Alpaca fleece is the natural fiber harvested from an Alpaca. It is a light-weight, soft, durable, luxurious and silky natural fiber. While similar to sheep's wool in that it is a natural fiber, it is warmer, not prickly, and has no lanolin which makes it hypoallergenic. However, this lack of lanolin also prevents Alpaca fiber from being naturally water-repellent. It also has less crimp, thus making it much less elastic. Alpaca fleece is made into various exports, from very simple and inexpensive garments made by the aboriginal communities to sophisticated, industrially made and expensive products such as suits. In the United States, groups of smaller alpaca breeders have banded together to create "fiber co-ops," in order to make the manufacture of alpaca fiber products less expensive.
As with all fleece-producing animals, quality varies from animal to animal, and some alpacas produce fiber which is less than ideal. Fiber and conformation are the two most important factors in determining an alpaca's value.
Alpacas come in many shades from a true-blue black through browns-black, browns, fawns, white, silver-greys, and rose-greys. However, white is predominant, because of selective breeding: the white fiber can be dyed in the largest ranges of colors.
The preparing, carding, spinning, weaving and finishing process of alpaca is very similar to the process used for wool.
Alpaca fleece is the natural fiber
