Fiber Prep at a Glance

With some pre-planning and guidance from your shearer, preparing your fleece for processing does not have to be a complicated process. Be sure to read all three pages of this document before starting Note:The following instructions are for fiber being prepared to send for processing…not show fleeces.

Prior to shearing: Prepare pre-sort bags (clear plastic bags large enough for a blanket)

• Prepare one pre-sort bag per alpaca for the blanket – Label this 1 and put your AFCNA member number on the bag
• Prepare one pre-sort bag per alpaca for neck, and possibly britch, and middle leg fiber – Label this bag 2. (This bag is for the fiber that will not be sent to AFCNA in 2009.)

All other short colored fiber should go in one or more large bags that can be utilized for felting or rug projects.

Skirting

Learning to skirt is probably the biggest challenge in the preparation process. These guidelines will help get you through the process. To become proficient and comfortable skirting, it is recommended you find some way to experience "hands on" training. This experience can come from another alpaca owner (mentor) or there are other forms of training available (videos, classes, etc.).

1. Lay blanket (cut side down) out on skirting table as near to its original "alpaca" shape as possible. Shake blanket to remove excess dust and dirt. Skirt remove (pull from blanket) sections of the fleece which are different in quality from the blanket, dirty (mud, vegetable matter, urine stains, etc), coarse (guard hair), contaminated, or generally unusable. Place the fiber you are removing in your 3 bag for felting/rug projects.
2. Flip blanket so that cut side is up. Look across the blanket for "Second Cuts" and pull them out. (Hint: An easy way to remove the seconds is to take an index card or other stiff piece of paper and run it across the cut side of the blanket. The second cuts will come to the surface and stick to the paper).
3. Fold blanket in half (side-to-side) cut side to cut side. Roll folded blanket from hind end to front end and place in Blanket Bag (Labeled #1). Twist bag closed (do not tie).
4. Place all Neck Bags (Labeled #2) into Blanket larger plastic bag for shipping.

Boxing the Fleece for Shipping

Packing and labeling New this year….

• Complete and include Member Contribution Form (FOR EACH BAG)
• Label EACH BAG with your ranch name and Member ID number.
• AFCNA is requesting that all boxes that you submit be the same size for ease in handling and stacking. 16x16x16 has proven to be an excellent size.  18x18x18 will hold substanially more, but be advised that you may be subject to oversized shipping charges.
• Place like colors in the same box. Put all whites in one box, all lights (light fawn/beige) in another box, all fawns, browns, blacks, etc. in their own boxes. If this isn’t possible, then mark on the box what colors are in each box.
• Use new or excellent condition boxes
• Remove as much air as you can from the bags (by hand or with a vacuum) and compress it. Do not use rubber bands, twist-ties, etc. to secure bags. Pack in box promptly to prevent bags from inflating. Place your 2 bags inside your 1 bags for each alpaca.
• Write your ranch name, AFCNA member number, and number of fleeces (AND COLOR OF FLEECES) enclosed on outside of box.
• If you have more than one box, label each box with the box number and total number of boxes.
  • Example: if you are sending 3 boxes: Box 1 of 3, box 2 of 3, box 3 of 3

Shipping Checklist

_____Each bag includes a Member Contribution Form

_____Each bag is labeled with AFCNA member ID number

_____Boxes are uniform in size and are in good condition

_____Boxes are labeled or marked with ranch name and member ID number

_____Like colors are in the same box and color is written on the outside of the box

_____Boxes with more than one color of fleece enclosed is labeled or marked with colors and number of bags per color

* Example: White (2 bags), light fawn (3 bags), etc.