Alpaca Fibre
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Alpaca fibre is a luxury fibre. It is structurally different to wool and usually much finer, so it is not as irritating on the skin. It also has good insulating properties.
If you would like to buy some of our alpaca fibre, please visit our online shop.
Alpaca fleece comes in a variety of colours, up to 22 different shades. We have alpacas in white, fawn, brown, black, rose-grey, and a lovely rich toffee colour. With these lovely natural colours available straight from the animal there's no need to dye it.
Many alpacas in the UK are white or light fawn, so if the natural colours aren't enough for you, you can dye the fibre using the same dyes and processes as for wool.
Alpacas are sheared every one to two years depending on their fibre growth. As with most animals, the finest fibre comes from the first shearing. Baby alpaca is as soft as a cloud!
Alpacas are usually sheared with the same type of shears that are used for shearing sheep. The way that the alpaca is handled, however, is somewhat different. When sheared, the alpaca is usually stretched out on the floor with the front feet pulled one way and the back feet another. Restraining the animal this way means that the animal can't hurt itself, or the shearer! With someone to guard the alpaca's head and neck, shearing gets underway...
Bucky sheared!
The best part of the alpaca fleece is the blanket, or saddle, that is the part that covers the back and sides. Fibre from neck can be almost as good as the blanket, but the belly and leg fibre tends to be shorter and have less crimp.
Unlike sheep's wool, alpaca fibre is not greasy and it is wonderfully soft to the touch. It has a long staple and is usually spun using the short draw method.
We sell alpaca fibre in it's raw state, that is, straight off the alpaca. This is how I prefer to spin it, but you can wash it first if you prefer.
The photo shows a piece of raw fibre, a piece of raw fibre which has been combed ready to spin, a piece of the same fibre washed and then combed, a sample of my own hand-spun 2-ply alpaca yarn, and a 100g bag of fibre (ready for sale). Most of the dirt in the fibre gets there when the alpaca takes a dust bath, most of it comes out when the fibre is combed, the rest comes out when it is washed. Click on the photo for a larger image.
Preparing Alpaca Fibre for Spinning
I prefer to spin the fibre just as it comes off the alpaca. You end up with a bit of dust where you are working, and your fingers get a bit grimy but the fibre is easy to handle.
You can wash the fibre before spinning. Handle it in much the same way as you would for a sheep's fleece, that is, use a gentle soap or detergent (I was once told that as alpaca is closer to hair than wool, you can use shampoo, but don't use conditioner if you want to dye it), use hot water if you want to, but DON'T subject the fibre to sudden changes in temperature, for example, when rinsing. DON'T agitate the fibre or rub it - if you do it will felt, and you will have a knotted lump on your hands. I know, I've done it myself!
To dry the wet fibre I usually squeeze excess water out carefully, stand the fibre in a colander for a while until it stops dripping then roll it in an old towel to take out more moisture. If you can lay the fibre out on some sort of gauze to let it air dry, so much the better. Some people dry wet wool or alpaca fibre in onion bags or old pillow cases hung in the barn. On really nice days you could dry outdoors, but you'll need something over the fibre to stop it blowing away.
Combing and Spinning Alpaca Fibre
I use a dog comb to comb locks of fibre. This separates the fibres and also removes some of the dust and any vegetation in the fibre (I'm talking about raw fibre here, you'll have removed 'foreign bodies' earlier if you washed your fibre) take a lock of the fibre and comb it using a dog comb, so that the fibres are separate, like this.
After a while you'll get a feel for how large a lock of fibre you can comfortably comb. Too little and you'll be forever joining another lock when spinning, too much and you won't get the comb through.
Using the dog comb I comb about a dozen or so locks, laying them out on a table or worktop next to me, then I start spinning.
Alpaca fibre usually has a long staple so it is best spun using the short draw or worsted method. This keeps the fibres aligned making a smooth lustrous yarn.
At my local guild of Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers one of the members showed me how to comb alpaca using proper wool combs. She produced a soft roving ready for spinning, and with more fibre and more practice I think we could have made some substantial length rovings!
Here's a sample of some hand spun alpaca:
