WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH LLAMA FIBER? Felt, Spin Yarn, Weave, Knit Or Crochet by Tracy Weaver
Lotsa Llamas • Hudson FL I have owned llamas for 20 years and really never connected the words above to these exceptional animals. Until now!
the other hand, did not excel as she did. So, years gone by, I now have become a big advocate on using the product of our animals. It is just a waste to throw it away, or stash it in the garage in a plastic bag. It, as any other job, does take some time to learn the trade.
Knitting
Crocheting
Growing up, I watched my mother knit. She made many, many items. Although I never understood what the product was made from. The yarn she used came from the store! Now after years of owning llamas and participating in judging and fiber classes, I appreciate the in depth process of the usable fiber. We raise an animal for the hair it produces. It is cleaned, shorn, skirted, washed, dried, carded, and made into batts, Washed fiber drying on skirting table rovings or yarn to make very unique and beautiful items.
Spinning fiber into yarn
My earliest memory of using our llama ‘wool’ was when my daughter, Sarah, wanted to do a spinning demonstration for the State Fair. We had obtained a spinning wheel as a gift and that got us both interested in the product of our llamas.
Sarah became pretty good at the spinning technique. I, on 42 • Discover Llamas
I began to use our fiber more, when teaching middle school Agriculture. The ‘llama unit’ was an anticipated time during the school year. I participated at an ALSA judging clinic in Indiana. The farm was also preparing for an open house for their farm the following week.
Weaving on a table loom
They were making felted animals using cookie cutters. I was in awe! What a great project for students to take home at the end of the llama unit. So, at school, after learning about the animals, we used their fiber to make felted cookie cutter animals. It was fabulous! They carded the wool, and then used felting needles to make various animals. The Felting projects students realized that they were using a raw agricultural commodity and turning it into a usable product. Now, after attending numerous judging clinics and studying about the qualities of llama and alpaca fiber, I too, am having great fun sharing my knowledge about the animals’ fleece and delight in processing the fiber.
