Les Alpagas de Kergohy
The Fibre of the Gods
Huacaya fleece
Alpaca is a very special fibre, highly sought after as one of the world’s most luxurious.
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Although alpaca fibre may not be ‘wool’, strictly speaking, it’s what most people call it.
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It's one of the finest fibres available and is recognised for being extremely soft and light, whilst at the same time being remarkably warm to wear.
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Alpaca wool is naturally hypoallergenic and fire-resistant with a huge range of 22 natural colours, from pure black to pure white. ​
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Once reserved for the god-like Inca kings, it is now used worldwide in top of the range garments and accessories and is also appreciated by artisan spinners and weavers.
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Huacayas are sheared every year and suris every two years, producing between 2 and 6kg of fleece per shearing.
Huacaya fleece showing crimp
Among the characteristics looked for in alpaca fleeces are fineness, density and softness. Fineness allows more fibre to be spun into the yarn, thus making it more supple and robust and softness makes it comfortable to wear.
A high level of crimp linked to fine fibre diameter is a desirable quality for working with huacuya wool, as it gives loft and elasticity to yarn, making it ideal for knitted garments.
Suri fleece is different to that of the huacaya. The fibres don’t have crimp, but form into locks which hang in pencils, like dreadlocks. The fibre is fine, silky and lustrous and spins into a yarn which is excellent for weaving into fine cloth.
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Breeders looking to improve the quality of the fibre produced by their animals use genetics to select desirable characteristics for colour, fineness, softness, lustre and crimp. Sometimes the results can be surprising - we have a black suri whose sire is white and his dam 'vicuna' coloured! Neither of their pedigrees have a trace of black in them .....
