Everyone loves the lovely fluffy cousins of llamas – alpacas, but how many of you know that they are the ones that produce the amazingly soft wool used to make the softest ever cosy alpaca wool throws? It is about time you find out more about these lovely creatures and the amazing fleece that they produce.
Believe it or not – no one else in the world is just like you. Your physical appearance, your voice and personality traits – your habits, intelligence, personal tastes – all these make you one of a kind. With your uniqueness comes the challenge of getting everything in your own way. With weather staying chilly we all want to stay warm, and wool throws are one of the best choices to do that.
With winter just around the corner and the cold weather approaching faster and faster each day, everyone starts thinking about warmer clothes and cosy candle-lit atmosphere. One of the most trendy and all in all great choices for warming yourself up in the autumn is wool throws.
As you all probably know alpaca throws are made out of alpaca animal (which are bread in the mountains of Peru) wool. Being soft and smooth as well as very warm, alpaca throws are appreciated addition to every home.
Items made from alpaca wool fibers can retain heat and regulate the body temperature and therefore they are perfect companions in chilly winter weather.
Interesting fact is that the age of the animal does not determine the softness of the fur – both young and old animals provide alpaca wool that is suitable to make very soft products like alpaca throws, alpaca blankets, alpaca garment.
Alpaca throws and clothing are on high demand and popular for several reasons. The alpaca wool fibers are similar to ones of sheep but warmer and do not have poky fibers that make other wool fabrics itchy and not that comfortable to wear.
Alpaca wool products make a perfect choice for those who have skin and other allergies but still want to wear wool or use it at home. Sheep’s wool is full of lanolin and this makes it unsuitable for allergic people or those with sensitive skin to wear. Simple as it seems, this is still an important reason that contributes to popularity of alpaca throws, blankets, clothing and accessories.
Every autumn and winter, lots of people look for at least one or two additional layers to put on in order to keep warm and stay healthy. Very often a layer of those is made from wool – sheep wool. Unfortunately, it is apparent that most people have never heard of alpaca wool, angora wool or cashmere wool.
Alpaca animal resembles a llama and both originated in the southern Andes, areas that today are part of Peru and Bolivia. In later years alpacas have been most successfully exported to many other countries – e.g. the United States, Australia, and are now bred for their exquisite wool.
Let’s talk about alpaca wool today. Alpaca wool yarn is a natural fiber that is harvested from an alpaca – South American camelid and resemble a small llama (see picture).
Alpacas are bred specifically for their quality fibers.