Our llamas produce soft, silky fiber which we use in various felting, spinning,
and weaving projects.  Our finished products  take time and care to be created.   Items are normally one of a kind and colors, yarns etc. cannot always be reproduced as an animal only produces limited fleece a year and the fiber quality and color changes with the animal’s age.  Colors are all natural and vary from llama to llama and from year to year as does the softness and texture. We can make no guarantees as to exact color, softness or pattern as the fiber availability varies so much.

Linda is now using her handspun llama yarns combined with some lovely commercial tencel and cotton to create overshot scarves and throws in various lengths and designs. Some of our original designs are still occasionally available.

Please visit and checkout all our new wares at one of our vendor events this year.

Many of our products are available at the Butterfly Hill Farm Store
11am -5pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday,
38673 Charles Town Pike, Waterford, VA 20197
thru December 2022
www.facebook.com/ButterflyHillFarmStore/

Contact us at: ljb@graustarkllamas.com

       
Woven Scarves        
8-10” X 65-80”
Choice of 100% llama or 90% llama with
colorful ribbons & yarn accents

Woven Table runners    
(24-36 in. long/ 10 in. wide)

Overshot Throw

Approximately 36 in. wide  by 40 in. long

Cotton/handspun llama

Woven Poncho
closed front & back with open sides
approx. 45” length and 44” width

Camelid Fiber Processing 

After the fiber is sheared from  the animal, it must be processed into yarn. .  Fiber processing by hand is labor intensive.  This could be done by sending the fiber to commercial processing mills, however, part of the joy of working with the fiber is taking it from start to finish. 

 It all begins on shearing day…    Here at the farm, we try to blow much of the debris out of the llama’s coat before shearing.  We sometimes brush the animals as well, but weather and time constraints usually make shearing something to be accomplished as quickly as possible. Remember, the llamas are sheared for their comfort—the fiber is just a by-product.   We hand shear our animals while they stand tied to a fence or on a small enclosed area.  A bag of hay makes the process easier for everyone.  For us, shearing involves cutting the fiber from the animals using spring loaded hand shears. This leaves a nice 1/2 -1 inch length to help prevent fly bites and sunburn.

 A normal show cut takes about 20 minutes with a full body shear doubling the time.  The fiber is then  bagged and labeled.  
 

When we are ready to use the fiber, it is carded using a  drum hand carder before it is washed.  Llama fiber contains no lanolin like sheep wool so it  is not greasy or sticky to work with.

 It is then hand spun on a spinning wheel and plied.  After plying, the yarn is washed in normal hair shampoo and a cream rinse is sparingly applied. After the yarn is dry it can be used for weaving, knitting or crocheting projects. 

 Finished projects are washed again in shampoo and cream rinse and the excess water is spun out in the washing machine.  The product is then dried in a machine dryer on low heat to  full the fabric.   Llama fiber does not shrink much, but should not be agitated or it will readily felt.

 All of our items are produced at the farm using our own spinning wheels and looms. We have sent some of our solid colored fiber out to commercial mills for washing and carding but the rest is done at the farm.