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Alpaca yarn - a renewable resource and a new staple in the knitters stashIt used to be that wool was the main staple in most knitters mid/upper price stash. But Alpaca yarn has made a big impression on the new knitters scene and is fast replacing wool as a must have. First, here is a little info on the animal itself taken from Wikipedia:The Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in superficial appearance.
Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas, and unlike them are not used as beasts of burden but are valued only for their fiber. Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items, much as sheep's wool is. These items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, a wide variety of textiles and ponchos in South America, and sweaters, socks, coats and bedding in other parts of the world.
The fiber comes in more than 52 natural colors as classified in Peru, 12 as classified in Australia and 16 as classified in the United States. Alpaca yarn now comes in many colors and blends. Contents range from 100% pure Alpaca to blends with wool, silk, acrylic, cotton and many other fibers. Its hypoallergenic properties allow it to be worn by many people who are sensitive to other animal fibers, and its warmth is comfortable without being stifling hot. Since it is an animal fiber it is a completely renewable and green resource. We really like that about Alpaca!
Here at knitting-love.com Alpaca has become our favorite mid/upper price yarn fiber. The only real drawback is that it is not machine washable. Hand wash only on all the Alpaca yarn we have bought, though we really don't mind.
Our current all time favorite Alpaca is "Baby Alpaca Brush" by Plymouth Yarn Company.
The fiber content is 80% Baby Alpaca, 20% Acrylic. It is so soft it feels like Cashmere but with a little fluff/hair.
We made a gift for a friend's new grandbaby out of "Baby Alpaca Brush Paint" in the pink. I know you are probably thinking "for an infant?" but we couldn't resist. The pattern we used was "Baby Yoda Sweater". It is a free Ravelry.com download, and was available on the website www.dogstealyarn.com for free as well. I recently checked out this website and she is in the process of moving it to another place so for right now the pattern is only available at Ravelry. The yarn knitted up beautifully and we kept stopping knitting to stroke it! Prices at your local yarn shop generally run $6.50 - $9.00 a skein. For a special gift (or something for yourself, wink) we think it is a good value.
If you have any comments on Alpaca yarn or projects you would like to share we would love to hear from you. Please drop us a note. Thanks and keep knitting!
knittin5
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