A Symphony of Elegance and Softness: Alpaca Fino

Indulge in the luxurious touch of Alpaca Fino, an exceptionally fine and soft 4-ply yarn that effortlessly combines elegance with cosiness. This DK/light weight yarn is a versatile choice for a myriad of knitting or crochet projects, offering a canvas for your creativity to flourish.

Alpaca Fino comes in a spectrum of 23 captivating shades, transforming every creation into a work of art. Whether you're knitting a warm sweater, a delicate shawl, or an intricate crochet project, Alpaca Fino ensures a sumptuous feel. Embrace the softness and elegance of Alpaca Fino as you bring your handmade projects to life.

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. 

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.