Description – Opened in October, 2006. The Fiber Factory utilizes a complete Belfast Mini Mill system to provide custom fiber processing. The steps in this process include:
Washing – All incoming fleece is washed at The Fiber Factory. Washing the fleece is vitally important and is the only way to insure consistent quality in the final product. The fleece is then air dried on drying racks.
Picking, or opening the fiber – All fiber goes through the picker which opens the individual locks of fiber, and is blown into the adjacent room.
Conditioning – Since any oils are removed from the fleece during the washing process, specific conditioning agents are placed back onto the fleece to reduce static and improve it’s ability to be spun into yarn. The amount of conditioner is calculated based on the fleece weight after drying.
Dehairing – Coarse guard hairs are separated from the fleece in the dehairer, along with any vegetable matter and other undesirable material.
Carding – The carder is the heart of the fiber mill. In the carder, individual strands of fiber are straightened and aligned, allowing the production of roving as the output from the carder. Rovings can be further processed into yarn, made into center pull bumps of roving, or bagged as loose roving. Additionally, the carder can be set up to produce fiber batts instead of roving. Batts can be used in this form, or further processed into felt.
Drawframe – Rovings are run through the drawframe one or more times to blend and lengthen the roving. Each successive pass through the drawframe creates a more uniform roving.
Spinning and Plying – Single strands of spun fiber are created on the spinner. These “singles” can be of varying thickness, to form lace weight, sport weight or bulky weight yarn. The singles from the spinner are then plied together to form 2, 3 or 4 ply yarn.
Finishing – Yarn is steamed to set the twist and then measured out onto cones or into skeins, based on the customer’s order. Standard skeins are 200 or 250 yards based on weight of the yarn. All skeins are rewashed and air dried as the final step before yarn is returned to the customer.
Felt making – 3’ x 4’ sheets of felt can be made on the feltmaker. The felt can be of varying thickness, according to the customer’s needs.
CUSTOM FIBER PROCESSING PRICES
Roving or batts - $12.00 per pound, based on incoming weight; includes washing, picking and conditioning, one or two passes through the fiber separator / dehairer and carding. The minimum lot size for roving or batts is 3 lb. An individual lot is defined as fleece that is to be kept separate and processed separately from other fleece.
Yarn - $18.00 per finished pound ($20 for suri) in addition to roving. Includes 2-3 passes through the drawframe, spinning, plying into 2 ply yarn, and finishing. Minimum charge for a lot of yarn is $75.00.
Lace weight or superfine yarn - $25.00 per finished pound in addition to roving, minimum $90.00
Finishing – includes steaming, final washing and twisting into hanks of set length (i.e. 200 yds).
Felt - $10.00 per 3’ x 4’ sheet, in addition to $12 per incoming pound for processing into batts.
ADDITIONAL SERVICES
Blending fibers – additional $5.00 per pound, plus the price of the fiber to be blended, if provided by The Fiber Factory.
Color combinations at the carder or drawframe - additional $3.00 per pound.
Dyeing fiber - additional $8.00 per pound
Skeining by weight - additional $1.00 per skein
3 or 4 ply yarn – additional $3.00 per pound
CLEANLINESS OF INCOMING FLEECE - Skirting fleece is NOT included in the price of processing. The cleaner incoming fleece is, the better your product will be. All twigs, burrs, seed heads, manure, and any other visible debris should be removed. If you leave debris in your fleece, you will have debris in your yarn when returned. If fleece is unskirted or poorly skirted, The Fiber Factory will charge $15 per pound (incoming weight) to properly skirt the fleece.
Please, if you have any questions, call prior to shipping your fleece. I can be reached at 607-587-9815 (farm) or 607-382-7811 (cell). Mill hours are Monday through Friday 10:00 - 5:00 pm; other times by appointment.
I look forward to working with you!
Wendy Dailey, Owner
