Fiber Question!

[DuckDuckGoose]

Hey folks! I have a bag of raw washed alpaca fiber and I am wanting to use it for some kind of project. I've watched videos on wet felting but they seem to have fiber that is all in nice sheets. My question is- do I have to card the fiber before I felt it or can I use it in its current state? I might want to dye is a few different colors to make christmas ornaments or something.

TIA!

[mama_daba]

i think it should felt fine without being carded, someone gave me tons of unwashed wool ages ago and i hand wash small amounts and felt it as needed.

[Jenn_M]

I think you should be able to dye and felt the fiber as it is now. If you want to try carding it you can pick up 2 dog slicker brushes. Way cheaper than actual hand cards and it works fine for small amounts of fiber (IMO).

[DuckDuckGoose]

Thanks for the reply! I had hoped that I could get away with not carding it although the dog brushes sound like a good idea. I was hoping for some BTDT advice so thank you and I will probably just try it out and see how it goes.

[deditus]

I am not positive as it's been a while since I did much felting, but I don't think alpaca felts well by itself.