FEATURE
………………………
The King of
Fibres
By Rosee Woodland
Alpaca yarn is wonderfully soft, and
incredibly warm, making it perfect for toasty
winter knits. Rosee Woodland finds out what
makes it so special.
Alpaca has become a firm favourite with knitters
in recent years. While cashmere has traditionally
been the most coveted fibre for clothing in the UK,
alpaca is now viewed with equal reverence, thanks
to its amazing qualities.
Knitters love alpaca because it’s super cosy, and
buttery soft at the same time. The warmth comes
from the structure of the alpaca fibre, which is
hollow, meaning that it traps air inside it, creating
multiple layers of insulation, while still being very
light.
Unlike sheep’s wool, alpaca contains no lanolin,
making it hypoallergenic, and less likely to pill too.
It is so incredibly soft because the ‘scales’ of protein
that make up each alpaca hair lie much flatter than
those on wool. There are two main kinds of alpaca;
suri and huacaya. Suri alpaca produce a softer yarn
than huacaya, but both yarns feel very silky to the
touch. Like wool, alpaca is also moisture wicking,
water repellent, flame retardant and wrinkle
resistant.
WINTER 2018
21