The importance of grading alpaca fibres

Having spun my first skeins of alpaca, I have learned the hard way that there is a huge variation of soft and coarse fibre across the fleece, and that just a small amount of coarse fibres carded and spun in, can make the whole skein coarse and prickly. 😨

YouTube confirms that alpaca should be sorted and graded.
Check out this video  by the Butterfield Alpaca Ranch.
I’ll be looking for a local shearing and grading course in the spring.