Welcome to the fibre corner of our farm.
Alpaca fibre is one of the world’s most luxurious fibres. It is harvested only once a year at shearing.
Good quality alpaca has inherent qualities – it is soft to the touch (known as handle), should be bright (lustrous for suri) and should not feel dry, rather well nourished. Alpaca fibre has fewer and lower scales on each individual fibre compared to sheep’s wool adding to the good handle & softness. Suri fibre has fewer and a lower scale profile compared to huacaya fibre. A staple length of 3+inches is most suited to commercial processing and up to approximately 9” locks of suri. There is an use for all grades of alpaca fibre.
For some applications it is necessary to blend with sheep’s wool. Here in Kestle, we don’t mix alpaca and opt for the natural colours. No eco-damaging agents have been used in the processing of our fibre. We have started to experiment with natural colourings produced seasonally in the farm (eg. plum or onion dyes also grown in our farm). This comes with significant environmental and ethical properties making our fibre ideal for the green maker and market. Most of the process is traditional handcraft. Each of our products are unique and can be traced to each of our animals.
If you would like to have a look at our products, please visit our SHOP.
Kestle Alpacas 