All Pygora fiber needs to be dehaired, Not everyone has the time or desire to dehair their own fleeces and opt to send their fleeces to a mill for processing. However, dehairing Pygora Fiber by hand is something EVERY Pygora owner and especially every Pygora breeder should know how to do. Not just so that you can process your own fiber, but so that you can test your fleeces and see what type of separation that you are getting in your herd. Hope this is helpful for those of you interested in deharing fleeces on your own. Below, you will find examples of deharing A, B & C type fleeces, and a few tips for storing your combs, and organizing your herd samples.
Dehairing some of Little Hawk Farm Dolly's fleece using Louet Mini Combs. Dehairing is the process of separating the guard hairs from the fine fibers. I am working with a raw type B Pygora fleece off of LHF Dolly. Her fleece is super fine and has great ease of separation. Her fleece was tested and qualified her to be dual registered as both Pygora and Cashmere.
Another option for deharing is using a hand carder. Not all fleeces can be dehaired this way, but for some it works really well.
Dehairing LHF Dolly's Pygora fleece using a hand carder. This fleece has amazing separation. Typically I use hand combs to dehair a fleece, but this fleece works really well to use a hand carder. Dehairing a fleeces is the process in which you separate the guard hair from the fine fibers. If the guard hairs are left in the fleece they will cause the finished yarn to be prickly. By separating them out of Dolly's fleece we are left with the fine cashmere fibers to work with.
Dehairing LHF Dolly's Pygora fleece using a hand carder. This fleece has amazing separation. Typically I use hand combs to dehair a fleece, but this fleece works really well to use a hand carder. Dehairing a fleeces is the process in which you separate the guard hair from the fine fibers. If the guard hairs are left in the fleece they will cause the finished yarn to be prickly. By separating them out of Dolly's fleece we are left with the fine cashmere fibers to work with.
Here is a good example of dehairing a type B fleece.
Type B - this fleece is a strong, lustrous fiber that is curly and very soft and fine, testing below 24 microns on average. A type-B fleece averages 3-6 inches long, and may have two types of guard hairs: an obvious, stiff guard hair and a silky guard hair. It is the uniquely Pygora fleece - very versatile, warm to the touch and soft. Type-B goats usually are shorn twice a year. The fleece color usually is lighter than the guard hair color. (PBA website)
Type B - this fleece is a strong, lustrous fiber that is curly and very soft and fine, testing below 24 microns on average. A type-B fleece averages 3-6 inches long, and may have two types of guard hairs: an obvious, stiff guard hair and a silky guard hair. It is the uniquely Pygora fleece - very versatile, warm to the touch and soft. Type-B goats usually are shorn twice a year. The fleece color usually is lighter than the guard hair color. (PBA website)
Raw type B fleece. You can see the two differet guard hairs in this fleece. A shorter coarser guard hair and a longer silky guard hair. Very typical B fleece.
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I'm using a pair of mini combs. Larger ones work, too, but it is best if their teeth are closer together. Load one comb with fiber, cut ends toward the handle, and not so much that it is packed on there, you want it to be easy to work with. Remember, you are not doing the whole fleece at once!
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Transfer fiber onto the other comb, For me, I am right handed, lefties, it will only look slightly different for you. Transfer the fiber by taking gentle strokes, downward and out, with the right comb. Holding the left comb pretty still. I do use an Up and down, then side to side motion with the combs. *PLEASE, be aware of where your combs and appendages are at all times!
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Pass one: You will notice that you get a lot of the short coarser guardhairs out with this first pass, as most of them will be on the left comb. Disguard the guardhairs on the left comb, and switch combs in your hands.
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Close up of guardhairs that come out from the first pass. Notice, they hold quite a bit of the color of this brown caramel girl.
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Second Pass: Done much like the first, but you notice that you are getting more of the longer silker guard hairs out with this pass.
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Close up of pass two.
You can do as many passes as you desire. For this sample fleece that I am working with, I did 4 passes, and could have been happy with 3, but 4 was nicer still. I would prefer to go one more pass past nice, and be perfectly in love with the cloud that I am left with in the end.
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Here you can see the progression of the guard hairs that were taken out in the 4 passes. This was a very nice typical type B fleece, with good separation. Very easy to work with. Sample fleece was grown by LHF Danarii Wren.
Not all fleeces will need 4 passes, and some will require more. Some will not have as good of separation as others. It is all a learning process, but one worth learning.
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Deharing a type A Pygora fleece isn't so different than a type B, but you are looking for a slight difference in the guard hairs, that you will be finding.
Type A - this fleece averages 6 inches in length, is long, lustrous, has ringlets and should have very few guard hairs. The fiber is very fine, usually less than 28 microns, and feels silky, smooth and cool to the touch. Type-A goats usually are shorn twice a year. (PBA website)
Type A - this fleece averages 6 inches in length, is long, lustrous, has ringlets and should have very few guard hairs. The fiber is very fine, usually less than 28 microns, and feels silky, smooth and cool to the touch. Type-A goats usually are shorn twice a year. (PBA website)
Using a black or dark paper to lay out your sample, is a good way to help you see into the lock that you are looking at. Spread it out a bit, and take a close look. There is a fine silky guard hair. It is about the third of the length of this lock, not easy to see, but check out this next picture....
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You should be able to tease out some of the guard hairs from the cut end of the lock. This fleece does have good separation, the guard hairs are easily distinguished from the long fine fibers. They are straight and about 1/3 of the length of the locks.
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Type A locks loaded onto the mini combs.
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First pass through with the combs. This does take some work, transferring the fiber from one comb to the other. I use a combination of up and down, then side to side actions with the combs. **Do be careful to know where your combs and appendages are at all times!
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Second pass through the combs. There can be differences in our type A goats, some may need additional passes. But for most of my type As in my herd, they only need two passes.
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Left top - Down: Raw type A locks, first pass guard hair, second pass guard hair.
Right - Lovely type A cloud.
Fleece sample grown by LHF Eleanor
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I didn't have any type C goats when I did the tutorial... but, I found a sample that had been sent to me years ago. I was pretty happy with how it separated and dehaired with the mini combs. The guard hairs were defined and separated out easily, leaving a soft fine undercoat. Some of the fine under coat was taken out in the first couple passes, due to some vm.
Type C this fleece is a matte fiber with crimp and a very short staple length (usually 1-3 inches). It has a very obvious, coarse guard hair and is warm to the touch. Type C is the finest of the three fleece types, usually below 18.5 microns, and can be as soft as fine cashmere. There is good separation between the guard hair and fleece. A type-C coat can be harvested by brushing, plucking or shearing. The yield is small, but the effort is worth it. Type-C fleece is unbelievably soft. The fleece color is usually lighter than the guard hair color. (from the PBA website)
Type C this fleece is a matte fiber with crimp and a very short staple length (usually 1-3 inches). It has a very obvious, coarse guard hair and is warm to the touch. Type C is the finest of the three fleece types, usually below 18.5 microns, and can be as soft as fine cashmere. There is good separation between the guard hair and fleece. A type-C coat can be harvested by brushing, plucking or shearing. The yield is small, but the effort is worth it. Type-C fleece is unbelievably soft. The fleece color is usually lighter than the guard hair color. (from the PBA website)
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Tips & Organization Ideas
Inexpensive way to protect yourself and your combs when not in use. Cut cardstock to fit, tape and put on. Great little covers.
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Sample page from a type C that someone had sent me. I added a note card with my notes to the page, also.
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Breeders should understand the fiber that they are growing. Part of understanding the fiber is actually working with each fleece and finding out the ease of separation. I have started keeping a notebook, that contains a page for each animal. It has a raw fleece sample, notes and waste from each pass, and the final dehaired product. So, valuable to know!
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If you are having a hard time deciding if you have gotten all the guard hairs out or if it needs another pass, hold it up to the light.
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It's a funny picture to be sure, but a good example of holding it up to the light to see the guard hairs. It needs another pass!
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