Alpaca fabric comes from a South American animal called the alpaca.  Alpacas are related to llamas and camels, but they have long, beautiful fleece that can be sheared to make beautiful textiles.  The most common type of alpaca is the huacaya; this type possesses thick, very tightly crimped fleece.  The considerably less common suri alpaca has very long hair that hangs from its body in little cylindrical dreadlocks.

The first shearing of an alpaca produces the most highly sought-after fleece of its life.  Referred to as “baby alpaca,” this shearing is prized for its softness and fetches a higher price than subsequent shearings.  Alpaca wool is prized in South America and is used to make the same types of items that other countries might use sheep’s wool for. 

Like a lot of other natural protein-based fibers, alpaca is frequently mixed with other types of fibers to produce fabric.  This fabric typically retains the high color adherence, softness, and resiliency of alpaca fiber. 

A blended textile containing alpaca fiber should be cleaned with all of the component fibers in mind.  Using a cleaning method that is safe for alpaca fibers won’t do much good if it harms the other fibers in the blend.  It is likely that textile blends containing alpaca fibers will be wet washable, but it is necessary to test any textile before cleaning it.

Some cleaners that should definitely not be used on fabrics containing alpaca fibers are bleach, alkaline chemicals, and any cleaners containing optical brighteners.  These can all damage the appearance of the alpaca fibers.

Alpaca fabric is a beautiful and elegant addition to any décor, and it can be very resilient and long-lasting when treated well.  It is important to clean your alpaca fabric regularly and make sure that all parts of the textile receive even wear, if possible.