Alpacas, together with vicunas, guanacos and llamas, belong to the camalid family and are found in the Andes Mountains of Peru, Chile and Bolivia. Alpacas are domesticated animals and because of the harsh climate they live in, have thick coats that protect them from the extreme climate that is very cold during the winter months and warm in summer.
Natural alpaca wool, with its unique features, is one of the most sought-after fibres in the world, second only to the wool of the vicuna. The supply of the wool from this animal does not cover the demand.
It is an incredibly soft wool that is warm and light and unlike sheep wool, is not itchy at all and is used to produce felt products and yarn to make knitted or woven clothing, as well as several other products.
How alpaca wool is processed
There are several ways to process fibre from the alpaca, including:
• Hand spinning — this is the oldest and most traditional way of processing alpaca. Unlike sheep wool, this dry fibre can be spun directly from the fleece without having to be scoured first. Hand spinners spin small amounts of fibre of all colours that have been washed and carded, which can take many days to spin enough yarn to knit one garment.
• Mini mills — these are small self-contained mills where larger quantities of fleece are spun into fine, specific threads.
• Mid-scale mills — these are medium-sized mills where a minimum of 20kg of fibre per batch is processed. These are ideal for the larger alpaca breeder who is able to gather together a large quantity of one colour of alpaca fibre of the same quality.
• Large-scale mills — large scale mills, as the name implies, process enormous quantities of high-quality wool, where 500kgs of fibre takes just a few days to produce many 50g and 100g balls of spun thread.
Health benefits of alpaca yarn
There are several health benefits of Alpaca Wool Clothing, namely:
• It is anti-fungal and anti-microbial
• It is resistant to dust mites, making it the perfect material for producing duvets and duvet covers
• It is hypoallergenic because unlike sheep wool, it does not contain lanolin, which tends to cause an allergic reaction in some people
• Because of its outstanding thermoregulatory properties, the wool from an alpaca is a perfect insulator, a feature that is extremely important for duvets and clothing. It is these properties that help to protect you from the summer heat and keep you warm during the cold winter months
• Alpaca fibre absorbs the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays
• It repels moisture and prevents your body from getting cold if you are sweating
Environment-friendly
Farming with alpacas has no detrimental effect whatsoever on the environment, since no harmful chemicals are used to process the wool. In addition to this, since alpaca is available in no less than 22 natural colours including white, brown, beige, grey and black, dyeing is not necessary during processing..
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