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Certified Sorter Apprentice
Alpaca fiber sorting/grading
services
by Carolyn Hitchcock of Cameron Mountain Alpacas
| Click to visit Cameron Mountain Alpacas |
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Are you profiting from your alpaca
fiber?
The
most exciting event of 2010 for me was attending the Certified Sorting training in Sandpoint Idaho and entering into the apprentice
program.
Fiber sorting is the key to making fiber processing the most efficient and the final product of the highest
quality possible. All grades of alpaca fiber have an end product that best utilizes the particular characteristics of that
grade.
I divide shorn fiber into 19 different grades!
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| You can't tell very much from a single handful of fleece |
Here's a brief description of Certified fiber sorting: - First the shearing is important because that's where grades can be accidentally intermixed.
- Once the main blanket fleece is shorn and on a skirting table, I will
determine the overall consistency of the fleece and its textile industry color designation and check for tensile strength.
- Next I will rate the fleece's
brightness, density, consistency of style/length, crimps per inch and amplitude of crimp.
- Then going through the fleece from one end to the other I will grade and sort into separate bins by color first then
by grade separating into 2 staple length categories.
- The amount of unusable fiber per alpaca is usually less than 8 ounces if you process the 'rug' grade fiber
into rug yarn or rugs.
Once sorting is
done, your entire harvest is ready for processing wherever you choose. If you have a sorter at your shearing, you can ship
out your fiber the same day. [Since I am still a sorter apprentice, we must wait 3-5 days for my results to be verified.]
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| Apprentice results are confirmed by a Certified Sorter |
To
see my fiber sorting web page, click the logo at right. You may also want to visit the Certified Sorted web page.
ALL processing of fiber involves sorting, whether YOU do it or THE MILL
does it or YOUR COOPERATIVE does it; and someone must pay for it. By working directly with the sorter you gain valuable information
about each individual alpaca and acquire a new perspective on your herd. You pay for sorting your own fiber -- so know what
those costs are and can make informed decisions about which processing methods are best for YOU. As a Certified Sorter, I
will give you information on the best use of each grade. The
key operating concept of the North American Alpaca Fiber Producers (NAAFP) cooperative is the commitment the members have
made to submit only Certified Sorted fiber, so all fiber submitted is sorted to identical standards and so will be processed
with minimal waste.
By processing grades separately you save on shipping, save on processing (processors typically
charge by incoming weight and many mills will offer a discount for Certified Sorted fiber) and improve your yield which means
you get more product to sell and a higher profit for your fiber.
| Get a new perspective on your alpaca herd! |
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