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I have recently been searching for Camel Dubbing on the net.
I found two sources, one of the sources also supply Alpaca
and several rare sheep breed wools - Hebridean, Soay, Manx and Gotland.
Has anyone experience using Alpaca or the rare sheep wools?
I have a cousin who gives me alpaca all the time. I think I have a lifetime supply. :lol:
Just use it like any other dubbing. It's only a little spikier than Poodle. :)
I've seen a sand crab pattern for fishing the surf that used alpaca or llama and it looked great. I've been looking for some to see if I can't mimic that pattern as well as come up with other uses.
Greg
I live near two alpaka farms - one here in Camillus NY and the other south of here in Marathon NY. Went to visit the site in Marathon and they not only bres/raised the animals but also had a farm store with all sorts of alpaca wool products. One they liked to sell were craft packs - think of a gallon ziplock bag cut in half - of the loose wool for 2$ per. I was looking through the bin and one of the owners came up and asked if I was a crafter. I explained I was a fly tyer and that I was looking for the most varied bags they had - the bags had 1 to 4 colors per bag. I explained that even the 4 color bag would last me a VERY long time. She went to the back and came back with a 5 color bag with white, 2 greys, two nice browns and black. I went to pay her and she refused telling me to have fun - she did mention that the sherrif that lived nearby and one of their neighbors were fly fisherman. I ended up tying about a dozen each of 6 patterns and delivered them on my next visit. It's fun material to work with. If you would like my Marathon contact feel free to PM me. I'm sure if you explain what you are using the material for they could help you out - also, if you want, ask for a single color white bag - the material takes a dye very well. FYI - alpaca's come in 11 different natual colors. This farm has many dyed colors as well. Wordy but I hope this helps.
I've had good results with my Mardi-paca fly tied from Mardi-gras beads and alpaca.
See:
http://www.edengelman.com/MGBeadSwap...ead%20Swap.htm
Donald, my wife is a knitter and i get all kinds of stuff from mink to Alpaca. Alpaca raw fur holds air bubbles so you will need to weight the hook, i use it spun in a loop on lots of large flies in the thorax ,head area, it makes a a killer varigated fly.
I have been using it to tie "hares ear" type flies.wWorks very well for me for that.
Rick
Here is the site with the most varied selection of unspun furs -
http://www.lochsunart-yarns-buttons....pun-yarns.html
Note, I have not used any yet, except for Camel which I liked.
I also like the prospect shown of Loch Sunart.
Donald , I am just going to restate something here, pure wool floats , at least sheeps wool and alpaca does . Thats why the critters can stay out in the rain.You must use weight when usiing the above blends of yarn. For a best guess what you have is to put some in a cup of water.
best,
heinrich
A lady that I work with at school has a small alpaca farm. I thought that the wool might be a good tying material but haven't gotten my hands on the stuff yet. Alpaca poo sure grows stuff well in the garden though!
Don, I have been using dyed alpaca from a supplier here in NE Ohio. I use it as dubbing on smaller dries and it dubs very smoothly for me. It is a rather long fiber but I dub it onto the thread and pull off any excess before wrapping. I have been using it for about 4 years now and had no problem with floating the smaller dries. I can't say if it is superior to other dubbing but it does make for tidy looking bodies.
This feller lives about 3 miles from me. What part of the creature would be best for tying flies. He was shedding his winter coat at the time, and he's growing a new one now.
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m...s/Aiden008.jpg
NEWS UPDATE: Earlier on this thread I mentioned a source for alpaca wool. If you go to the Marathon Alpaca Farm(.com -no spaces) they are going to offer special flytier sized bags of alpaca wool in many colors. I visited the farm today and spoke to the owner and they will add these to their website within the next week or two. I purchased 5 bags today for a BUCK TOTAL. If you know of any dealers out there they also offer bags that are about 15" long and 4" in diameter for ~$31 in many colors - they also will dye to order (I didn't ask the minimum order size) that could be repackaged. From raising, shearing and milling and coloring the wool they do it all on-site. They also make their own felt horse/dog/cat blankets, spin wool to yarn and have garmets and other products FYI.
And NO I don't own stock or have any other interest in this business other than as a customer that has ALWAYS been given top quality customer service every visit. Hope this helps.
WWKimba,
Thanks for the info. Looking forward to seeing what Marathon Alpaca Farm offers to fly tiers. Went on their site and liked some of the colors they offered in what they called 'roving'.
Lew - That was just too funny! LOL!!!
Best regards, Dave S. (fishdog54)