A website visitor e-mailed:
Hi, If your using alpaca fleece to put into something as stuffing, do you still need to wash it as long as you shake it out well?

I think it depends on what you are stuffing. I’d wash the fiber for several reasons.

Alpaca fiber is very dusty. This dust won’t all shake out. I have shaken fiber vigorously and still turned the first four baths absolutely black. If you worry about dust in the item you are stuffing, you’ll want to wash the fiber.

While alpaca doesn’t contain lanolin, alpacas do have body oils, and these oils frequently contain odors. In addition, alpaca fiber can pick up odor if the animal rolls in urine, manure, and other things in the pasture or barn. If you are at all concerned about odor in the item you’re stuffing, I would wash the fiber.

I have heard that wool moths are more attracted to dirty wool than to clean fiber. Somehow, the oils or dirt on the fiber make the fiber more attractive to the moths. Based on this information, you can probably make your stuffing less attractive to moths by washing the fiber.

If so, do you put it in a lingerie bag and throw it in the washing machine on delicate for do it by hand in the tub? Thank, [website visitor]

Washing alpaca fiber on the delicate cycle in a lingerie bag – at least in our washing machine – creates very lumpy felt. I VERY STRONGLY advise washing the fiber by hand in a tub and spinning it dry in the machine. I have heard that fiber can be washed in a top-loading washer by removing the agitator. I have never tried this and I would test the process before committing a lot of fiber to the process.

My previous post on washing alpaca fiber can be found here.