Wonderful! I felt the same way when I first started. You''ll get comfortable with some experience behind you.

Glad to help.

What a great find. I’m glad this was helpful. Happy spinning!

Congratulations!! It is so much fun to produce your own yarn. You have so many options.

We are so glad the process worked perfectly for you.

I am so glad it was beneficial.

You're very welcome!

There are a few companies that will spin up fiber but I would probably look for your local spinner's guild. Maybe someone there would be willing to help you.

The reason I do 4 buckets is so that the water cools at approximately the same rate. If there are large temperature differences in the water it will clump together. That is the risk with just using the tub. As you add new water it is hotter or cooler than what you were using. Plus, trust me, the wool will clog the drain. Even when I just dump the buckets I have trouble at times. Pouring it through a colander can help or I often dump the water outside. The birds love to add the wool to their nests. Congratulations on your new adventure. There are so many fun things you can do with alpaca wool.

I usually lay it out on a wire rack beforehand and hand pick out any bits. Washing the alpaca before shearing can also be helpful to reduce dirt, etc.

I add approximately 1 tablespoon of soap in the wash buckets. I wash it out and refill the bucket with hot water every time I pull out the wool. If I am doing a large batch I get a chain going. ie. Take the wool out of bucket 1, put it in 2, dump out 1, refill 1, put new wool in 1. If I do it this way I always start the timer after the last bucket was filled. Have fun with your fiber!

Thank you!!!!

@@WisdomPreserved yes that works. It’s exactly what I did since the fiber I took was a lot. I def had to add more buckets and start a chain system…lol. It works though and is faster and I set timer too each time.

I usually dry it in my greenhouse on wire racks. There are many options though.

Luckily I haven't. From the information I have read, it sounds like it isn't usable now. Sorry!

The best way I have found of removing "bits of the barn" is to lay it over a screen and hand pick it out. It is a pain but easier to do before you wash it because it is all in one area. Even better is if you can wash the alpacas a few days before sheering as it is easier on the animal. If it is too bad, I simply remove that section of wool. I would avoid boiling the water as it might cause the wool to felt. Good luck!

@WisdomPreserved Thank You ! I have done 5 soaks with dawn soap of 3 hours each and the last one with vinegar. Super diry tips were separated and soaked overnight with vinegar, too, after the soap. Turns out they are sticky and help with felting. Then I dried it. Got a small comb, a plastic one, and it became my picker. After picking, I still have put it all into the water right after it has boiled to get rid of parasites and have dried it again. It's a long process. I did try hand picking per your advice for larger bits and use a comb for smaller ones. It takes patience for sure, not easy. Best Regards

I imagine it would be similar. The key concept is to cut the grease so it releases the dirt.

Not yet. That will probably be a winter project.

That is just part of using wool. It will fade as it dries. You can use any of the laundry scents to improve the olfactory experience as well.

thank you! Getting ready to card it soon. let you know how it turns out. Appreciate!

OOPS I saw the response below thanks

:)

I use about a tablespoon for half a bucket of hot water. It's not an exact science. A nice healthy squeeze will do.

I know some people who use cold water and try to preserve some of the natural oils in the wool. For me, I feel like it comes clean better with really hot water. Sometimes those oils trap and hold dirt in the fiber. It all depends on what is most important to you. It should work very well for the clay. If there is a large amount you might have to add a few more soaking buckets.

@@WisdomPreserved thanks, that helped! The clay has indeed dissolved nicely! My fleece unfortunately seems to have loads of brown cocoons, a few dead flies and some wiggly maggots which have survived the wash… I picked out what I could find but wonder what would be the best next step?

@@barbarav847 The next step is exactly what you have described. After it dries I go through and pick out all the bits of the barn. I like to place it on a mesh surface for this. If there are big pieces I will try to take them out before I even wash it. Then I move on to the carding.

@@WisdomPreserved Cool, so, after it's thoroughly dried I don't have to worry about surviving bluebottle eggs etc?

@@barbarav847 It usually takes the blue bottle fly eggs only 2-3 days to hatch. If they have been in your wool longer than that I wonder if they are even viable. That being said You might want to put it in the freezer just in case. Temperatures below freezing for an extended period of time would likely kill them. I would recommend 2 weeks or so just to be on the safe side.

I haven’t tried goat fiber before. Maybe try a cooler temperature and see how it goes. The key is to have all buckets the same temperature. The hot water tends to cut the oils better but with goat that might not be as important.

I just drizzle across the bottom. Probably somewhere around 1 tablespoon.