain water and repeat until the water is clear, then add water for final rinse and adding the required amount of clothes conditioner or if shampoo was used adding hair conditioner.  Water temperature needs to stay fairly constant to prevent matting.

Put the fleece into a large calico bag (or pillow-case) and place into the top loading washing machine, using the SPIN ONLY facility for a VERY short time to remove the excess water.

‘Open” the fleece for the first time (we found that to do this in the damp stage can be easier than in the dry stage) and spread it out to dry on open-grid racking or alternatively use whatever will allow the fibre to be “opened” and allow air circulation. As the opened fleece dries you are able to continue to “open” and move it about to ensure drying is done evenly. 

Also during opening you are able to remove vegetation contamination and coarse fibres.

Allow a couple of days for the fleece to be thoroughly dry before it is blended / and or carded.

We welcome client dyed fleeces for Picking & Carding, however added acid causes static and stops production.