Huacaya or suri: which alpaca does your wool come from?

We talk about “alpaca wool” as if it were a single material. In reality, two breeds of alpaca live on the high Andean plateaux, and their fleeces have almost nothing in common: one is fluffy like a cloud, the other falls in silky locks. Telling them apart helps you understand why an alpaca beanie or scarf has such a distinctive feel.

Huacaya: the “cloud” fleece

Huacaya is by far the most common: it accounts for more than nine alpacas in ten in South America. Its fleece is dense and wavy (known as “crimped” fibre) and grows out perpendicular to the body, giving the animal its teddy-bear look.

This crimp is precious for knitwear: each fibre holds tiny pockets of air, and still air is an excellent insulator. Huacaya therefore makes light, lofty and warm knits. It is the reference fibre for knitted beanies, scarves and gloves.

Suri: the “silk” fleece

Suri is much rarer: less than 10% of South American alpacas. Its fibres are long, smooth and without crimp. They hang down the body in twisted locks and have a natural lustre reminiscent of silk.

This lustre and drape make suri a sought-after fibre for woven fabrics, coats and certain luxury pieces. Being rarer, it is also more expensive, and its smooth feel lends itself less to the loft of a winter knit.

Huacaya or suri: at a glance

• Look: huacaya lofty and crimped; suri smooth, in shiny locks.
• Feel: huacaya soft and “warm”; suri silky and cool.
• Use: huacaya for knitwear (beanies, scarves, gloves, jumpers); suri mainly for fabrics and drape.
• Rarity: huacaya over 90% of herds; suri under 10%.

Fineness: a matter of microns

Beyond the breed, what makes a fibre soft is its diameter, measured in microns (thousandths of a millimetre). Good-quality alpaca fibre generally measures between 18 and 25 microns. The finer the fibre, the more it bends against the skin instead of prickling. That's also why alpaca wool doesn't itch.

The fibre thickens as the animal ages: the first shearings are the finest. Trade names such as “baby alpaca” or “royal alpaca” refer to particularly fine fibres, but they are not standardised from one country to another. The US alpaca fibre standard has in fact chosen to replace them with numbered grades defined in microns.

Twenty-two natural colours

Alpaca offers one of the widest natural palettes of any fibre animal: there are 22 base colours and more than 300 shades, from white to black via fawns, browns and silver greys. Breeders sort fleeces by hand by colour and fineness, which makes soft shades possible while limiting dyeing.

Where do they live?

Alpacas are raised on the high Andean plateaux, mostly above 3,800 metres. Peru has the largest population in the world, more than 3.6 million animals according to its latest agricultural census, well ahead of Bolivia and Chile. The Puno region, around Lake Titicaca, alone accounts for nearly 40% of Peruvian production. We tell the story of our own wool, from the altiplano to you, in From the altiplano to the Alps: where our wool comes from.

What it means for your accessories

For a winter accessory, what counts is loft, lightness and softness against your forehead, neck and hands. That's exactly what an alpaca knit delivers. Discover our beanies, scarves and gloves in 100% alpaca wool, with no synthetic blend, or our matching gift sets.