Alpacas are sheared once a year after the weather warms up--in the Palouse area,

that is usually in June.

During shearing, we separate the different parts of the fleece: the blanket,

the neck, the legs, the belly, and the "remainder."

Each part of the fleece can be used differently. The blanket from most alpacas

is the finest fiber, but the neck on some is just as fine.

Before fleece is shown, sold or sent to a mill for processing, all the vegetable matter is removed.

This is called "skirting" the fleece.

This is a picture of some friends who volunteered to help with the skirting.