Why Alpaca Fleece Rewards a Careful Sort

If you keep alpacas on a smallholding, you already know the yearly ritual: the shearer arrives, the fleece comes off in one glorious blanket, and then the real work begins. Alpaca fibre is one of the most versatile natural fibres you can put your hands on, but it does not arrive ready to spin, knit or felt. A single animal can produce fibre ranging from a cloud-soft 18 microns on the saddle to a coarse 35 microns around the britch, and treating it all the same way is the quickest route to scratchy jumpers and wasted fleece.

The good news is that sorting by grade is a skill you can learn in an afternoon with a decent light, a clean table and a willingness to be ruthless. Once you understand micron and crimp, you can direct every handful of fibre to the craft that suits it best.

Suri and Huacaya: Two Very Different Fleeces

Before you think about grades, know which type of alpaca you are working with. The two breeds behave quite differently in the hand and on the wheel.

• Huacaya is the more common breed in the UK. Its fleece has a dense, springy crimp and a soft, woolly handle. It spins into a bouncy yarn that holds shape well, which makes it a natural fit for knitwear, hats and socks.
• Suri grows long, silky locks that hang in pencil-like ringlets with almost no crimp. The fibre is smoother, heavier and has a pronounced lustre. It drapes beautifully and is prized for weaving, lace and any project where you want shine and fluidity rather than loft.

Suri fleece also tends to felt more slowly because the smooth cuticle scales lie flatter, so felters often blend it with a crimpy fibre such as merino to get a reliable bond.

Micron Counts: The Numbers That Guide You

Micron is simply the measurement of fibre diameter, and it is the single best predictor of how a fleece will feel against skin. A micron is one thousandth of a millimetre, and most smallholders send a sample for testing or use a handheld microscope and a bit of judgement. These bands are a practical starting point:

• Under 20 microns — the finest fleece, usually from the saddle of a young or well-bred animal. Reserve this for next-to-skin wear: baby garments, fine scarves, lace shawls.
• 20 to 23 microns — soft and comfortable. Ideal for jumpers, gloves, hats and hand-knitted socks, often blended with a little nylon at the heel and toe.
• 23 to 26 microns — a good middle grade. Perfect for outerwear, mittens, slippers and weaving weft where a little durability matters more than absolute softness.
• 26 to 30 microns — sturdier stuff. Think rug yarn, bag straps, felted boot liners and heavy blankets.
• Over 30 microns — coarse and prickly. Better felted, used as stuffing, or composted rather than worn.

Age, nutrition and genetics all shift these numbers, so a fleece that was 22 microns last year may creep up to 25 as the animal matures. Test each year rather than assuming.

Crimp, Staple and Lustre: Reading a Fleece by Hand

Micron tells you softness, but crimp and staple length tell you how the fibre will behave. Huacaya crimp should be well defined, close and regular across the blanket; irregular or weak crimp usually signals a fleece that will felt in the wash. Staple length matters too — around 7 to 12 cm is lovely for worsted spinning, while longer staples suit woollen preparation and weaving.

Lustre is the suri speciality. Hold a lock up to the window: a bright, glassy sheen means excellent drape and dye uptake, while a dull, chalky look suggests the fleece is either weathered or has been sitting in the sun too long.

Matching Fibre to Craft

The joy of grading is that nothing is wasted once you match it properly.

• Knitting: use 20 to 23 micron huacaya for garments, reserving the very finest saddle fibre for lace and shawls. Alpaca has no memory of its own, so blend with a little wool for ribbing and cuffs that need to spring back.
• Weaving: suri and longer huacaya staples make superb weft, giving cloth a soft, heavy drape. Keep alpaca out of the warp unless you ply it with a strong wool or cotton, as it abrades and snaps under tension.
• Felting: huacaya with plenty of crimp felts best, especially when blended with merino. Use coarser grades for slippers, hats and bags, and save the fine stuff for nuno and delicate surface design.
• Stuffing and utility: coarse britch fibre, short second cuts and any vegetable-matter-heavy skirtings make excellent pet bedding, draft excluders or garden mulch.

Skirting and Storing on a Smallholding

Sort on a clean sheet on shearing day, keeping the saddle blanket separate from the neck, belly and britch. Shake out dust, pick out hay and thistles, and bag each grade in a breathable mesh sack labelled with the animal's name, the year and the micron band.

Store fleece somewhere cool, dry and dark, and never seal damp fibre in plastic — condensation ruins it within weeks. A few lavender bags and a regular check for moths will keep a season's work in good order, ready for the wheel, the loom or the felting table whenever you have a quiet afternoon.