Alpaca Fleece

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ALPACA FLEECE

Alpacas come in 22 natural colours and fleece can be blended to an infinite number of shades

Alpaca can also be dyed to any desired colour

4-10 pounds is harvested by shearing annually

Alpaca is almost lanolin (grease) free so there is a greater percentage of fleece weight after washing (87-95%) compared to sheep's wool (43-76%)

Alpaca fibre is much softer than sheep’s wool

Alpaca is much warmer than sheep’s wool

Alpaca fibre is extremely strong

Alpaca fibre has "crimp" which makes knitted garments spring back to their original shape

Understanding Histograms (Fibre Test Results)

AFD (Average Fibre Diameter): average thickness of each hair in microns (1 micron = 1/1000th of a millimeter or approx. 1/25,000th of an inch)
SD (Standard Deviation): the amount, in microns, away from the AFD where the majority of fibre diameter values fall. The actual range is actually twice the SD, i.e. if the SD is 5 and the AFD is 25 then the range is 10 microns from 20 to 30 microns (5 microns below the AFD and 5 microns above).
CV (Coefficient of Variation): a comparison of SD to AFD, expressed as a percentage. Formula: CV = SD/AFD x 100 (see below)
%>30: the percentage of fibres that measure over 30 microns in diameter (thickness). This is an indication of how many "prickly" hairs there are in the fleece.
The lower number the better for all 4 values above.
Comfort factor: the %>30 subtracted from 100. ie. if the %>30 is 5, then comfort factor is 95% (100 - 5).
Handle: is the "feel" of the fleece. A soft feel means good handle, which is the result of an even fleece or low SD.

CV DEBUNKED: Don't be fooled by a higher CV. It can be higher because of a very low AFD! An AFD of 20 microns is very fine! An SD of 5 microns is good, which means the majority of fibres fall between 15 and 25 microns in diameter (5 microns below the AFD and 5 microns above the AFD). I don't agree that fleeces can be compared by CV's alone, in fact I would throw out the CV altogether! Comparing CV (coefficient of variation) means that you are allowing a wider range of hair thicknesses (higher SD = less even fleece) the higher the AFD is. A higher AFD means coarser fibre (not good) and a higher SD means less even fleece (also not good). The lower number the better for AFD, SD and %>30 microns. But a low CV (eg. 20) could just mean the AFD is high! CV is a percentage: SD divided by AFD multiplied by 100. There is no reason to allow a wider range (less even fleece) just because the AFD is higher! A coarser fleece can still have good handle (soft feel) if it is an even fleece (i.e. has a low SD). Comparing CV's is the same as saying, "This coarse, uneven fleece is just as good as that fine, even fleece!" NOT TRUE!
For example, 2 fleeces:
Fleece A: AFD 20 microns, SD 5 (both good values - a very fine, even fleece), resulting CV is 25 (sounds a bit high but the majority of fibres are between 15 and 25 microns - pretty fine!)
Fleece B: AFD 35, SD 7 (both high, ie. not great), resulting CV is 20 (sounds better than fleece A but this fleece is very coarse and uneven as well. The majority of fibres are between 28 microns in diameter, which is above "comfort" level and 42 microns - extremely coarse.)
I would MUCH prefer fleece A, wouldn't you?