Jan 12
18
Understanding Alpaca Fiber
For many centuries alpaca fiber has been deemed of the best, if not the best quality natural fiber, and has been used in the making of garments, rugs and many more items. Alpaca fiber is hypo-allergenic, has excellent thermal qualities, and is silky and luxurious to the touch. The fibers do not house as many microscopic allergens as many other natural fibers do, as the fibers contain no lanolin.
Before use, alpaca fleeces are sorted and classified. This is usually done by the alpaca farmer, and the buyers and manufactures of the fiber may classify and grade the fiber even further. The fiber is graded and classified by three criteria:
Color: The most sought after colors in alpaca fiber are usually also the least common, and also the easiest to sell. Black and grey are at the top of this list. White is also very popular as it is so easy to dye. There are at present 22 internationally recognized colors in the alpaca range, but there are also alpacas that supply fleece that does not fall directly into one of these colors, but rather falls between shades.
Roaning: Many alpacas have fibers which are solid in color, while others have a white or lighter tip, and this is known as roaning. These can range in color from light to dark grey. The greys also often have small dark spots.
Fineness: The fineness or coarseness of the fiber is also classified by measurement in microns.
Other factors influencing the grading of the alpaca fiber include how clean the fibers are, how long the fibers are, and how glossy and healthy the fibers are. Stretching of fibers also affects the grading negatively. Alpaca fibers have the ability to stretch, because their scales all point in the same direction. After being stretched, the fibers cannot return to their original state. It is therefore not advisable to brush or pet an alpaca before shearing. If the fibers need cleaning, use an air cleaner to blow the dirt out.
A few more tricks of the trade can be used successfully to ensure a good quality fiber at shearing. Firstly, maintaining good records of each alpaca, their sires, their offspring and the fiber type and quality they produce, will help you to ensure choosing the correct sires for future offspring, ensuring a good genetic balance for a high quality fleece of the desired color.
It is also important to ensure that the alpacas are let out o pasture in a clean fresh field of grass at least three weeks prior to shearing. This is especially true if they were housed indoors for the winter. Allowing them into pasture will ensure that their coats have a time to blow clean in the outdoors, to free them of dust, dirt, bits of hay and other dirt that may stick to their coats.
Lastly, it is imperative to keep fleeces dry and clean after shearing. Especially in humid conditions it must be ensured that each fleece is totally dried before sorting and packing. Mold can easily grow on the damp fibers, and damage the whole bale of fleeces with the mold and odors. Bug repellent should also be used around the bales to ensure that no moths or other unwanted critters come close to your alpaca fiber, where they can do a great deal of damage.
