four alpaca and a llama
I don’t know if it’s ‘better,’ but it’s sure nice! Alpaca. This fiber comes from the alpaca, a member of the camelid family. They’re slightly smaller than the llama. They’re kinda cute guys and gals, are easy to raise and are clean, and their poop can go straight into the garden as fertilizer – isn’t that mulit-use! They’re sheared like sheep, and thier fleece is soft and warm. The fiber is long and strong. It is less itchy than a lot of wools, and contains no lanolin for those alergic. Alpaca fiber comes in a number of natural colors, but takes up dye very well, too.
Alpaca will felt, although I’ve never wanted to do that to the items I’ve knit with it. They’re to soft and cushy to think of shrinking them! Alpaca needs to be handled like wool, gently washed, never rung, and laid flat to dry.
Again, try a blend of alpaca and wool. You get the softness and strength of alpaca, the elasticity and memory of wool, and a less expensive skein of yarn! Alpaca is blended with other fibers as well.
Or, really splurge, get some 100% alpaca and knit the perfect scarf or neckwarmer or hat or cowl for these cold winter days. You’ll be glad you did!
