Frequently asked questions
Why is alpaca a great fibre for the whole family?
1) Alpaca fibre has a unique structure. For alpacas to survive in their original habitat high up in the Andes in the extreme climate, the fibre has micropockets. These microcopic air pockets, give great insulation value, creating warmth and lightness to the fibre, by keeping the warmth in and the cold out.
2) The microscopic airpockets make alpaca fibre 3 times warmer than sheeps wool. This means garments are lighter, less bulky, allowing for a more comfortable wearing experience and yet more warmth than more bulky garments made from other fibres.
3) Alpaca fibre is more waterproof than other fibres. It shrugs of water easily, thus absorbing water more slowly than other fibres.
4) Alpaca is hardwearing to match the harsh living enviromental conditions of their natural, original habitat, plus alpaca have a life span of 20 + years, so they needed a hardwearing coat!
5) Despite the hardwearing qualities of alpaca fibre, the yarn has a luxurious softness, ideal for infants to the elderly, who are more inclinded to have sensitive skin.
6) The yarn gives off a beautiful luster, its soft and squishy, and finished articles have a wonderful drape to them.
How do I care for my hand knitted alpaca garment?
To extend the life of your beauiful hand knits, we recommend the following care instructions.
1) Gently hand wash in warm water with a mild soap, or wool wash, that has been thoroughly desolved before adding your garment.
2) Thoroughly rinse in water of the same temperature in which you washed your garment. This is so you do not 'shock' the fibres, and thus change the structure of them.
3) Never use hot water and never agitate or you will create an environment were felting the fibres of your beautiful garment is highly likely.
4) Never twist or wring out your garment, rather, gently squeeze excess water from your garment, then lift out of the water and place onto a dry towel.
5) Ease your garment back into shape, roll it up in the towel, press to remove excess water an repeat with a second towel.
6) On a flat surface, lay your garment on a dry towel in the shade to air dry.
How do I store my alpaca garments?
1) Alpaca garments should never be hung up, they will stretch out of shape.
2) Avoid folding garments down the centre to avoid a centre crease. Lay flat in a draw or on a shelf.
Do we own alpacas?
We owned alpacas before we started hand dyeing the fibre. This was so we could learn about selecting the best quality fibre, for producing great yarns, for our customers.
We only have a small number of alpacas because our lifestyle block does not allow for more than 8. Although some of our alpacas provide us with yarn, we buy most of our yarn from a grower in the South Island, who win show awards for their superior quality of alpaca fibre. This how we know you the customer will end up with a top quility yarn for your beautiful creations.
Do we only use NZ Alpaca fiber?
Our business supports NZ fibre growers. It is important to us that we show case only NZ alpaca fibre, and support NZ growers.
Do we sell other fibres?
We source New Zealand merino ane silk fibre as our second fibre of choice and we also have yarn that sometimes includes NZ possum.
Merino is beautiful and soft and a wonderful fibre for infants and the elderly. Merino with added silk, give the fibre a beautiful luster and super soft feel.
Our 80/10/10 Merino, Silk, Nylon made beautiful soft socks as well it is suitable for general garments and especially popular in shawls.
Do we take custom orders for dyeing yarn?
If we feel we can successfully undertake your custom requirements we will do custom orders after a consultation. We cannot garantee that a colour in a new batch of dyed yarn will be exactly the same as a picture you have seen on our website, or in a new batch of yarn that you have previously bought from us.
Variation in colours do occur even between new batches of dye power.. Water temperature, water quality, dyeing techques, all play a part in batches being slightly different from one another.
We try very hard to 'match', but this is not always possible.
We will send you a photo of the finished dyed yarn. You have the choice to accept the colourway, or not, at this point, before it is shipped.
If you are not totally happy with a custom order arrives, and after accepting the photo of it sent to you before shipping, please contact us in the first instant to discuss. We want you to be happy with your purchase.
Are colours repeatable in our yarns?
Not all colourways are repeatable. Some of our yarns have been created by using up dyes left over from other batches. These often produce some amazing colourways, however they cannot be repeated. Make sure you purchase enough yarn to complete your project to ensure you wont run into any yarn shortage worries.
