Crocheting With Alpaca

Once considered an exotic fiber among hand crafters, alpaca has become commonplace, even showing up in the yarn aisle at big-box stores! There is a reason alpaca has become so popular: The yarns are soft and warm, making them ideal for crocheted hats, scarves, cowls, sweaters, throws and more!

- Jackie Daugherty

Let’s take a moment to clear up some misconceptions about the fiber and its source. Alpacas are part of the South American camelid family along with llamas and their lesser-known cousins, vicuñas and guanacos. Alpacas, raised mainly for their soft, fine fiber, are smaller than llamas, which are used mostly as pack animals. Alpaca fiber is extremely fine with little guard hair. Llamas, on the other hand, have a very distinctive double coat of guard hairs and softer downy fibers. Alpaca fibers are often finer than cashmere, with the Suri breed having a micron count of 10–15 (1 micron = 1/1000 millimeter). More hair-like in quality than sheep wool, the fiber has a silky sheen and lustrous feel. Warmer than wool, alpaca fibers have excellent insulative qualities due to the hollow core of the fiber.