I am often asked how many items can be made from one alpaca fleece. I have no direct experience in that area, but an Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association publication states that an average clean alpaca fleece weighs about 6 pounds with 4 pounds being prime fleece and 2 pounds being coarser fibre.
From this 6 pounds of fleece comes 3 felted hats, 1 felted vest and 1 pair felted house slippers using the coarse fibre and 2 handspun woven neck scarves, 2 handspun handknit hats and 2 handspun and handknit sweaters from the fine fibre.
The best quality fibre comes from the blanket area and represents approximately 60% of the fleece. The middle legs and neck often produce better quality fibre but not as good as the blanket. The lower legs, apron and belly produce the coarser fibre which is often used for felting.
Alpacas are divided into two distinct types according to the fibre they produce: huacaya and suri.
The more commonly seen huacaya alpaca fibre grows perpendicular from the body and has a fluffy, spongy appearance. The one characteristic besides fineness that every breeder strives for is heavy crimp. The amount of crimp in the fibre is what gives the alpaca garment elasticity. Huacaya fibre readily accepts dye.
Suri alpaca fibre grows parallel to the body often hanging in long ringlets and is extraordinarily lustrous, soft, slippery and pliable. Suri fibre is usually uniform and without crimp and it does not absorb dye very well.
To ensure sufficient strength and resilience in a fabric, suri is often blended with huacaya, sheep's wool and other fibres in ways that allow its smoothness and lustre to be appreciated.
Suri's incredibly smooth feel makes it a popular and sought-after fibre, occupying a niche at the upper end of alpaca fibre values.
It accounts for only 7 to 10 percent of the annual processing in the large mills of Peru where 90 percent of the world's alpaca fibre is produced for overseas markets.
Huacaya fleece is easier to process and makes a stronger yarn
than suri. Huacaya is also superior for felting. However suri is incredibly soft and regenerates faster with an annual growth of 7.8 inches (20cm.) compared to 5.9 inches (15 cm.) among huacaya, according to The Alpaca Book by Eric Hoffman and Murray Fowler.
Along with crimp, fineness is a very important measurement of alpaca fibre quality.
Fibre fineness is the diameter of fibre measured in microns. One micron is one millionth of a metre.
To obtain a micron count for a llama or alpaca, a patch of fibre about 2 inches square is taken from the middle of the blanket area on the side of an animal as close to the skin as possible. The sample is then sent to a qualified testing laboratory
Modern laser scanning techniques give an accurate record of micron count. Three essentials of any laser scan measurement are average fibre diameter, standard deviation and coefficient of variation.
Average fibre diameter is just as it sounds &emdash; the average diameter of fibre in the sample expressed in microns.
The standard deviation indicates the amount of variation occurring in the sample using the average as the starting point. The coefficient of variation, computed by dividing the standard deviation by the average diameter and multiplying by 100, simply expresses the deviation as a percentage. The lower the deviation and the coefficient of variation, the more uniform the fibre and lower the "prickle" factor.
The result from the laboratory is returned to the breeder in the form of a histogram which is the permanent record of the quality of an animal's fleece.
There are a number of different interpretations of fineness. However, it is generally accepted that fibre under 20 microns is exceptional and anything over 30 microns is considered on the coarse side.
Fibre quality is primarily determined by genetics but can also be influenced by age, nutrition, illness and stress.
Many people contemplating an alpaca investment want to know how much they will get when they sell their fibre. I am always confident in telling them that fibre sales will more than pay for the care and feeding of their animals, however specific prices for raw fibre vary according to condition of fleece and market demand.
A really clean fleece commands a higher market price but the fineness of the fleece along with colour is the main determinant of price. A couple of years ago we received an offer to buy our alpaca fibre for a range of about $50 per pound for under 20 microns $10 per pound for over 30 microns.
Some breeders are also spinners, weavers and knitters. Our friends, Laurie and Donovan Saul of Thetis Island Alpaca Ranch, have a wonderful little shop set up right at their farm just a stones throw from the ferry terminal. Laurie is very talented and creative when it comes to turning alpaca fibre into works of art. The Sauls are reaping the benefits of the value-added aspect of alpaca fibre.
Last but not least, I am often asked about the cost to purchase alpaca yarn. A 100 gram (about 3 1/2 oz. ball) of very fine alpaca 2 ply yarn sells for between $25 and $30. Add to this the price of labour and the purchase of a finished alpaca sweater can set you back a few hundred bucks. However, I have never met anyone who has regretted their purchase of any alpaca garment.
Alpaca garments are more than clothing. They are family heirlooms which, if taken care of properly, can be passed down from generation to generation.