The Llama Wool Process:
Harvesting or Collecting Wool:
Methods of collecting wool vary from person to person. A wire brush is often used to remove more stubborn debris.
After this initial cleaning, llamas, like sheep and alpacas, can be shorn, clipped or brushed. Brushing removes primarily the fine, luxurious undercoat next to the body. Shearing and clipping take both the down and the coarse, outer guard hair. It’s important to leave at least 1-2" of wool on the animal to prevent sunburn.
The type of restraint used will depend on the animal’s temperament.
Llama fleece normally grows 3-4" per year. A full-grown coat averages 5-10 pounds, with exceptionally wooly, mature, unshorn animals bearing as much as 20 pounds. If shorn, it takes two years for most normal coats to grow back.
Preparation:
Before the wool can be spun for use, it must be cleaned - and the cleaner the better. The neck and leg wool from animals with shorter, coarser hair, are normally discarded.
Hand Picking:
This is done by teasing small amounts of wool with fingers so dirt and vegetation falls out. It takes time, but spinning directly from hand-picked wool creates a wonderfully textured, natural or rustic thick/thin type of yarn. Some like to hand pick the wool before carding.
Hand Carding:
Carding is done to open fiber, remove debris and second cuts, and arrange fibers so they are easily drafted, or drawn out, during spinning. The use of hand carders (flat or slightly curved wooden paddles with closely set rows of short, metal teeth) is time consuming but produces a fine, even yarn that is easy to work with.
Hand Spinning:
Prepared llama wool is a spinner’s delight - clean, odorless, greaseless, and light. The finished yarn depends on the spinner. It can be very textured, or smooth and fine.The spun Wool is washed in a mild washing liquid, attached weights and hanged until almost dry before removing weights to set the twist.
After spinning, then only limit in the creation of a finished piece is imagination...
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