# Fiber Mill Pricing ....



## Miz Mary (Feb 15, 2003)

I just discovered a fiber mill not far from me !! 

Now, I enjoy the washing and prepping of a fleece, but when you get too many that need done ..... 

Anyhoo, they have a price list and it seems expensive to me ! 
Say I have a 12 lb fleece ......

They charge :

Typical Price and Price Range:

Washing	
$7.00/lb

Washing only. You can expect anywhere from 20% to 50% weight loss in the washing process. We wash wool twice and other non greasy fibers once. Finer or excessively dirty fibers may need additional washes. If so we charge an additional $3.00/lb for the extra washes. This fee is based on incoming weight.

Washing	
$5.00/lb
Price to wash fiber that is otherwise processed (e.g. carded or spun). We wash wool twice and other non greasy fibers once. Finer or excessively dirty fibers may need additional washes. If so we charge an additional $3.00/lb for the extra washes.This is priced on incoming weight.

Dehairing & Vegetable Matter Removal	
$10-$25/lb
Price will depend on the type of fiber to be processed. Price is based on incoming weight. Contact us by phone or email for pricing on your fiber.

Picking & Color Blending	
$4.00/lb
Price is for picking or color blending only. This will include fiber opening and color blending before carding. There is a minimum charge of 1lb. Price is based on processed weight of the fiber.

Pin Drafting	
$6.00/lb
Pin-drafting your carded fiber when we do not card your fiber.

Carding, Pin-Drafting & Picking	
$14.00/lb
This price is for coarse to fine wool, llama, huacaya alpaca, etc. The is a minimum of 1.5 lb washed weight per batch to be run through the carder. All other fibers must be blended, e.g. suri alpaca, angora, or dog. The total charge is based on the processed weight of the fiber.

I have no experience with Mills .... ROUGHLY how much would they charge for a 12 lb fleece ?? Is it really worth it ?!? I know I need to call them, but I need more information from y'all first !!


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I think Oregon is more expensive than here in the midwest. Zeilinger's Woolen Mill charges $5.15 per pound for washing only. For washing and turning into roving, they charge $7.95 per pound. It may not be worth the shipping.


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## IowaLez (Mar 6, 2006)

I would highly recommend Morning Sun Fiber Barn in Wapello, Iowa, I think her town is. I use her because she is the closest to me. Sharon has been doing processing for me since February 2009, maybe about 50-60 pounds worth, and she does a great job, follows my processing requests and calls me asap if she has a question or problem. Her prices are really fair. 

You will save a ton of $ if you wash your own wool. You must use 160 degree water and have it completely grease free when you send it (must be that way no matter where you send it, unless you do want them to wash it).

If you are having just wool done, for instance, you would only pay for picking/blending and carding, plus shipping. The price list you are quoting is the cost of entirely every little thing their mill does, not what you necessarily need to have done.

If you were wanting alpaca blended with your wool let's say, you would pay for picking/blending, carding into roving or another type of end product which she has for options. 

Dehairing is for stuff like Quiviut, Camel, Cashmere, and anything that has coarser guard hairs that must be removed before it can be carded or spun into yarn. 

Sharon has excellent mill equipment for the finest fibers (I had asked about having camel and yak done with tussah silk). Sharon has no minimum weight of your fibers, but her minimum $ charge is two pounds.

I prefer processors with newer/modern mill equipment rather than the old mills like Frankenmuth, because I believe the new fiber equipment of today is gentler and superior in results to the old. But that is only MY own personal opinion, and nothing more. I'm not at all meaning to be rude/offend out of malice.

She doesn't answer emails, so call her. She also has a fantastic offer of rare and fine fibers for sale right now.


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

http://www.bluehillsfibermill.com/11401/19701.html

this is where I a sending a couple of fleeces.

I think $5.50 per pound for roving
(carding only - includes picking - $5.50/lb roving, batts or clouds) )is quite reasonable.

I am sending virtually VM-free, clean-as-a-pin already WASHED fiber and all I want is roving out of the deal.

$5.50 a pound is a steal. 

and NO MINIMUMS! (but anything under a pound gets charged for a pound)


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I have been calling around and asking about pricing. Most of the mills I have called have said that the price they list - say, $7/lb, is the price for washing, picking, carding and making into rovings. Some won't take fleece if unless you wash it first, one wouldn't take it unless they did the washing. 

I'm worried about what lengths they will go to to get it clean. And what chemicals they might be using. My fleece can go from nice and soft to stiff pretty quickly if they are over washed. Those are questions I ask them too. And I kind of like to know a time-frame. 1-6 months isn't close enough.

I have bags and bags of fleeces and I have decided to just send them off, sell enough to pay for the processing and I'll have room for the spring fleeces.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Zeilinger's has a pretty hefty minimum run size. Well, it's probably easier to meet the minimum run if one has sheepies, for the folks with just wee bunnies, it's rather difficult to get enough fiber to send in.


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