Shearing takes place approximately mid May, when the weather is more consistently warm, making it easier for the Alpacas to adjust to not having their full fleece.

At Salem Alpacas we use a shearing table designed for Alpacas. This table flips vertically, allowing the Alpaca to walk up beside it. We fasten the Alpaca to the table with a belly band. We then adjust the table to a horizontal position with the Alpaca laying on top. With the Alpaca's feet fastened with adjustable straps to keep them safe and secure, we remove the belly band and start shearing.

While shearing, we separate the fibre. The premium fleece is from the main part of their body (blanket area) and the seconds are from the legs and neck. All of their fibre is used for different products eg. premium (blanket) is used for yarn and knitted goods, seconds (legs and neck) is used for batting and felt. We shear one side then we roll them over and do the other side. Often while the Alpaca is on the table it is a great time to trim toenails, check teeth and clean up top knots.

For the duvets we only use seconds (neck and leg fibre). We sort the fibre by hand, using a sorting table made of one inch mesh grid on a frame. This allows the sand to fall through. We sort out vegetation and any short ends or soiled fibres.

All colours can be mixed together so that at the mill it is processed into a neutral blend fibre, giving us batting that will not show any dark or light spots in the finished products.

With the extra care we put into sorting, it is very time consuming. This contributes to the quality of our Salem Alpaca Duvets.

We then take our fibre to a mini mill to be processed in the following manner; The raw fibre is weighed out into 12 pound lots for hand washing, 4 pounds per tub. The fibre is washed in an environmentally friendly soap which is made specifically for natural fibres, rinsed two times then spread out on drying racks overnight.

The first machine the fibre goes through is the "Picker". This process "opens" the fibre to prepare it for further processing. Special conditioners are added at this point.

Most fibre normally goes through a machine called the "Separator" next but due to the quality of raw fibre preparation by Salem Alpacas farm, this process is not required.

This machine combs and aligns the fibre onto a rotating drum which forms a "batt". The batts are then weighed out by hand as specified by Salem Alpacas for the various size duvets.

Upon return to Salem Alpacas, the batts are sorted by the size duvet they are specified for. Then they are stored in an environmentally controlled area.

One layer of cotton is laid out on the table, then the appropriate size batt is unrolled and spread out evenly over the cotton. The second layer of cotton is then laid in place. With the cotton clamped securely in place keeping everything aligned, the pinning process starts. Following a six inch grid pattern, the duvet is pinned completely in one direction. This is time consuming, but by following this pattern there is no opportunity for the fiber to shift or bunch.

The duvet is sewn completely in the same direction it has been pinned. It is then laid back out on the table and completely pinned in the opposite direction, then stitched again. This completes the six inch grid pattern assuring that the fibre has nowhere to move. By using this method there are no cold spots as the fibre is stitched in place, as opposed to being stuffed in after stitching. It won't bunch or shift as feathers might.

Salem Alpacas offers this duvet as a better alternative to feather duvets. It is light-weight, warm and breathable and considered non-allergenic.

Available sizes are Crib, Twin, Double, Queen, and King. They are all standard sizes so covers fit easily. Use it year round.