Alpaca is one of the great pleasures to knit with, and it behaves differently enough from sheep’s wool that a few things are worth knowing before you cast on.
Choosing a weight
If you are new to alpaca and keen to get some on the needles, decide what you want the finished object to be like before choosing a pattern. 2-ply, 4-ply, double knit and aran weights all differ in nature and texture.
Alpaca is a very warm natural fibre, and with it less is genuinely more. You gain very little extra warmth from making a garment heavy, and you lose a great deal in comfort and drape. A heavy alpaca sweater is often too warm to wear indoors and too dense to hang well.
Choose the weight for the object, and lean lighter than you would with wool.
Why it is so warm
Alpaca fibre is hollow, which traps air and insulates far better than sheep’s wool of the same thickness. It is also free of lanolin, which makes it suitable for many people who cannot wear wool.
Drape, and the lack of memory
This is the difference that catches people out. Wool is elastic – it springs back, holds ribbing, keeps a cable crisp.
Alpaca has very little of that. It drapes beautifully and it grows. A garment knitted to fit will be longer after a day’s wear, and longer again after washing.
The practical consequences:
Knit at a firmer gauge than the ball band suggests. A loose alpaca fabric will sag badly.
Expect vertical growth. Knit the body shorter than the finished measurement you want, and let it settle into length.
Ribbing will not grip the way it does in wool. For a cuff or a hat brim that needs to hold, consider a blend with some wool in it, or add a little elastic thread.
What it is best for
Scarves, shawls, cowls and drapey cardigans – anything where fluidity is a virtue and structure is not required.
It is a poor choice for fitted garments, structured hats, and socks, where the lack of recovery works against you.
Swatch and wash the swatch
More important with alpaca than with almost anything else. Knit the swatch, wash it, hang it up for a day, and then measure. That tells you what the garment will actually do, which is not what the unwashed swatch says.
Care
Hand wash cool and dry flat, always. Never hang a wet alpaca garment – the weight of the water will stretch it permanently, and alpaca is less forgiving of this than any other fibre.
