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Alpaca fleece is the natural fiber harvested from an alpaca. There are two different types of alpaca fleece. The most common fleece type comes from a Huacaya. Huacaya fiber grows and looks similar to sheep wool in that the animal looks "fluffy". The second type of alpaca is Suri and makes up less than 10% of the South American alpaca population.
Alpaca fiber is sourced from alpacas. It is warmer than sheep's wool and lighter in weight. It is soft, fine, glossy, and luxurious. The thickness of the quality fiber is between 12-29 micrometers. Most alpaca fiber is white, but it also comes in various shades of brown and black. The most common type of alpaca fiber comes from a Huacaya.
Cotton and wool from alpaca, llamas, and vicuñas have been woven into elaborate textiles for thousands of years in the Andes and are still important parts of Quechua and Aymara culture today. Coroma in Antonio Quijarro Province, Bolivia is a major center for ceremonial textile production. [6]
The next grade of Inca weaving was known as awaska. Of all the ancient Peruvian textiles, this was the grade most commonly used in the production of Inca clothing. Awaska was made from llama or alpaca wool and had a much higher thread count (approximately 120 threads per inch) than that found in chusi cloth.
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The quality of alpaca fiber is determined by how crimpy it is. Typically, the greater the number of small folds in the fiber, the greater the quality. There are two modern breeds of alpaca, separated based on their respective region of endemism and fiber (wool) type—the Suri alpaca and the Huacaya alpaca.