How is Alpaca Fabric Produced?

Alpaca is a fabric that originates from the fleece of alpacas: the shearing season in South America runs from November to March when it’s warmer. What makes this fabric even more special is that alpacas cannot be sheared more than once a year, as the animal’s fleece takes quite some time to grow. Alpacas are raised with great care, being valuable animals, to maintain the properties of the wool and the survival of the species.

The shearing process begins after the animals have been kept in a dry place for at least 24 hours and after sorting them by color and shade. Generally, alpacas need to be sheared to prevent health problems, and it is a careful shearing that does not harm the animal to reduce stress. At least three people are involved in the shearing per animal, as someone needs to separate the shorn fibers.

A female alpaca can produce up to 2.5 kg of wool, while a male can produce up to 4.5 kg per shearing, so annually. Before being processed industrially, the wool is manually sorted, dried, and collected in bales that are then sent to textile laboratories. The production steps are as follows:

• – Shearing with a hand razor;
• – Manual sorting and carding, which is combing the long hairs to make the fibers uniform;
• – Twisting, where the fibers are twisted to form skeins of wool;
• – Spinning done manually with a spindle;
• – Washing to degrease the wool;
• – Drying;
• – Wrapping;

Alpaca wool dyes very well because it absorbs colors, while the natural colors available are a total of 22, so dyeing is not always necessary.

Characteristics of Alpaca Fabric

Alpaca wool has particular characteristics that make it prized and desired worldwide. It presents a variety of natural colors ranging from pure white to shaded black, so it can be used both naturally and dyed. Alpaca wool is very versatile and adapts to the production of various garments with insulating functions against both heat and cold.

There are different categories of alpaca fabric that vary based on degrees of softness. Generally, however, alpaca fiber has smaller scales compared to sheep fiber, which allows garments made from alpaca to cause less itching. Alpaca wool is durable because the fiber is longer: a long fiber makes the yarn stronger because the fibers interlock better and do not break. An alpaca fabric garment tears much less and does not wear out, so the garments can be worn more often.

Being almost lanolin-free, alpaca wool is hypoallergenic: the level of lanolin contained is very low and is often removed during processing and washing, so alpaca garments can be worn even by people who are allergic to lanolin. Moreover, alpaca wool has a unique fiber structure that makes it soft without being weak or vulnerable. The combination of all the characteristics of alpaca fabric makes it absolutely special.

How Does Alpaca Wool Feel on the Skin?

There’s that special pleasure when you feel a soft fabric on your skin. It provides a truly indescribable and divine sensation. One of the fabrics that provides that particular feeling of luxury and softness is alpaca wool. Alpaca is a fabric that feels smoother to the touch due to its smaller and less protruding scales, meaning alpaca wool has a lower prickly factor compared to other fibers with a similar micron count.

Normally, smaller scales might indicate a loss of strength because they have less ability to interlock, and here’s the surprising thing about alpaca: its scales are still very capable of interlocking with each other, still producing a strong fiber. Alpaca garments are particularly chosen because they provide warmth even at low temperatures and a multitude of resistances:

• – water resistance: alpaca wool has great breathability and absorbs moisture;
• – wind resistance;
• – fire resistance: alpaca wool is self-extinguishing and does not melt on the skin when on fire;
• – stain resistance: just like with water, liquids are repelled before they can penetrate the fibers;
• – odor resistance as odors evaporate in the fiber.

Not to mention that alpaca is a soft and silky fabric, with a unique natural sheen and is an exclusive and quality fabric. All this makes garments made with alpaca wool very advantageous and perfect to wear for all body types, as it adapts to all body shapes. Additionally, alpaca is a shiny fiber that is difficult to crease and shrink.