PURCHASING RAW FIBERS
There are many things to consider before purchasing raw fibers, such as suitability for your project, quality and processing methods. Do you want to process it yourself or do you want to buy ready to spin?
When purchasing raw fibers consider your project, the quality and DIY processing or ready-to-spin.
What kind of fiber do you want for your project?
There are many different textures, lengths and qualities of fibers. Some are soft and cuddly, some are long and coarse and some create a “halo” when spun.
In addition, there are different fibers that can be spun together to create a totally new texture and quality for your project.
Are you interested in animal or plant fibers or both? Possibly, purchasing a small amount of processed fibers from different breeds of sheep or silk, for example, will help you decide what you like.
Here is a very good article on the uses of wool from many different sheep breeds in a chart.
For Plant Fibers this is an in-depth article on their qualities and uses and introduces additional plant fibers for hand spinning.
When purchasing raw fibers what is good quality?
What are the good qualities of various fibers and what to look out for:
Fiber length- should be consistent throughout the majority of the fleece.
Strength- it should be strong and not have any breaks in the fiber.
A break is the first thing to look for because it can ruin any good fiber. A break is where the lock of fiber will literally break apart when you pull it from opposite ends. Like pulling apart a cotton ball. The fiber should be strong.
Micron Count or fineness/coarseness- this depends on what you are using it for. There is a scale with the lower numbers being the finer wool.
Vegetable matter- the fiber should be clean with minimal removal of foreign matter.
Excessive or small particles of hay, manure or other contaminants are hard to remove.
Here is a great article on “Tips for Buying Raw Fleece”.
In addition, this is an informative article on fiber terms and various fiber animals.
DIY or purchase it ready to spin?
Do you want to process it yourself or do you want to buy it ready to spin?
DIY (Do It Yourself) hand processing fibers is a great way to get to know a fiber.
However, if you want to try spinning various types of fibers it may be more beneficial to buy small amounts, ready to spin.
Where can I buy both raw and processed fibers?
Places to go when purchasing raw fibers
Raw fiber can be purchased from Fiber Arts Shows, County and State Fairs as well as right off the farm.
If you want to try different types of fibers, the Fiber Arts Shows are a great place to go.
You can see all different breeds of sheep in addition to Alpacas, Angora goats (Mohair) and Angora rabbits.
Places to purchase processed fibers
There are many sources to purchase processed fibers ready to spin. From small farms with fiber mills to the commercial suppliers.
In Conclusion, I hope this information is helpful to let you decide what are the best fibers for your project, how to pick a good fiber and whether you want to process it yourself or buy ready to spin fibers.