About Alpaca Fibre

Alpaca fleece is one of the world’s most luxurious fibres, known for its softness, brightness/lustre & strength, a speciality fibre.  There are two different types of alpaca fleece – huacaya and suri. The most common type comes from a huacaya, which grows perpendicular to the body & gives a “fluffy” appearance. The second style of alpaca is suri which makes up less than 10% of the herd numbers worldwide. Suri fibre hangs down alongside the body in locks.

Alpaca fibre is harvested once a year at shearing (April – July in the UK); good quality alpaca should be soft to the touch, bright & well-nourished. Fibre grows in 22 officially recognised colours & every shade in between & can be blended or plyed during processing to produce further variations. For example, we can create alternative colourways of yarn by blending different colour fleeces; we can create barber pole yarns by spinning two or more different colour fleeces into singles and then plying the singles together.

Alpaca has many positive attributes making it the world’s second-best natural fibre – second only to Vicuña who belong to the same family group as alpacas together with llamas & guanaco.

Compared to sheep’s wool, alpaca fibre has fewer & lower scales on each fibre, which adds to its good handle, brightness & softness. Suri fibre has fewer & a lower scale profile compared to huacaya fibre & other fibres.

The best quality alpaca produces a luxury yarn with a more affordable price point than Vicuña. There is a use for nearly all grades of alpaca fibre, so think carefully about the uses for your annual harvest. Even if you have no desire to use the fibre yourself it will still have a use & value to someone, especially if it has been sheared well, skirted & stored respectfully.

Huacaya & suri can be interchanged for some projects though suri is denser & has more drape hence why it is often used for weaving & cloth making while huacaya is more often used for knitting (hand &/or machine) & crochet projects. There are no rules though so have fun with your yarns.

Please refer to Fibre & Processing Terminology for more detailed information & Skirting – what, why & how?

Properties of alpaca fibre