Alpaca fiber; from raw fleece to processed yarn and products

There is plenty of good news for folks interested in producing alpaca fiber for textile markets.  More and more people are becoming aware of the high quality of alpaca fiber and its many wonderful attributes.  We're developing new lines of alpaca yarns in blends of suri and huacaya.  Please contact us if you're looking for a new source for some world-class yarns.

If you're an alpaca fiber producer, you'll want to be a member of a fiber coop.  In Oregon we are proud to be members of the Alpaca Fiber Coop of N. America   http://www.afcna.com/ . The best aspect of sending our fiber to AFCNA is that we can purchase alpaca products at wholesale and sell to our customers at retail.

AFCNA markets under the name America's Alpaca.  You can find their online store at http://www.americasalpaca.com/ Our coop makes some of the best winter socks made in the USA.

Have you heard?  The United Nations FAO has declared 2009 "the Year of Natural Fibres".  Don't miss the discussion on alpaca fiber at www.naturalfibres2009.org/.

We're growing a community fiber processing mill in Cave Junction Oregon.  We see the need for a local to regional capacity to collect, sort, grade and wash fiber in preparation for processing.  Each specific grade of fiber is then directed to its proper end use.  We're searching now for the right machinery to card, comb, twist, spin, skein and felt fiber.

Have you heard about the Community Mill concept from North Carolina?  Here is the link to the Carolina Specialty Inc "Community Mill"

Here is a new idea for processing felting fiber economically.  It's called the Felt Loom, and this machine can really speed up the processing of fiber into felt. Felt Loom

In the US, North Carolina leads the country in textile production.  I had the privelege of attending the Alpaca Fiber Symposium at the Gaston College of Textiles.  The Alpaca Fiber Symposium had 155 attendees from 26 states and Canada.  It was a dynamic opportunity to see the many new developments in processing alpaca fiber into textiles!

Gaston College of Textiles is a major center of textile research and development.  This school has shown leadership in the alpaca community by hosting this outstanding event.  Gaston College of Textiles is creating a new curriculum on the Community Mill concept and developing a business plan for it.

Here are some of our favorite alpaca fiber processing mills:

Klamath River Mill, run by Lynn Roy http://www.klamathriveralpacas.com/

Suri-Al Fiber Mill http://www.suri-al-pacas.com/