Stuffed animals and rugs
Six sizes from 15 cm to a life-size 120 cm, and rugs at 100 by 65 cm, all cut from pelts and sewn by hand in Lima. See the collection.
### Guide ###
Alpaca fur: what it is called, how it is used, what it is worth
Alpaca fur is the pelt of an alpaca with the fibre still attached to the skin, which is what rugs and fur toys are made from. Spun into yarn the same fibre is called alpaca fleece or alpaca wool. It is finer than sheep's wool, it grows in more natural colours than any other fibre animal, and the darkest shades are the scarcest.
### What it is called ###
What is alpaca fur called? Fur, fleece, fibre or wool
All four words are used for the same animal, and which one is right depends on whether the skin is still there.
Alpaca fur is the pelt: fibre on skin. It is what a fur rug is, and it is what our pieces are cut from, because a toy made from a pelt keeps the fibre lying the way it grew.
Alpaca fleece is the coat taken off a living animal at shearing, in one piece, before it is sorted.
Alpaca fibre is the trade word for the sorted, cleaned material once it is on its way to being spun. It is the word you will see in a mill.
Alpaca wool is the everyday word for alpaca yarn, although wool strictly means sheep.
For a buyer the difference is this: fur means skin, so it is sold by the pelt and by the piece; fleece and fibre are sold by weight.
### The colours ###
Alpaca fur colours: twenty-two natural shades
Alpacas grow a long range of undyed colours, from near white through every brown to near black, and the darkest shades are the hardest to get.
The light browns and creams are what the herds give in volume. The dark browns are a smaller share of every clip, and the darkest are scarce, because few animals grow a near black coat and a large piece needs a lot of fur in one shade.
Dyeing is the other route. It is done on the palest fur, because a pale base takes a colour most evenly.
### What it is worth ###
Alpaca fur price: what makes it worth more
Four things set the price of alpaca fur: fineness, colour, how much a piece takes, and the handwork.
- Fineness. The finer the fibre, the more it is worth. The fur of a young animal is finer than the fur of a grown one, and it is priced above it.
- Colour. The scarcer the shade, the higher the price. The dark end of the range costs more to sort and to fill.
- How much of it a piece takes. A 48 cm alpaca costs more than twice a 23 cm one because a bigger piece takes more fur, and a rug takes a whole pelt.
- The hands. Cutting and sewing a pelt is not a machine job, and that labour is most of what you are paying for in a finished piece.
Turning all of that into a number takes a size, a quantity and an incoterm. Ours are published: the bands are on the ordering page, per collection and size, by how many you order, ex works Lima.
### And ours ###
What alpaca fur is used for
Where it comes from
A by-product of Andean herding rather than anything farmed for fur. The whole answer is on its own page.
Keeping it
Fur on skin is cleaned on the surface and never goes in a washing machine. How to wash alpaca fur.
Questions about alpaca fur
It depends on whether the skin is still there. Alpaca fur is the pelt, fibre on skin, which is what rugs and fur toys are made from. Off a living animal at shearing it is alpaca fleece; sorted and on its way to a mill it is alpaca fibre; spun into yarn most people say alpaca wool, although wool properly means sheep.
Alpaca fibre is finer than most sheep's wool and has a hollow core, which is why garments made from it are warm for their weight. For a rug or a stuffed animal that matters less than it does for a jumper, because there the fibre is on the skin rather than spun.
Alpaca fibre has no lanolin, the grease in sheep's wool that many people react to, which is why alpaca is sold as hypoallergenic and why many people who itch in wool are fine with it. It is not a guarantee. A person can still react to the fibre itself, or to dust that settles in any fur, so tell a customer that alpaca has no lanolin and is gentler than wool for most people.
A grade of fibre, not a young animal. Baby Alpaca is the trade name for the band around 22 microns, the finest fibre in a clip, and it can come from a grown animal. Ours is real alpaca fur at that grade, in three shades and four sizes, and costs a dollar more than Naturals in every size.
Because they are scarcer. The light browns and creams are what the herds give in volume, the dark browns are a smaller share of every clip, and a near black coat is uncommon. A large piece takes a lot of fur in one shade, so the dark shades are scarcest at the big sizes.
Our prices are published per collection and size, by how many you order, ex works Lima, on the ordering page. To compare prices, compare the same size, quantity and incoterm.
### Real alpaca fur · from $500 ###
Build the mix. The quotation comes back within 24 hours.