Fantastic alpaca fibre
By Linda Blake of Southern Alpacas Stud
Alpaca fibre is soft and silky, light and lustrous. It is called "fibre of the gods" as in ancient Inca times only royalty were considered worthy enough to wear alpaca.
You can buy alpaca in New Zealand as raw fleece, in carded slivers ready for spinning or felting, and as yarn for weaving and knitting, both by hand and machine.
Classing raw fleece
At shearing ideally your alpaca fleeces have been separated into different bags - the main blanket fleece is best, the shorter but still nice neck fleece is bagged separately, and the rest of the fleece goes into a third bag. We weigh and record fleece weights and staple length for each animal. We record the micron results once they come back from the fibre sampler.
It takes effort to convert bags of shorn alpaca fleece into alpaca fibre ready for use and sale. Each fleece is classed individually. Classing endeavours to obtain a fleece which is similar throughout, in style and micron, with minimal contamination.
We spread the fleece out on a wool classing table and gently shake it so the dust drops through the holes, and the fleece stays on top. The edges of the fleece are skirted off - this is where the stronger coarser fibre is, as this is the part of the fleece lower down the body. Any hairy coarse bits are taken out, as are any short bits, and bits of vegetation matter (v.m.) like hay and seeds. The tips of the baby cria fleece are curly and tend to catch v.m. and we pull this out, or cut off any tips that are matted or tender. For handcraft and manufacturing use, it is preferred to have the fleece as clean as possible.
Processing Alpaca
A range of NZ made alpaca garments.
Alpaca fleece is usually washed and carded before use and there are many processors who will do this for you. Washing removes dust and fine grit. The carding machine transforms the raw fleece so all the fibres are aligned in one direction, creating a long slender "sliver". From here the sliver can be felted, or handspun or machine spun into yarn, for knitting and weaving.
Alpaca comes in over 20 natural shades, and it also dyes well. Alpaca can be used at 100% pure alpaca. It does not have to have other fibres put with it. However alpaca blends well with other fibres; sheep wool adds more elasticity; angora rabbit is very soft; mohair adds sheen and loft; silk adds sheen and the yarn feels softer.
Wash other fibres before blending them with alpaca, as alpaca does not shrink as much as other fibres. Blending usually occurs in the carding process, or two spun singles of different fibres can be plyed together.
Alpaca articles
Alpaca is great for garments - it can be used wherever wool is used, and the garment will be lighter, softer and warmer. It also has superb strength and is hard wearing. The shorter scale on the alpaca fibre means it is not as itchy as wool against the skin. Once washed it is suitable for use by most allergy sufferers.
Alpaca that is not as fine and soft can be utilized in household articles like duvets and pillows. Alpaca has partially hollow fibres, providing excellent insulative properties whilst remaining lightweight.
Alpaca cushions, rugs, mats and wall hangings are made by a new process which weaves the shorn fibre onto a backing, creating the effect of an alpaca skin, but without any alpaca having to die.
For more information
Southern Alpacas Stud has an informative website including lots of educational articles to assist alpaca owners. To source alpaca fibre and yarn, and for crafting hints - click here
About the author
Southern Alpacas Stud specialises in producing fine alpaca fibre, in natural colours, as well as luxurious bright silk blends. Linda Blake does the classing of alpaca fibre from the 200 alpacas on the farm, marketing it to crafters and manufacturers, supplying raw, carded and blended fibre suited to their needs. Linda also co-ordinates alpaca fleeces from farms around the country, pooling fibre for the manufacture of fine 2 ply and boucle alpaca yarns.
