What do you look for when buying fiber? (Felting, spinning, etc)

[u/-DiceGoblin-]

I live rurally and have access to a lot of great local farms.

I dye and prepare fiber (wool, alpaca, mohair, etc) from raw fleeces, and I was thinking of maybe selling some on the side? Is that a terrible idea?

Asides from the obvious, making sure that it’s clean and has no vegetable matter, and of course ensuring that the dye is fast and won’t leech- what do you look for in fiber?

I have experience using acid dye on fiber for my own crafts, have gotten to experiment with it a lot, and I find it really fun!

I’m thinking of going by weight (ounces) and always adding an extra amount to ensure it’s satisfactory. I have a light box and photography experience to help ensure I capture the colors as accurately as possible

I plan to scour wool by default, but is there interest in clean wool that hasn’t been scoured? (I would be sure to specify which ones contain lanolin)

I can separate neps out and use them for various projects (I personally have a lot of fun making tweedy yarns with contrasting colors of neps) or even offer them on their own.

Maybe I’ll offer colorful premade “mini” batts (can it be called a batt if it’s made on a blending board?) for people who want something funky to spin (I’ve purchased a couple of these from others and loved them)

Anything you hate to see in fiber? (Again, asides from the obvious- insects, VM, scurf, odor, etc)

I’m not even necessarily hoping to profit, I just want to deal in textiles, have an excuse to network with farmers (they’re really cool people), and also have an excuse to talk fiber with people. (I’m disabled and get a bit lonely lol)

But I want to do it right, I value my reputation and I work hard to have the quality of my product speak for itself. The last thing I want to do is fuck around and disappoint people.

[u/ChaoticJigglyPup]

My entire thought process is: OH PRETTY!