Oregon's Longest Serving Customer Service Mill (over 10 yrs exp.)
Over 25,000 lbs of experience with fleece specific service!
Pre-Yarn Processing
No List -- No minimum weight requirement
(2 lbs. min. charge per fleece)
All charges based on incoming weight
DEPOSIT = $10/lb
Milling/Processing Your Fiber Is Cost Effective!
Click link above for per ounce calculations
Processing Form 2024
Questions? Call 541-609-0526
Alpaca and Llama NO 3rds! 2nds? Ask about Core-Spun Yarn!
Policies Below
Want to Save 25-35% Pre-wash
(Power Scour Only)
Why Power Scour?
https://fossilfibers.wordpress.com/2023/01/24/method-and-results-of-testing-common-wool-scouring-agents/
Directions
Scour/Wash ONLY
$10/lb (includes pre-wash tumble for camelids)
EXTRA GENTLE SYSTEM!
(Note: this kind of wash is really a hot soak ONLY 140 degrees! with Unicorn Power Scour, then spin, rinse, another wash, spin, then two rinses and a spin -- no agitation -- to remove dirt and lanolin/oils. This washing will not take out straw, burs, chip, or vegetable matter.)
See why we use Power Scour! https://www.unicornclean.com/
Blending
Often required for slick fibers – alpaca, llama, angora, cashmere, angora bunny, etc.
$4/lb
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(We do not carry fiber for blending – you provide what you want added to your fleeces.)
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Blending guidelines:
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Wool (SHEEP) to wool in any ratio
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Angora/Pygora (cashmere, mohair): not less than 50% wool
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Angora bunny: 50% wool
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Dog: 50% wool
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Suri alpaca: not less than 80% wool
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Silk and Bamboo: not less than 80% wool
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Separation (vm/hair)
$13/lb to $17/lb (depending on fiber type)
Standard wool -- $13/lb
Alpaca/Llama -- $15/lb
(NO 2nds or 3rds!)
Goats -- $17/lb
Excessive vegetation will be charged at next higher rate.
No "Per-pass" fees. We separate until fiber is as free of hair or vm as possible without unreasonable loss of customer fiber.
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(Note: only 90-95% removal of guard hairs and vegetation is possible.)
Alpaca/Llama
Asking for 100% alpaca or llama roving?
Maybe.
It is a gamble because we cannot tell from inspecting a bag of raw alpaca whether it will produce a cohesive enough web to be pulled through our roving deck. If it does not, simply falling off our swift and drifting apart after the doffer comb, we will continue to card the fleece to cloud and return it to you as cloud. We do not stock generic wool to blend, nor a range of colors to match your alpaca. We simply cannot substitute our judgment of the quantity, quality, and kind of wool you would like to have blended with your alpaca to make it run on our carder and roving deck.
The safest bet for alpaca roving is to blend a minimum of 25% wool – sheep wool (long wools are often not effective).
Carding
$22/lb -- Sheep
$26/lb -- Camelid (alpaca, llama, etc.)/Goat
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Can be stripped or spotty if desired -- see Blending
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$2 per measured bump for ounce specific sizes (ie. 4 oz.)
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Add $2/lb for heavily dyed fiber
Add $4/lb for matted fiber
Batts (approx. 2 feet wide by 4 feet long -- thickness determined by weight)
Roving (approx. 1 inch dia.) loose in a bag or wound into a log-shaped "bump."
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Core-Spun Rug Yarn:
(on cotton core)
Wool - $28/lb
Exotic - $30/lb
Processing Videos!
Why We
Mill
Unable to find a local mill to process our small Shetland fleeces, we decided to start our own mill.
Having had the experience of working for the largest hobbyist mill in Oregon for a couple of years, we knew what milling equipment we could find, use, and maintain.
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Over a six year period, we built up The Little Blue Fiber Mill from Belfast Mini Mills equipment. Some we found for sale in the area (taking private use equipment and making it available to public) and some we ordered from PEI, Nova Scotia. In 2022, the Brother Drum Carder brothers contacted us to advise them on the development of a Jumbo carder, Since then we have added Brother equipment to our mill, including Jumbo Carder, Roving Deck, Core-spun Yarn Maker, Batt Maker, and Power Picker -- much of which we display at fiber festivals.
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Thousands of Pounds -- Myriad of Fiber types
We love working with all the different types of fiber, seeing the lovely batts and roving that comes from processing your fiber on this equipment!
I have de-haired, pygora, angora goat, cashmere, Icelandic, qiviut (musk ox) and removed heavy vegetation from alpaca, llama, and many breeds of sheep. I carded and blended all these plus angora rabbit – even canine.
Since starting our mill, we have processed more than 20,000 lbs.
We look forward to working with you and your fiber!
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Mill Policies
Scouring
We must scour all the base fiber we process (not silk, bunny, bamboo, etc.) Too often, customers have given us fiber that has gone through incomplete washes, washes with soaps that leave residues or may not be environmentally safe for our land. To save frustration on both sides, we are including wash in our carding price.
Avoidable Extra Charges
Skirting -- Please Skirt!
Fleeces that come in not skirted will be assessed an additional $25 per fleece.
Far better for you to choose what to discard and what to keep!
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Debris (hoof trimmings, etc.) = $30/fleece
Heavily Dyed = $2/lb
Extra-Handling Fee (semi-matted, color separation, etc. = $4/lb.)
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Past Due/Abandoned Orders
Without prior payment agreement (in writing), orders not paid for within 60 days from notice that an order is ready for shipping or pickup become the property of the Mill.
Fiber left with the Mill to be picked up after payment must be picked up within 30 days of payment; otherwise, the order will accrue a $20 per week charge for storage. Paid for orders will be considered abandoned when storage assessment equals the final invoice for the order. Paying for shipping will likely be the best option!
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Cancelled Orders
Customers who cancel orders may incur cancellation charges, fees and labor charges. They will also be required to pay fees and charges associated with special ordered supplies and material.
Cancelled orders not picked up or mailed out (pre-paid for shipping) within 30 days of cancellation become property of the Mill.