Alpaca Wool

Is Alpaca Itchy Next to the Skin

Alpaca is far less likely to itch than ordinary sheep wool, and the reason is the surface of the fiber. Alpaca fibers carry flatter scales than wool, so they slide past the skin instead of catching on it, which is why a forehead or the inside of a wrist tolerates them so well. Baby alpaca is a grade name for the finest fleece, judged by fiber diameter, rather than fleece from young animals, and it is the softest grade there is.

• Flatter scales. Less catch, less prickle.
• No lanolin. Nothing greasy to irritate.
• Baby alpaca grade. The finest fiber, not baby animals.

Pure Alpaca Versus the Baby Alpaca Blend

Pure alpaca drapes and relaxes onto the head or hand, while the blend springs back after every stretch. Choose pure alpaca for the softest, most fluid feel, and the blend when you want a cuff or brim that holds its shape through daily wear. The polyamide strengthens the places a knit gets tugged, and the touch of wool gives the yarn a little body.

• Pure alpaca. Soft drape in plush and speckled knits.
• Baby alpaca blend. Springy and shape keeping.
• Same gentle care. Cold hand wash, dry flat.

How to Wash Alpaca Knits

How to wash alpaca comes down to one rule: no heat and no agitation. Soak the knit briefly in cold water with a little wool wash, then rinse it cool. Roll the knit in a towel to draw the water out and dry it flat and shaped by hand, because a hanger stretches wet alpaca and a dryer felts it. Alpaca rarely needs washing after a single wear; a night of fresh air is often enough.

• Cold water only. Warm water tightens the fibers.
• Press, never wring. Twisting distorts the knit.
• Dry flat and shaped. Brims and cuffs set as they dry.

For the hat shapes on their own, see the slouchy beanie page, and for open fingered styles in alpaca and cashmere, the fingerless gloves page.