# Spinning- Alpaca- from start to result.



## Linda6885 (Feb 13, 2011)

A short time ago I posted pictures of alpaca fleece. I had questions about carding or combing because of the length of the staple. After a bit of experimenting carding worked good for me. Spinning took some experimenting too. Should I fold, long draw, short draw, back draft, wow. Finally got it together. I love using the long draw method and for the most part worked well because of the long staple I was working with. I dyed it with food color, I usually use Kool-Aid but didn't have a flavor (color) I wanted. The food color worked beautifully. Love the end result and the whole process. The next batch I think I will go into purples and then greens.


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## mama879 (Jan 27, 2011)

Wow so glad you figured it all out but it was a learning experience. The color is wonderful Have fun with your next adventure.


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## Lolly12 (Oct 10, 2012)

Beautiful ♥


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## sapodedo (Jan 28, 2015)

How do you set the food color dye? Thanks!


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## Linda6885 (Feb 13, 2011)

sapodedo said:


> How do you set the food color dye? Thanks!


It is quite easy. I use a large stainless steel pot, which I fill with warm water. (half to 3/4 full) Add about 1/2 cup of vinegar, your liquid food color or Kool-Aid. Take your soaked skeins of yarn, put in pot. Push down in the dye water. Turn up heat and allow to come to boil. Turn off and let cool. It will take a couple of hours. You know it is done when the water is about clear. The yarn will have soaked up all the color. Pour out into a colander. Run pot or sink full of room temp water. I use a little hair conditioner. Do not agitate, rather just push the yarn down in the water. Drain water, push out, no wringing, water, roll in towels, hang skeins to dry. I suggest you look up dying with food color and or Kool-Aid on youtube. There are many different techniques. People use, ovens, micros, sun, or boiling to set dyes. But it is always heat.


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## sapodedo (Jan 28, 2015)

Great! TY so much. And, yes, additional research will help me decide what and how, etc. This will get me started. Your blue is so vibrant!


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## wordancer (May 4, 2011)

That is a simply a gorgeous blue. Nicely done.


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## Spooly (Oct 22, 2011)

Beautiful yarn. I love the amazing blue color.


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## Alpaca Farmer (Jan 19, 2011)

Beautiful fleece. The crimp indicates that it is a huacaya fleece.


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## Linda6885 (Feb 13, 2011)

Alpaca Farmer said:


> Beautiful fleece. The crimp indicates that it is a huacaya fleece.


THank you, I wasn't sure.


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## BirchPoint (Feb 12, 2016)

Beautiful yarn! I bet it's soft. Any idea what you're planning to do with it?


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

Just a beautiful color and it's nice to see the steps as you went through the process. I have never seen alpaca with such a long staple with crimp like that. It is gorgeous.


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## Linda6885 (Feb 13, 2011)

BirchPoint said:


> Beautiful yarn! I bet it's soft. Any idea what you're planning to do with it?


Don't know yet. I have lots and lots of fiber to work with. I thought each batch I complete I'll try to dye it colors that will blend together, so if I want to I can do a bigger project if I choose to.


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## Linda6885 (Feb 13, 2011)

I am happy with the color, but it took a bit of trial and error to get there, so I won't be able to duplicate the color. I first tried some grape Kool-Aid. It was old and an off brand. Which came out a lavender in the bright daylight, but looked gray otherwise. I thought it awful, just did not do the fiber justice. I then grabbed two of those small pointy bottles of food color (blue) you get at the grocers, and dyed it again. It worked, and I got this gorgeous blue. Not really royal, and not periwinkle. So that was an experiment in dying too.


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## ptober (Mar 24, 2011)

Lovely color.


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## Teardrop (Oct 23, 2011)

Since I raise Alpaca's and shear every year, I'm wondering either what breeding or how long between shearing. Different animals give different fiber growth's per year. I have a black Alpaca who has absolutely true black fiber but one years growth is only about 2 inches so I let her go last year and I'll have her sheared this year. My longest wooled/year would be about 4". That looks to be about 6 to 8". Just beautiful!! Great job at dying and spinning.


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## lovey (Nov 11, 2011)

:sm24:


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## FiberQueen (Aug 23, 2012)

It's a nice rich color. Great job!


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## Goodshepfarm (Jul 20, 2014)

The blue may have been an accident, but it is gorgeous and bright now! Excellent job! Yes, I'm hooked on long draw as well, I love the softness of the yarn.


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## FranVan (May 22, 2012)

Absolutely beautiful colored yarn. You did a great job. I think that I would like to try dyeing my spun yarn.


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## Linda6885 (Feb 13, 2011)

Teardrop said:


> Since I raise Alpaca's and shear every year, I'm wondering either what breeding or how long between shearing. Different animals give different fiber growth's per year. I have a black Alpaca who has absolutely true black fiber but one years growth is only about 2 inches so I let her go last year and I'll have her sheared this year. My longest wooled/year would be about 4". That looks to be about 6 to 8". Just beautiful!! Great job at dying and spinning.


'Alpaca Farmer' said the crimp indicated it is a huacaya fleece.


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## alpaca Issy (Oct 11, 2012)

That is lovely - beautiful colour -.wondering how much yarn is in the skein? It doesn't look as though you had very much vm in the fleece - takes me ages to get it all out with tweezers!


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## Linda6885 (Feb 13, 2011)

alpaca Issy said:


> That is lovely - beautiful colour -.wondering how much yarn is in the skein? It doesn't look as though you had very much vm in the fleece - takes me ages to get it all out with tweezers!


As I said the fleece was very clean an free of Vegetable matter. I did small amount of fleece and picked it by hand. I had a very small amount of sand left on table. I don't know, but maybe these animals were groomed before their shearing. Any VM could be flicked out while drafting. I have not measured the skein, but I can guess it is about 250 yds., 2ply sport-DK . I only have three bobbins. Instead of plying off of the bobbins, I tried a technique another spinner posted about. She wound the yarn in cakes from the bobbin, let it rest while spinning more. Then I plied from the cake pulling single from inside and outside. It worked very well. And being able to allow the single to rest a day or two, made it more manageable to ply. I was pretty amazed at myself that I hadn't over spun and plying was quite balanced. So even though the yarn is not perfectly spun, for a first attempt with alpaca, I gave myself a pat on the back.  I'm confident the next batch will be more even. But even if it isn't I am happy with the result.


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## alpaca Issy (Oct 11, 2012)

You did a great job! Now wondering what you are going to knit with it? I have bags of black alpaca just waiting yo be carded and spun but I do love to dye my white alpaca - i never seem to get the same colour twice - I also use Kool Ade but not so cheap here in U.K


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## shepherd (Feb 25, 2012)

Talk about staple!!!! That should be a great product for a beginner spinner ;-)
The color is exquisite, but at the same time, have you ever seen an ugly blue?
Thanx for the tip on food color. I am not a dyer, altho in our Spring Retreat we are doing eco-dying. I am much more the Koolaid type. And you are right, oddly enough grape koolaid is a miserable source for purple!. When I am spinning at fairs I like to use purple - over the years I have learned that it draws women to you - every little girl has a "purple period" and I believe that we never outgrow it, we just sublimate it!


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## gardenpoet (Jun 24, 2016)

Fun, thanks! I just got a drop spindle which I haven't even tried yet, so this is making my hands itchy...


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## Linda6885 (Feb 13, 2011)

gardenpoet said:


> Fun, thanks! I just got a drop spindle which I haven't even tried yet, so this is making my hands itchy...


 :sm24:


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## blawler (Feb 20, 2012)

Beautiful color and luscious looking yarn. Aloha... Bev


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## not enough yarn (May 29, 2012)

Beautiful color.


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## Woodstockgranny (Feb 6, 2013)

Beautiful project!


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## Reba1 (Feb 5, 2012)

Gorgeous yarn in a beautiful color. I've dyed with Kool Aid in the past and just left it to cool over night. The next morning, the water was clear. This was for a demo at school, so I knit up a bit of the yarn and felted it - hot, hot water, lots of agitation, lots of rinsing, and repeat. I was very surprised how little fading there was.


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