The 45 acre ranch from which we buy our raw alpaca fleece has a motto, “Animals to Garments.” The ranch owners know each of their alpacas by name, all of whom have DNA markers, are registered with the Canadian livestock records, and microchipped for identification. Alpacas are an earth friendly animal, as their efficient eating habits require very little feed to keep them healthy and happy. Their diet consists of a grain mixture of corn, oats and barley, and orchard hay in the winter months.
The shearing process occurs once a year in the spring, and is a very low-stress procedure for the alpacas as it takes less than 5 minutes to complete. The alpaca is laid on a mat and their legs are put in tie towns to ensure the safety of both the animal and the shearer. The blanket, or the area from the rump to the base of the neck, is the fiber we use for making yarn. Once the alpaca is shorn, it gets its shots for the year, has its toe nails clipped, and teeth checked. Then for the rest of the year, the alpacas go back out to pasture with the herd and work hard at growing us another fleece for next spring!
Larry Designs retains the beautiful and natural colours of the alpaca fleece. Because alpacas come in a wide range of colours - white, cream, dark brown, rosy brown, light brown, black and grey, we don’t believe dyeing the fleece is a necessary step in or production process. We would much rather champion the natural beauty of these animals, and let the character and colour of each animal shine through.
We make every effort to keep track of what alpaca the fiber has come from so when it’s constructed into a finished piece, we can tell you the name of the alpaca who is responsible for producing the lovely yarn used.
Alpaca is seven times warmer and three times stronger than sheep’s wool. Lanolin oil, a common skin irritant found naturally in sheep’s wool, is not present in alpaca and therefore many who are sensitive to allergens can wear alpaca without any issue. We do blend our alpaca fiber with 20% sheep’s wool for additional durability but most people with allergies do not have reactions to this minimal percentage.
