Understanding Histograms

You just received your alpaca's histogram results and you have know idea what all of these things mean. Here is a little cheat sheet for you!

AFD or Average Fiber Diameter:

This indicates the fineness of the fiber. The lower the AFD is the finer the fleece. Anything under 25 is considered very good, especially if this is an adult alpaca. Fineness can be influenced by age, sex, hormones, and diet.

SD or Standard Deviation:

This indicates how much the diameter of each fiber is varied from other fibers included in the sample. The smaller the SD, the more uniform your alpaca's fleece is, which results in a softer feel to the fleece.

CV or Coefficient of Variation:

CV indicates the uniformity of fleece by using the AFD and SD number. If your alpaca's fleece has a CV number under 20 it is very uniform. If the CV number is over 30 this is not very uniform.

Fibers Greater than 30 Microns:

Course fibers are also called medullated fibers or guard hair

SO WHAT IS AN IDEAL ALPACA FLEECE??

A lower AFD number with a finer fleece
Uniform crimp throughout the fleece
Uniform micron, length, and color
Long staple length and density