What? Alpacas in Finland?

My first encounter with alpacas was somewhat confusing. What are these camelids from altitudes of 4000 m of Peruvian Andes doing in the countryside of Southern-Finland? The sight was bizarre. But the truth is, the alpacas like it here. The coldness of Scandinavian winters doesn’t bother them. They are used to harsh environment and have their thick wool to protect them. I went closer and the alpacas came closer too. Then I fell in love. It was summer 2017 and the first time I visited Ruukin Kehräämö at Mathildedal village. Here is a Small introduction of alpacas.

Alpaca

The story of Alpacas starts 5000 years ago on the slopes of Peruvian Andes, where ancestors of Incas domesticated the wild Vicuña. After thousands of years these animals have been transformed in to two species; strong pack animals Llamas, and smaller, soft wool producing Alpacas. They are closely related and can interbreed.

There are two breeds of Alpaca, the Huacaya and the Suri. It is believed that 90% worlds Alpaca population is Huacaya and only 10% Suri.

Huacaya Alpaca

Before shearing, the Huacaya Alpaca in full fleece is an irresistible sight. It is like a cute fluffy teddy bear you just must give a hug. Pure Huacaya fiber grows perpendicular to the body of the alpaca, and it is smooth and dense. This soft spongy fiber has natural crimp. And that is good news for knitters. The crimp makes the fiber naturally elastic. That’s why alpaca yarn is specifically well-suited for knitting.

Huacaya Alpaca possess several coat colours, white, many different shades of brown and true black. This makes it possible to create vast array of yarn colours without any dyeing. This is a huge advantage when producing chemical free yarn.

Shearing of Alpaca

The best Huacaya alpacas can produce up to 6 kg of wool at a time. In some areas of America, alpacas are sheared twice per year. Then one alpaca can produce more than 10 kilos wool in a year. In Finland, alpacas are sheared once per year. The best time for shearing is May, or when the daily average temperature has risen above zero.

During the shearing the alpaca lies on their sides on a table or on the floor and the alpaca’s legs are restrained. First, the area of the back that contains the finest wool, is sheared. This wool is taken apart. The coarser wool from the legs and the abdomen area are separated. This wool is used for rough carpet yarn. The wool around the neck and the head provides good quality fiber. Professional shearing is done in uniform movements. This makes the fleece come off as one piece. Shearing errors (double cutting) make the quality of the wool poor. The more homogeneous the raw wool, the higher the quality of the yarn. Therefore, it is very important to separate the different fiber lengths already at the shearing stage.

Here you can see a short film, filmed and edited by Juha Salminen about shearing of alpacas. It was filmed at Ruukin Kehräämö in Mathildedal, Finland in spring 2019. What was made of this wool, I will tell you in another post. And that my friends, is something I’m so excited about!

Wish you happy early winter with yarns and needles.

Piia Maria