BISON DOWN. Presented by - Adele Boucher. Buffalo Yarns

Transcription

1 BISON DOWN Presented by - Adele Boucher Buffalo Yarns

2 What is Down? It is the insulation coat that grows under the outer hairs It ranks as an exotic fibre in the same group as qiviut from musk ox, cashmere from goats, or camel and yak down

3 Down is a very fine fibre with a diameter below 35 microns in size. It is a new coat that is shed every spring by all buffalo so it is considered a renewable resource Buffalo grow a coat of five different sized fibres... Colour may vary depending on the area of the body, exposure to sunlight, and basic colour of animal ranging from brown to black or white

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5 The 5 fibres: #1. The delicate curly fibre like cotton fluff is down #2. Fine light brown / beige / white hair approximately the same size as alpaca hair #3. Medium brown hair about the same size as human hair #4. Coarse brown outer hair #5. The stiff black hair found in the cape and tail

6 (Micron Size)

7 Collecting Down Raw fibre is collected by picking fluff off fences, bushes, or rubbing-posts and brushes. Common price for raw fibre is $1.00 or $2.00 per ounce

8 Properties of Down has a staple length of 1 2 inches contains no lanolin so does not dye or bleach well will not shrink if washed and rinsed in same temperature water, and must be dried naturally without heat

9 - Down must be washed gently without agitation, or fibres will easily felt together - It has high medulation, or insulating properties, and is soft, warm, and durable - Laboratory analysis indicates that a large percentage of down is under 30 microns in size, thus giving it a high comfort factor

10 History of Bison Fibre in Canada Selkirk Settlers who came from Scotland in 1812 to the Red River in Manitoba used shed buffalo fibre to make clothing During there was a Buffalo Wool Company which exported goods back to Britain The fibre was considered drab compared to bright colors in silk, and the fibre had not been fully dehaired, therefore, the goods were coarse. Natives did not use down for a textile purpose but as an insulator, such as liners for moccasins, or for diaper filling The Cree word for bison hair rubbed off and fluffed up on bushes is omestanpewayanah

11 Shed Fibre The best method of retrieving shed fibre is to collect it from bushes, nail boards, rubbing posts, Or to comb it off hides hand pick it off tamed or bottle fed buffalo

12 Simple Collection Methods Using brushes can work well in that they do a great job of cleaning the buffalo! Any loose hairs and debris within the buffalo s coat became snagged in a tangled mass on these brushes whether they are the street sweeper type, or a shop floor-broom. Problems occur because the fibre becomes wound up around the bristles of the brushes, and after being removed from the brushes, it is nearly impossible to untangle the fibre so it can be carded and dehaired.

13 Successes and Failures Custom Built Street Sweeper

14 For brushing systems located near oilers, a problem arises in that the collected fibre may be contaminated with oil. This can not easily be cleaned out of the down fibres, and may make it unusable for yarn. Another retrieval method that has been tried was to shear the fibre off the hide of slaughtered buffalo when the fibre was long, as in winter, or near shedding time in spring.

15 Shearing the Fibre from Slaughtered Animals - Pros If the hides are already in the shedding stage, it is possible to comb/brush/ pluck the actual Down fibre off the hide in a relatively clean state Shed fibre is the ideal form to work with in terms of spinning it is cleaner, longer, has no blunted cut end, and is less tangled.

16 Shearing the Fibre from Slaughtered Animals - Cons Bison have a considerable layer of dirt next to their hide which dulls the blades of shearing clippers after only a couple of passes across the hide, The best fibre (the longest) is located in the cape area where bison have 3-4 other hair sizes - which are coarser and need to be removed before spinning, Shearing reduces the length of the fibre, and Sheared fibre has a higher itch factor than shed or plucked hair.

17 How to Collect Shed Fibre Bison like to satisfy an itch so will rub on projections such as nails. It is best to build a box with a protective frame around the nails to prevent the animals from bending them Pound 3½ inch finishing nails, about 1 inch apart and to a depth of 2 inches, leaving 1½ inches of the nail exposed to grab the shed fibre. These are easily cleaned by using a type of hair-pick to remove the collected fibre

18 Mount the nail box in areas where bison come to eat or drink. It is a good idea to stain the nail box with earth tone colours so the bison will not see it as a foreign object As well, nails may be pounded into any surface where the buffalo tend to rub or scratch on plank fences or posts.

19 Recommended Methods Nail Board Random Nailing

20 Processing of Down To hand sort - debris and dirt are picked out and coarse hairs and felted chunks must be removed Fibre is washed, rinsed, picked open, then carded and drawn into pencil rovings, or felted into sheets

21 Rovings are spun into a strand, two or more strands are plied together to form yarn Yarn can be woven into fabric, or knit into garments, crocheted into cushions, afghans, etc.

22 Is costly to process in small amounts about $10.00 per ounce or about $1.50 for each step in processing Bison down may be enhanced when blended with other natural fibres of similar micron size, such as cashmere, silk, or merino wool

23 Uses for Short Fibre Short fibre can be carded into quilt batting, which makes wonderful filling for duvets and pillows. It is soft, light, and has amazing insulating properties! Short carded fibre can also be felted into sheets of material for sewing. Poorer grades of carded fibre, which have been discarded in the carding process, can be used for stuffing pet mattresses, or felted into saddle blankets.

24 Marketing Potential PRICE OF EXOTIC FIBRE in 25 GRAM UNITS 1 oz = gms 3.5 oz = 100 gms Qiviut Roving $30.00 Cashmere Top $16.50 Buffalo Down $12.00 Possum Merino $ 9.50 Baby Camel $ 6.30 Silk $ 4.50 Merino wool $ 4.40 Pima Cotton $ 4.25 Alpaca Top $ 3.00 Lambs Wool $ 1.90

25 Fibre is sold to hand spinners - $12.00/oz

26 Yarn - $25.00/oz Felt - $20.00/oz

27 HERITAGE TOURISM High fashion items $500 sweaters or $ blankets

28 Conclusion Developing by-products within the bison industry will enhance the reason to ranch these majestic animals, so use all your bison... down to the last fibre! IBC 2012 Quebec City

29 For More Information ADELE BOUCHER Buffalo Yarns Box 5354 Peace River AB T8S 1R9 Phone: