All About Alpaca Fiber

Unless you're already into the “fiber thing,” the first time you hear a breeder talking about hand, density, micron or prickle factor, you'll probably scrunch up your nose and think, “so what's the big deal?” Well, Alpaca fiber is a very big deal and it's right now becoming an even bigger deal. First and foremost, Alpacas are fiber producers. Since 1984, when first imported from South America, Alpacas have become well established on farms throughout the eastern United States.

You'll never get an argument in professional circles by saying, “Alpaca fiber is one of the finest in the world,” according to Linda Berry Walker of WoodsEdge Wools Farm in Stockton, New Jersey. "Having had a vertically integrated textile business for two decades, I've raised a variety of fiber producing animals for our wholesale and retail products. Once I discovered Alpacas, I sold my wholesale business of designing yarns for fashion designers to spend more time breeding and raising this beautifully fibered animal. Alpaca comes in more natural colors than any other animal fiber on earth. The range of natural colors means that dyeing is optional," states Linda. In our ever-more environmentally conscious society that, too, is a big deal.

Mother Nature designed the ideal fiber for use by mankind and then placed it on the gentle Alpaca. One of the great advantages of Alpaca fiber is that it is unusually strong and resilient. The strength of the fiber does not diminish as it becomes finer. It is soft, supple and smooth to the touch. The cellular structure of the fiber produces a soft handle unmatched by most other specialty fibers.

Alpacas are truly nature's own fiber factory. They are usually shorn once a year and a good shearer can shear 30 Alpacas a day. Working with either electric or hand shears, the prime blanket fleece is "rolled off" the Alpaca in one piece with long, smooth strokes. The annual harvest of fleece from an Alpaca will produce enough fiber for 4 to 8 sweaters.

With all these remarkable characteristics, Alpaca fiber is a growing American industry. All that is needed is more production to support commercial use. That's coming. A cooperative is already forming with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. While that larger market matures and evolves, Alpaca fiber is already supporting a highly prized cottage industry of spinners, weavers and fiber artists, some of the finest of whom are found in the eastern United States.

One of these is Jennifer Bennett who, with her husband Geoff, own Harmony Wools Farm in Sweetwater, Tennessee. Jennifer began knitting at six years of age and as an adult progressed to spinning and weaving. As a member of the Tennessee Valley Hand Spinners, says Jennifer, "I naturally wanted to raise my own fiber. Research led me to Alpacas because of their wonderfully soft fiber. So off we went to the Eastern Alpaca Rendezvous where we bought our first two Alpacas." Today Jennifer has devoted five acres of their farm to raise ten Alpacas.

Sue King of Skyeview Alpacas in Elkins, New Hampshire, had been spinning for years before she and her husband, Jim, moved to their 42-acre farm from Boston in 1991 for a lifestyle change. It was then that Sue discovered Alpacas. They provide Sue with all the fiber she can use, plus more than enough to sell to handspinners. "For my purposes," says Sue, "25 Alpacas will be just about perfect. We now have 18 plus two Llamas, one of which is a guard animal for the Alpacas." Sue is watching a large movement back to "traditional crafts" in New England.

While Sue and her husband are fairly sure the Alpaca fiber industry will remain a cottage industry for some time, there are others like Laura Hudson of the Piney Hills Alpaca Ranch in Minden, Louisiana, who believe a recent fiber cooperative startup will help to change that. Says Laura, "The new co-op is going to be a tremendous benefit to the industry because it will give us an organized outlet for our fiber and will help to more quickly create critical mass for designers and fashion manufacturers. This will give new breeders - even those not especially interested in fiber - a great opportunity."

Sherry Watkins of Frostglen Alpaca Farm in Loudon, Tennessee, has had a life-long passion for working with fiber and fabric. She is devoted to suri fiber saying that "suri fiber has luster like silk and a hand like cashmere. We see the Alpaca fiber market poised for a major take-off and we predict that the suri will rival the market for the world's finest silk, and the huacaya will challenge cashmere."