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The time to decide what you want to do with your wool is BEFORE you take it off the llama. If your only goal is a cool llama this summer, just go ahead and do the job however is easiest for you. But if you dream of having something made from your favorite critter, you need to prepare for it now. First, decide if the wool type is appropriate for your plans. Very fine, delicate wool isn't a good choice for a rug but it would make a fine sweater or shawl. That coarse wool from your favorite old buddy would make a much better rug. Your next consideration is guard hair. While it will add strength and character to a non-wearable, the prickle is likely to drive you nuts if you try to wear it. The downy undercoat of short-wooled llamas is often wonderfully soft with lots of crimp. Crimp adds loft and the memory that keeps knitwear from sagging. What to do? You have two choices. Either take the time yourself (or pay someone) to pull all the hair out of your shorn fleece or harvest the wool by brushing. Guard hair doesn't shed any more than the hair on our heads. There will be the occasional hair mixed in with your wool, more if you don't groom you llama often, but most of the hair will remain on the llama to shimmer and blow in the breeze. The second benefit is that you will be collecting the full length of the wool your llama grows instead of cutting it at a place not chosen by nature. The best part of all this is that while single-coated llamas have lost the ability to shed along with their guard hair, same as happened with sheep, double-coated llamas retain the characteristic. The line gets blurred with medium-wooled llamas. Ah, I can just hear you saying you haven't got the time to brush out all the wool, but I guarantee you it will take at least as long to dehair the fleece later. Besides think of all the quality time you'll be spending with your llama! Now that you've decided how to harvest, let's make it a good job. What you want is clean, uniform wool. Take some time brushing/blowing before you begin collecting the wool, even if you are harvesting by brushing. Just like the guard hair, debris needs to be removed before the wool is spun. Do it now, or do it later when it'll be harder because you won't have the llama hanging on to one end of the wool for you. It isn't necessary to bathe your llama before harvesting the fiber. Dust and even mud will wash out nicely in the sink. While you are grooming, notice the differences of the wool in various locations. You will see that it gets shorter and probably coarser as you go up the neck, down the legs, around the chest and under the belly. It's not worth it to degrade the quality of your fleece just to make it a little larger by including this lesser quality wool, so don't do it! It is inevitable that no matter how hard you try not to, some wool will get dropped on the ground as you work. Plan ahead and sweep the floor before you begin. You're ready! Harvest all of the wool from the body that is of your best quality. If you're shearing, try not to cut any area a second time creating what are known as second cuts or short cuts. For now, just get the bulk of the wool off and bagged up. Once that's done, go back and trim around the edges, so to speak, and even up any areas that look bad to you. Bag this stuff seperately. If it is an inch or less long or very coarse and hairy, you'll probably want to put it directly in the trash. If you are uncertain of its value, keep it seperate and ask someone who knows more about fiber. I'm sure you'll find the more you work with your llamas' wool, the more your eyes and hands will be able to tell you about it. You've begun the learning curve. Congratulations! |