Winter Sweater

Handcrafted from a blend of alpaca fibers.

This wool sweater is soft to the touch, warm and easily washable.

The alpaca fiber does not itch and makes this garment hypoallergenic, perfect for your pet's fur and skin.

Equipped with leash opening!

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

 Size chart:

Tip: Hand wash with cold water and neutral soap. 

The alpaca was 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 camel family, alpacas graze in high plains regions at elevations of 10,000 to 14,000 feet.

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

Alpaca wool is harvested from the alpaca, a camelid native to the high, remote Andean plains of South America. The South American camelid family also includes guanacos, llamas and vicunas. With an estimated only three million alpacas worldwide, of which approximately 90% are found in the southern regions of 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, resistance and hypoallergenic qualities and read. Their thick, luxurious coats grow naturally in over 40 shades from ivory to black, and every shade of gray and brown in between.

Seven Reasons Why We Love Alpacas

At Alqo Wasi we are convinced that the high quality of our products is the result of careful attention to small details, both by the skilled hands of our craftsmen and the quality of the materials.

-Natural thermostat: the structure of the alpaca fiber allows it to function as an insulator. It traps body heat in colder temperatures and releases it in warmer ones.
-Contains microscopic air pockets that hold air inside and, depending on the outside temperature, can expand and contract.
-Pilling: the silky fiber and long hairs of alpaca wool allow for less pilling than other fibers.
-Animal friendly: the alpaca is not harmed during the shearing process. Breeders use special techniques to shear alpacas correctly and without injuring them.
-Softness (hand): 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 soft like cashmere and warmer and more resistant than lambswool.
-Elasticity and resistance: Alpaca fiber is unusually strong, elastic and has excellent elasticity, which allows it to be compared with wool and other animal fibers.
-Without lanolin: lanolin is a fat present in most sheep's wool that protects the fiber, gives a "unique" smell and is the cause of wool allergies.
-Does not retain humidity: Absorption of ambient humidity 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 when it comes to fiber fineness, but alpacas can produce about 10 pounds of fleece per year compared to the 4 ounces of cashmere produced by a goat per year. Alpaca fibers are also 3 times longer than cashmere fibers. This greater fiber uniformity in alpaca products results in a softer feel.

Compared to sheep's wool of similar weight, alpacas produce more fiber and more fiber is retained after processing. It can take up to four goat shears to make one cashmere sweater, but one alpaca shear can make four sweaters.
An ecological 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, cushioned feet that don't tear in the dirt like the hooves of sheep and goats do. Damage to topsoil can increase erosion and decrease soil fertility. Unlike sheep and goats, alpacas do not pull grass 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 topsoil.

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