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Alpaca Lace
Graceful and Beautiful: Alpaca Lace
Discover the exquisite allure of Alpaca Lace, a uniquely fine 2-ply yarn available in an array of 26 extraordinary colours. Immerse yourself in the sheer gracefulness of this remarkably lightweight yarn, meticulously designed for lacework, and ideal for ethereal creations. Serving as a versatile substitute for Mohair, Alpaca Lace stands as the impeccable pairing yarn, enabling you to elevate and enrich the overall aesthetics of your knitted or crocheted masterpiece.
ALPACA LACE
Our Alpaca Lace, a luxurious, wonderfully soft yarn made from pure alpaca wool, is perfect for lace or openwork patterns, thanks to its incredible lightness and robustness in lace weight.
COLOUR PALETTE
The color palette of Alpaca Lace offers a variety of solid and subtly variegated shades. Here you will find both natural tones and an attractive selection of colorful hues.
Alpacas: Mystical Animals form the Highlands of the Peruvian Andes
In our desire to produce high quality, luxurious and unique yarns, we travel to some of the most amazing parts of the world. This time, we´ve been inspired by our trip to Peru with its spectacular, almost mystical natural landscapes and contrasts, and the distinct bright, colourful textiles used in the traditional Andean clothing, including capes, shawls, embroidered skirts, and vibrantly coloured hats local women wear. It´s a world that revolves around one precious animal: the alpaca.
Alpacas, known as one of the most beautiful camelids in South America, are indigenous to the highlands of the Peruvian Andes. A rare and precious animal with the ability to tolerate extraordinarily harsh climatic conditions, the alpaca has been intimately tied to the Peruvian culture providing people with clothing, food, and fuel since pre-Inca times. During the Inca empire, alpacas were treasured as the most important animal and material woven from their fleece was prized above gold and silver reserved exclusively to members of the royal family and the highest officials.
Fine as Cashmere, Soft as Silk
Here in the peaks of Peru, the Inca culture and traditions are ever so present in the architecture, traditional folk dances, and people´s way of life in each of the towns we visit. It is almost as though time has slowed down and one gets the impression of being in the presence of something very ancient, yet very much alive: culture and traditions blend together as the alpacas graze as they have always done without caring much for what is going on in the rest of the world. Here is where we source the most beautiful, sophisticated, and exclusive alpaca fleece to produce our pure alpaca yarns: Alpaca Lace, Alpaca Fino, and Baby Alpaca Los Andes.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Yarn Length: 50 g ~ 400 m | 1.76 oz ~ 437 yds
- Needle: 3 mm | 3 US | 11 UK
- Gauge: 36 stitches, 48 rows to 4" (10 cm)
- Usage: Sweater in size Small ~ 300g
- Yarn Weight: 50 g | 1.76 oz ~ Hank
Care
We recommend washing your knitwear made of Alpaca Lace by hand in lukewarm water with a mild wool detergent. Dry flat, preferably on a terry towel, to avoid stretching. Under no circumstances should you dry it directly on a heat source or in the blazing sun!
Read more about wool care in our blogpost here.
What is Baby Alpaca?
The term “baby alpaca” is used to refer to alpaca fibre with a fineness between 19 and 22 microns that is usually gained from the fleece of young alpacas, which have been raised with good nutrition and care. Adult alpacas usually have a limited amount of this this very fine fleece on their back.
A Yarn Worthy of Royalty
Alpaca fibre comes in 22 natural colours and is well known for its softness and silkiness, for even in its thickest form, it is inherently softer than sheep’s wool. But there is more:
• It is 30% warmer than the wool,
• stronger, lighter, and more resilient than wool,
• hypoallergenic, meaning it does not irritate the skin,
• does not contain lanolin,
• odour resistant,
• stain resistant,
• naturally water repellent and
• naturally biodegradable.
Our Alpaca Blends:
We also carry wonderful alpaca blends such as:
Balayage and Balayage Hand-dyed
Puno and Puno Winikunka
Our Priorities:
Animal Welfare
In the highlands of Peru, alpacas are able to move around freely and are kept in a manner that is appropriate for the species. In Pacomarca, a 3,700-acre farm located east of Cusco, herdsmen are taught about the best practices for shearing, breeding, and maintaining the animals. Good nutrition and adequate care guarantee healthy herds. The animals are sheared twice a year with modern machines in order not to subject them to any kind of stress.
Sustainability & Fair Trade
Once the animals are sheared, the alpaca fleece is taken to a processing mill located in Arequipa, Peru´s second largest city. The fleece is then sorted by hand to guarantee the best quality. It is then cleaned, combed, dyed, and spun. The working conditions are fair and great value is placed on a recycling economy in order to protect the environment. This means that the entire process is self-contained. For example, the mud produced when the fibres are washed is used to fertilize the pastures which will later be used to nourish the animals.
Our Environment
Alpacas are highly intelligent and easy to train. In comparison to other herding animals such as sheep or goats, alpacas are considered “low-impact” animals to the environment because they do not bother trees and their padded feet do not have the same effect on the ground as hooves. In the production of our alpaca yarns, care is taken to ensure that energy consumption is made more environmentally friendly by using solar energy, and the water that is used is recycled.
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