Alpaca is a specialty luxury fiber. More alpaca fiber is produced each year than cashmere or mohair. No other animal produces fiber that has the softness of cashmere, the luster of silk, the lightness of goose feathers, the durability of wool, and the warmth of a cozy fireplace.
The alpaca has been domesticated (as versus its kin llama, which is primarily a work animal) and carefully bred for over 5,000 years as a luxury fiber-producing animal. Alpaca wool has been prized for centuries for its incredible combination of softness, lightness, and warmth. The softness and warmth of alpaca comes from the fact that it is the finest of all natural fiber at around 18-26 microns. Only cashmere down around 14-16 microns thick is finer.
In comparison, human hair is about 100 microns thick. Spinners say that alpaca spins like butter. Mountain climbers are wearing alpaca socks on their feet…testimony to the fact that alpaca is four times warmer than sheep’s wool.
Hopefully, you will find the Fiber Corner articles to be helpful whether you are a crafter, breeder, or anyone in between!