Alpaca fiber from Bramasole Alpaca Farm in Carlton Oregon.

Alpacas Fiber

Here are some questions and answers about Alpaca fiber and fleece.

Alpacas provide a highly prized fleece that has inspired many to spin their own fiber and start in-home cottage industries while others take advantage of the co-op opportunities when selling their fleece. There are choices when selecting Alpacas such as crimpy fleece (Huacaya) or spiraled fleece (Suri) with colors varying from white to silver gray to deep brown.

Fleece Quality

There are 22 color categories. The color classes make it possible to group fleece colors for processing
Fineness is the measure of the diameter of each of the hair follicles – referred to as micron count.
The length of fiber an Alpaca produces between shearing is referred to as Staple length.
Density is the number of hair follicles per square inch.
The even distribution (Uniformity) of all the characteristics that are valued in a fleece
The waviness present in Huacaya fiber is called the Crimp. The crimp gives a Huacaya their distinctive look.
The Locks are the pencil like spirals that drop down from the Suri.
Fleece weight is the full weight of the blanket fleece.
Luster (shine) is also sought after in breeding programs in both Huacaya and Suri.

Most breeders have selected one or several of these traits to focus on in their breeding programs. Different traits are valuable depending on the intended end use. Fleece can be used for any or all of the following:

Commercial processing

Hand spinning

Felting

Quilting

Showing

A common way to determine fleece quality is to split the fleece in at least 3 areas (the center side, the front shoulder and the back rump) to judge the uniformity across the entire blanket.