Royal Alpaca

We have a brand new alpaca yarn at the shop, Royal Alpaca from Aslan Trends. They tout this as the finest alpaca you can buy, and they actually have numbers to prove it!

The softness of a yarn is determined by the thickness of the fibers that make up the yarn: the smaller the diameter of the fibers, the softer the yarn. Fiber diameter is measured in microns, or thousandths of a millimeter, and Royal Alpaca boasts a micron count of 19, making it as soft as cashmere, which typically ranges from 14-19.

The hollow core of the alpaca fiber makes this yarn a great insulator. A cabled turtleneck might not be the best choice with this yarn unless you plan to wear it as an outer layer. Alpaca tends to be a very drapey fiber, so a project with less structure would be a good choice.

The natural shades at the top of the photo are undyed alpaca colors, and the dyed shades are rich and saturated with a nice sheen. With 220 luscious yards per skein, two or three of these would make an amazing scarf or wrap. Perhaps it's time to start thinking about gift knitting?