Aren’t Alpacas just so cute. Apart from their cuteness they also produce Alpaca Yarn a lustrous and silky natural fiber and tends to be warmer and not prickly in comparison to wool. It is also soft and luxurious and tends to have a glossy shine compared to regular wool.
image courtesy of this greenearth.wordpress.com
The Alpaca yarn we use in our extra chunky cowls are of the Peruvian variety. Alpaca is often compared to cashmere with the latter seen as one of the most luxurious fibres especially in the production of fashion pieces. Interestingly Alpaca is now seen as a far better alternative to cashmere.
Extra Chunky Knit Alpaca Cowl/Snood in Midnight Blue
The grasslands required to sustain cashmere producing goats are vastly depleted in China as a result of a great interest in the fibre in the 90s which lead to a continuous fall in its price. In addition to that fact, Alpacas literally have a smaller environmental footprint than goats, where their soft, padded feet are gentler on the terrain and they can graze without destroying root systems. With a faster rater of wool growth, they also produce far more wool than goats do in the same amount of time.
A fact that we quite liked here at Urbanknit is that a human is involved in every step of the process to convert the fibre to usable yarn!
Extra Chunky Knit Alpaca Cowl/Snood in Cream
As though you need more, here are more reasons to love Alpaca!
- Alpaca is similar to cashmere in water absorption as both absorb almost no moisture.
- Alpaca is soft and less itchy against the skin
- Alpaca fiber is naturally hypoallergenic.
- Alpaca is naturally windproof.
- Alpaca features less shrinkage (washable).
- Alpaca is highly breathable
- Alpaca offers great warmth for the weight.
- Alpaca keeps you warm in wet conditions.
- Alpaca is flame resistant.
- Alpaca is very low in static electricity.
- Alpaca does not hold debris and stays cleaner for longer.
- Alpaca is stain resistant and resists acquired odours.
- Alpaca is all natural and biodegradable.
- Alpaca has natural luster.
Are you tempted to give it a try? Go on, you know you want to!
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