Alpaca Really Is Softer…
‘Than What?’ I hear you ask….
Than most sheeps’ wool, is my reply…. and to a certain extent, even though it is also very soft, I’d put merino wool in that bucket too.
So what makes alpaca yarn so soft? Well, it’s the style of the fibre. If you were to put an alpaca and merino fibre of a similar micron (that’s the ‘thickness’ of the hair) under the microscope, you would see the following differences:
Alpaca is less ‘scaly’ than sheeps’ fleece. It’s smoother. That’s why alpaca is less scratchy against the skin, and makes it better for babies and people who have sensitive skin
An alpaca fibre is hollow. That makes it much more thermally efficient than wool fibre. And it will generally be lighter per equivalent meter too. This means that you can knit and crochet beautiful light but warm shawls and garments with alpaca.
Alpaca to other fibres - comparison
So in addition to owning the most beautiful animals in the world (I am a tad biased!) we get to dye and sell the most beautiful (IMHO) fibre in the world!
This week, the dye pots came out and we set to dyeing some 100% NZ sourced alpaca yarn, in 4 ply (fingering) weight. I love choosing which colours we’re going to dye this week. What do you think??
Our latest dye run is now dried, and in our shop. I think this particular batch would make amazing baby garments, and lightweight but warm shawls for the coming Southern Hemisphere spring.
Or if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, how about a lovely warm scarf??
And don’t forget - until the end of September we are giving a 10% discount on all sales - just enter the promotion code STARTUP10 at the checkout.