Cleaning alpaca fiber for wig making
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 31 мар 2017
- When I received a bunch of alpaca fiber from Alpaca Meadows for my birthday, I received several messages asking if I did anything special to prepare the raw fiber for making doll wigs. After a good friend and I discussed the cleaning process, I decided to film it to share. I'm currently making a lot of wigs for my dolls and practicing a few new styles so I can continue my customization project for Firal in the coming weeks. My skills aren't up to what I want to do just yet, so practice is important!
Hopefully I'll be over this awful cold soon so I can get back to the big things.
--------------------
Find me, and more updates about my dolls and work:
★ Blog: www.ithilear.com
★ Instagram: / lomilmalinde
★ Patreon: / lomisplayground
--------------------
♫ Music: Distant by Micah Dixon
/ micah-dixon-5
. ♥ . ♥ . ♥ . 
Хобби
Excellent information and video, thank you for sharing!
brilliant video as always. i have a load of alpaca fibre that i brought over a year ago when i first got into the hobby, but after my disasterous first attempt at cleaning them i didnt touch them again. I was so heartbroken at the amount of fibre i seemed to be losing. Watching this has inspired me to give it another go, and not rush the process this time. Fingers crossed 😊
Just remember that nothing ever goes right the first time except for sheer dumb luck! Practice makes perfect in every instance. I'm sure you'll do better the next time you try, just hang in there and believe you can do it, because I know you can!
I’m about to order some I’m so exited!!!
I have a giant bag of alpaca fiber that I always wanted to clean and weft but since it seemed like such a hassle, I haven't. I'm going to try it now.
thank you! This video was exactly what I was looking for :)
I'm so glad it helped!
thank you!
If you are dyeing you don’t really need to remove all soap, the soap will help the dye absorb. You can do the vinager rinse after dyeing
I actually use the vinegar to turn it into an acid dye, which is more permanent :)
Thank you for sharing this painstaking process! Would you know what I can use to 'perfume' the locks? I am hoping my alpaca wig won't make my doll smell like alpaca. Lol..
Haha! It won't smell like anything after you wash it :) If anything it will just smell like whatever soap, shampoo, or conditioner you use while cleaning the locks. Anything that is safe for use on human hair is fine to use on alpaca wool, so if you have a shampoo or conditioner with a fragrance you like, you can just use it. Real perfume will have the same effect on alpaca as it does on human hair, so any perfumes that are alcohol based can dry out the fibers, but water based perfumes are fine to use!
How much would you suggest for a 20cm size doll? What process would you use to dye the hair? I want to try to make an ombre colored wig.
The amount to order will depend on how long you want it to be. I am not sure how much cleaned and combed fiber it would take, but you wouldn't need more than an ounce of raw fiber for a doll that little. I haven't seen raw fiber sold in bundles smaller than one ounce.
Many people use human hair dyes like Manic Panic to dye the alpaca fiber and it works well... but unless your doll will be handled very little and you live in a dry climate, I would not suggest it. Human hair dyes (especially unnatural colors) can and will bleed when wet, or sometimes just when rubbing against things if the air is humid. I turned the whole back of a very expensive jacket hot pink that way. :( The only way to dye the fiber and have no color bleed would be to use wool dye. You can achieve an ombre effect by dipping the hair instead of letting all of it soak.
How wonderful! I never knew so much about alpaca fiber! Was wondering, could the locks be combed out after they are sewn into a weft? Seems like less fiber would be lost, seems a shame to have all of that left behind when it's so expensive! Thanks for sharing this video!
They could be, yes. You'll always have some waste no matter what, but there are ways to minimize it. Honestly it looks like a lot more fluff than it is!
@@LomisPlayground LOL! Those are such beautiful animals. I hope they are only sheared and killed for their fiber.
@@sherryroberts7716 Definitely just shorn! A friend of my mother's kept alpacas and oh, how she loved and spoiled those creatures. They're much sweeter than llamas. I asked after them once because it was shearing season and I knew she'd have extra fiber, but hers were the frizzy/puffy huacaya variety so it unfortunately never worked for my projects!
@@LomisPlayground Thank you, my dear! So kind of you to respond so quickly. I appreciate it and love your projects~!
haha... may I ask?.. If I already bought that fluffy one.. can I use it for a wig or it's impossible?..
thank you for a really helpful video anyway^^
You can definitely still use huacaya alpaca for wigs! It's just a little thicker/frizzier than the suri alpaca, so it requires a little more love to prepare it. Using human hair conditioner on it (after it's dyed, if you want a dyed wig) will help smooth and soften it, and it might need to be flat ironed a little more thoroughly than the suri alpaca, but it's definitely still usable. I've seen beautiful wigs made with the huacaya fiber.
thank you so much! I hope conditioner will help.. cause I washed that and ironed many times but it's still too fluffy.. thank you again^^
How much processed fiber would i need for a 50cm doll wig ? The length is 10 inch . Would 1 oz be enough?
Yes, 1 oz of processed is the recommended amount for most SD dolls. :) That should be perfect.
Thanks for replying! You are a great help ♡ 😇
at what heat should you iron the fibre?
I use my curling iron on a low setting, since the only options are high and low. If you're using a flat iron or curling iron (or even a clothes iron!) that has adjustable heat, aim for 230 - 300 Fahrenheit (110-150 Celsius) and you should be good.
Lomi's Playground thank you so much!
i kept waiting for an april fool's day prank...
Oh my gosh LOL Joke's on me I guess, I completely forgot that was today...
How did I just now see this video!? Thank you so much for the informative video showcasing our Suri fiber! I'd love to see pictures of your finished dollies, and include them in the Doll Makers - Customer Gallery on our website, alpacameadows.com/doll-makers-customer-gallery/ Great video, and again, thank you!
I'm making a wig now
is it wrong that I'm making a silicone baby that looks like my baby sister
That sounds pretty cool! One of my coworkers at my last job made a reborn baby that looked just like her granddaughter and gave it to her as a keepsake. I thought it was pretty neat ^^
I like your videos but Im vegan and I have seen how the farmers treat the Alpacas they are very mean at them when they cut their hair of those innocent animals. Please reconsider using another synthetic fiber for the hair.