SURI FIBER END USES

By Linda Berry Walker

Suri fiber is a notable exception to what is considered a truism in the textile industry. In the world of fiber producing livestock, suri is an anomaly. Generally, in either industry, the finer the fiber, the shorter the staple length. The world’s finest fibers, like vicuna and cashmere, are usually no longer than one inch in staple length on average. Thus, a fiber averaging 20 microns with six to ten times the staple length is highly unusual. Adding the other qualitative characteristics of suri fiber, including luster and an extremely silky soft handle makes suri llama fleece truly unique.

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By Sheila Fugina

When a suri llama breeder asked Jan McArdle and me to conduct a felting workshop at her studio using suri llama fiber, my first thought was that I didn’t think suri fiber would felt. Because my mantra is “there are no failures in felting,” I wanted to make sure this wouldn’t be my first! Jan, too, was skeptical about suri fiber’s felting properties, so we had the breeder send us samples from two suri fleeces to see how it would work with various felting techniques.

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