3617 Derr Rd. Springfield, Ohio 45503 bluebirdhills@voyager.net
937-206-3936 
ALPACA FIBER
For those that enjoy working with textiles or fiber, one of the greatest joys of raising alpacas, is the tactile experience of sinking your hands into an alpaca fleece either on or off the animal. It always brings "oohs" and "aahhs".
The picture below shows how we part the fleece of an alpaca's blanket, or prime portion of the alpaca's fleece to view its density, brightness, fineness and crimp.
Some Helpful Fiber Terminology:
Density refers to the number of hair follicles per square inch or centimeter. Since we raise
alpacas for their fiber, we consider density to be of high importance. It is a term used with both huacayas and suris. It is safe to say that density is a quality we all breed for and density can be both felt, by holding fleece in your fist or feeling the weight of a handful of suri. It can also be partially assessed after shearing by weighing the fleece.
Crimp refers to the zigzag pattern that huacaya fleeces have. If you click on the picture above, you can see the crimp expressed in this male's fiber. This wavyness is not apparent once the fleece has been processed, but lots of crimp when viewed either on the alpaca, or in the fleece sample is thought to be associated with fine fiber. Generally the lighter colored alpacas will have more crimp and be finer as a group when compared to alpacas of color. The darker the alpaca, usually the less crimp, but that is changing rapidly here in the U.S.A. as we improve our alpacas with each generation. So when you think of high crimp, you usually think of very fine fiber. If you are looking for suri alpacas, you do not want to see crimp in the fiber, for crimp is strictly a huacaya characteristic, or should be.
Fineness refers to the actual diameter of the individual hair. We raise alpacas to harvest their very soft hair or fleece. We breed to increase that fineness, especially in huacayas. 
The finer the fiber, the softer the fiber, simple as that. Not only is fineness important, but the consistency of that fineness throughout the fleece is important. Sometimes we do micron tests to assess fiber fineness (see explanation below). Interestingly a fiber sample that has fibers as fine as 16 microns but ranging up into the 30 micron range will not feel as soft and fine as a sample that is consistently in the 26 micron range. This is because your fingers feel the "stronger" fibers first, and it sort of sways the sensory vote.
Staple Length refers to the actual fiber length. For showing alpacas, the staple length must be a certain minimum measurement for hauacayas and suris. There is also a maximum length for suris to show. Some alpacas grow fiber quickly, and each year the length of their fiber between shearings is remarkable. As an alpaca ages, the rate of growth usually slows down. Obviously, the faster the rate of growth, the better, but one must bear in mind that diet and stress may influence fiber growth rate and thereby the staple length.
Handle refers to how a fleece actually feels. This term is borrowed from the clothing industry which is appropriate. Does your skin feel prickles when you touch the alpaca? Is it soft? If you are feeling suri fiber on or off the alpaca, does it feel cool to the touch like silk? These are questions that are related to the handle or feel of alpaca.
Brightness refers to the amount of light reflected from the fiber. This is a term reserved for huacayas. It refers to whether a fleece is shiny or not. There may be an association 
between brightness and fineness. Presumably, a fiber will reflect more light if the scales of the fiber are lying flat, than if they are sticking out off the fiber shaft. Flatter scales will likely provide a finer fiber that is softer to the touch, and reflects more light. Brightness is best visualized closer to the alpacas skin when you part the fleece, simply because it is cleaner there.
Bundling This is a term relatively new to evaluating huacaya fleeces, and may be a fad. To be honest, I am not at all sure about the concept, but when you look at a huacaya in full fleece, the fleece can actually divide itself a bit into bundles. This has been deemed a desirable trait by some who claim that it implies increased crimp and fineness. In my opinion, the jury is still out on this, but I could easily be overly skeptical
Lock Structure is a term reserved for suri alpacas. The fiber of suris, when it gets long enough, actually forms locks that remind one of dreadlocks. They should not be matted like dreadlocks 4though! There are many different types of locks in suris. Some may be wide and flat, with little twist, others can be very thin with lots of twist, and still others can have some curl to them. The industry has not settled on any particular lock structure as being superior. What breeders have agreed upon is that whatever lock a suri alpaca has, it should be the same type of lock throughout the individual's fleece. In other words you should not have a mix of flat and fat with thin and tight. Additionally, suri breeders agree that it is desirable to see that lock start to develop at the skin.
Luster or Lustre is a term used primarily for suri fleece and fiber. It is the luster that truly differentiates a suri fiber from any other. Once the fiber is off the suri alpaca and in the fiber processor's hands, the lock structure makes no difference at all, but the luster is what makes suri fiber so special when it is processed into garments. Luster refers to a relective quality the fiber possesses quite possibly because the scales on the hair shaft lie flatter giving a smoother fiber that reflects more light. The luster makes the alpaca look silky or even wet.
Histogram or Micron Count refers to a special test that measures the diameter of multiple strands of fiber that have been submitted by an owner for testing. The sample is taken from a specific location of an alpaca's blanket and submitted to a special lab that performs fiber testing. To be most valuable, the test should be performed over several years for fiber tends to coarsen as the alpaca ages, and the results should be compared with the results of the rest of the herd. The cria fleece is the finest fleece the alpaca will ever have. Remarkable alpacas are those that minimally coarsen as they age.
It is important to remember that fiber testing is just one part of the fiber "equation" for the breeder should also consider staple length, rate of fiber growth, fleece weights, density, crimp or lock structure and brightness or luster. It is also important to remember that there is no way to verify that the fiber submitted for the testing is actually the alpaca listed on the form. Lastly, be sure that the micron test you are studying is recent. A micron test taken when the alpaca is a cria really tells very little, for the fleece can change tremendously as the alpaca ages.
The micron test provides the following information:
Average Fiber Diameter: This is fairly self explanatory. The diameter of all of the fibers submitted are tested and their combined diameters are averaged to produce this figure. The lower the average fiber diameter, the finer the fleece.
Standard Deviation: This statistical term refers to the amount of variation in the measured diameters of the fiber in the fleece sample. Basically, the lower the standard of deviation, the more similar the fibers are in diameter. The larger the standard of deviation, the more the fiber sample varies, with more fibers being finer and thicker than the average fiber diameter. It is obviously most desirable to have a low average fiber diameter with a low standard of deviation.
Coefficient of Variation: Mathematically, this figure is arrived at by dividing the standard deviation by the average fiber diameter and multiplying it by 100. This provides a figure that explains the variability of the fiber sample as a percentage. It is desirable to have a low coefficient of variation Fibers > 30 Microns: A fiber diameter of 30 microns or greater is associated with a "prickle factor" which makes it uncomfortable when worn next to the skin. It is preferred that the percentage of fibers greater than 30 microns be lower than 4%.
Bluebird Hills Fiber For Sale: As we have mentioned on some of our other pages here on this site, much of the fiber our animals produce is sent off to the Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North America or AFCNA. We do hold onto some of our fleeces for sale to local spinners and for personal use. We offer them for sale and are willing to send samples to interested parties for $1.00 per sample. Pictured below are some of the colors we have to offer. Prices will vary from fleece to fleece, but generally run between 2 and 4 dollars per ounce. We respect the fact that spinners want clean fiber and guarantee your satisfaction and will refund your money if you are not 100% satisfied. We sell only the blanket fiber with little or no vegetable matter.
We do not wash our fleeces, for most spinners find that it is easier to spin alpaca without washing. Because our fiber is already clean, we see washing before spinning raw fleece as a detriment, for we feel it is easier to spin from the intact lock, or a lock that has been flicked. Since alpaca has no lanolin in it as does sheep's and goat wool, you don't need to worry about the grease, although it does hold some dust, but this actually seems to help with the spinning process, making the fibers a bit less slick.
Spinning alpaca, especially suri alpaca with no crimp, requires more twist due to the inherent smoothness of the individual fibers. The fibers do not grab onto each other as well as do some other fibers, but this is what gives alpaca the handle that makes it so exquisite. We thought it would be interesting to provide some pictures of the process to get alpaca fiber into rovings. If you are interested in buying some fiber, please feel free to contact us.
3617 Derr Rd. Springfield, Ohio 45503 bluebirdhills@voyager.net
937-206-3936