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In case of return, you can choose from the available Sizes and colors. If replacement is not possible, the amount paid will be refunded via voucher, net of shipping costs.

Winter Sweater

Handmade with a blend of alpaca fibers.

This wool sweater is soft to the touch, warm, and easy to wash.

Alpaca fiber does not itch and makes this garment hypoallergenic, perfect for your pet’s coat and skin.

Equipped with a leash opening!

Composition: 50% alpaca wool, 45% acrylic, 5% wool.

Size chart:

Tip: Hand wash with cold water and mild soap.

Alpacas were domesticated about 7,000 years ago, providing food, clothing, and transportation for humans throughout the Andean countries of South America. Members of the South American camelid family, alpacas graze in high plateau regions at altitudes from 10,000 to 14,000 feet.

As the main material for Inca textiles for thousands of years, alpaca fiber has always been highly sought after. Alpaca yarns were highly valued during the Inca period for their textile qualities and were used exclusively to make garments for nobility.

Alpaca wool is harvested from the alpaca, a camelid native to the high and remote Andean plains of South America. The South American camelid family also includes guanacos, llamas, and vicuñas. With an estimated three million alpacas worldwide, about 90% of which are found in southern Peru, the alpaca is one of the rarest species on Earth.

The world of high fashion recognizes alpaca fiber for its natural attributes: its fineness, strength, and hypoallergenic and lightweight qualities. Their thick, luxurious coats naturally grow in over 40 shades from ivory to black, and every shade of gray and brown in between.

Seven reasons why we love alpaca

At Alqo Wasi, we believe that the high quality of our products results from careful attention to small details, both from the skilled hands of our artisans and the quality of the materials.

-Natural thermostat: the structure of alpaca fiber allows it to act as an insulator. It traps body heat in colder temperatures and releases it in warmer ones.
-It contains microscopic air pockets that trap air inside and can expand or contract depending on the external temperature.
-Pilling: the silky fiber and long hairs of alpaca wool allow for less pilling compared to other fibers.
-Animal-friendly: alpacas are not harmed during shearing. Breeders use special techniques to shear alpacas properly and without injury.
-Softness (feel): alpaca fiber is silky, soft, elastic, and smooth to the touch. It is prized for its unique silky feel and luxurious hand. Alpaca wool is as soft as cashmere and warmer and more durable than lambswool.
-Elasticity and strength: alpaca fiber is unusually strong, elastic, and has excellent stretch, allowing it to be compared to wool and other animal fibers.
-Lanolin-free: lanolin is a fat found in most sheep wool that protects the fiber, gives it a "unique" smell, and causes wool allergies.
-Does not retain moisture: absorption of environmental moisture is low. Alpaca fiber is naturally water-resistant.
Alpaca Excellence: the gold of the Andes
Rarer than cashmere, warmer than wool
Alpaca wool and cashmere are comparable in fiber fineness, but alpacas can produce about 10 pounds of fleece per year compared to 4 ounces of cashmere produced by a goat annually. Alpaca fibers are also three times longer than cashmere fibers. This greater fiber uniformity in alpaca products results in a softer feel.

Compared to sheep wool of similar weight, alpacas produce more fibers and more fibers are retained after processing. It can take up to four goat shearings to make one cashmere sweater, but one alpaca shearing can create four sweaters.
A eco-friendly animal.
To produce good yarn, alpacas must be happy. For this reason, they are treated with great care and raised in their natural habitat, so as not to interfere with the delicate balance of the local ecosystem.

Alpacas have soft, padded feet that do not tear the soil like the hooves of sheep and goats. Damage to surface soil can increase erosion and reduce soil fertility. Unlike sheep and goats, alpacas do not pull grass out by the roots when grazing. Instead, they cut the tops of grasses with their teeth, allowing the root system to continue growing new leaves and preserving the soil.

Alpacas are almost never raised for their fur in the Andes. They are necessarily sheared once a year for their health to prevent diseases that arise when their fleece becomes too long or matted. Alpaca shearing is a historic Peruvian practice typically rooted in the welfare of this peaceful and precious animal.