Graham and Christine Edmunds
Devon Alpacas
Vale Side
Sidbury EX10 0RB
Tel/Fax: 01395 597899
ALPACA - "Fibre of the Gods"
One of the 3 noble fibres; angora, alpaca and cashmere.
Alpaca is a luxury fibre with a soft, lustrous handle obtained from both species, the Huacaya and the Suri. Their fleece is highly prized for hand spinners and commercial processing. It is strong, hollow, very light fibre. It has the amazing ability to act as a warm thermal layer in winter but is also cool and airy in the summer. Its properties make it ideal for worsted spinning whether making into cloth for apparel or knitting yarn. It is also much in demand for weaving projects as it makes wonderfully soft garments. It can be blended with other exotic fibre such as silk and cashmere for the hand knitter.
The Huacaya has a woolly, much closer, denser appearance and their fleece when parted displays fine crimp. They are shorn annually, usually in early summer at a fibre length of about five inches. Yields are approximately 3 - 6 kilos and the Accoyo's cutting even more..
The Suri is still a rare animal in the UK and abroad. Their conformation differs in as much that they are heavier boned but appear leaner than the Huacaya with a lustrous shiny fleece that hangs in long silky ringlets. They are generally shorn every second year to ensure a good length of lock.
The silky locks have little or no crimp and should only be handspun by an experienced spinner to avoid disappointment. Suri will felt quite easily but commercial processing is the better option. The fibre from a Suri is so fine that wedding dress fabric has been made successfully from commercially processed Suri fleece.
Alpacas come in 22 colours. The thickness of the fibre varies, on average, from 19 to 32 microns. Usually the darker colours have a higher micron count than the paler fleeces.
Breeders are now beginning to achieve very low micron counts on coloured alpacas through selective breeding.

A micron is a mean fibre diameter. While commercial processing demands a very fine micron count to make worsted cloth or "baby" alpaca yarn, hand spinners will find it easier to spin with a fleece of 23 microns or higher.

The natural colours are lovely and although alpaca can also be dyed very successfully purists prefer the naturalness of the fibre for their alpaca garments. Alpaca blends very well with high grade wool, silk or other fibres. Recently we have seen an upsurge in interest from felters who are just beginning to appreciate its qualities.

Alpaca fibre does not have the "itchy" feel of wool and its lightness and affordability is making a steady impact on the high street knitting market.

We are able to offer raw fleece, rovings for spinning, lower quality fleece for felting and knitting yarn in various grades and colours.

We also offer helpful advice on the processing techniques you may want to use for your fibre or yarn. If you want help in finding a mill to process it for you or if you do not want to use the fleece yourself but would like advice on how and where to sell it just email us or give Christine a call for a friendly chat and some ideas.

 

Useful links:
The British Alpaca Society - Uk Alpaca - Yocom-McColl
- Alpaca Seller - Langaton Alpacas and Training Centre

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