Since ancient times the South American Andes mountains have been the ancestral home to the prized alpaca.Their fleece was cherished by members of the Incan civilization
(referred to as "The fibre of the Gods") and their graceful herds of alpaca roamed the lush foothills and mountainous pastures.
In the 17th century Spanish conquistadors killed a large part of both the Incan and alpaca populations forcing the retreating survivors to seek refuge in the high mountain plains known as the Altiplano.
The high altitude and harsh landscape ensured only the hardiest of these creatures survived and these ancestors of today's best bloodlines have provided a gene pool producing hardy, agile animals with dense, high quality fibre.

The color of the fibre is also variable with up to 22 colors having been defined. Alpaca colors range from white to black through greys, fawns and browns. This characteristic is not to be found among any other natural fibres. These are seen as the 'noble' fibres, used in textile production.

The fibre is classified manually according to its fineness and sorted into qualities such as Royal Alpaca (less than 19 microns), Baby Alpaca (22,5 microns), Super Fine Alpaca (25,5 microns), Huarizo (29microns), Coarse (32 microns) and Mixed Pieces (short fibres generally coarser than 32 microns).

The names of these qualities do not necessarily reflect the age of the animals or other phenotypic characteristics. The appellation 'Baby', for example, is applied to products (tops, yarns, cloth, etc.) where the average fibre diameter is 22,5 microns. The fibre used to obtain this quality does not necessarily come from baby animals; it could easily come from an adult animal with a very fine coat.

Alpaca fibres are extraordinarily tough and strong, even in the finest qualities, it does not easily break, fray, stain or accumulate charges of static electricity and is easy to launder.

Some of the factors which affect the value of alpaca are:

Fineness: This is a genetic hereditary factor. The finer the fibre, the higher the price.

Colour: White fibre commands a higher price from industrial concerns as it may be dyed to any colour, including pastel shades. However, craftsmen give a greater value to fibre of certain natural colours.

fibre length: The decision of whether to process the alpaca on the woollen system or the worsted system depends on the fibre length.

Production: The weight and degree of cleanliness of the fleeces are important.

Impurities in the fibre: Greater prices are commanded by cleaner fibre.

Nutritional considerations: Nutrition of the animal affects growth and fineness of the fibre.

THE TEXTILE PROPERTIES OF ALPACA:

Non-flammability: The fibre will not burn unless in direct contact with a flame.

Elasticity and strength: Alpaca fibres have relatively high elasticity and strength, comparable with those of sheep's wool and other animal fibres.

Hygroscopic properties: Absorption of ambient humidity is relatively low.

Thermal properties:The structure of the alpaca fibre makes it an efficient thermal insulator, useful in different climatic conditions.

Felting: Alpaca does not felt as readily as sheep's wool or other animal fibres.

Handle: The alpaca fibre has a structure which gives it a very soft handle, comparable with that of a grade of sheep's wool three or four microns finer.

Visual texture: Alpaca cloth exhibits an excellent drape, appearance, natural luster and handle; it maintains its new appearance for a very long time.