The majority of alpacas are huacaya which have a short, dense, crimpy fleece which gives them a wooly appearance. At Bent Pine Alpaca Farm, we raise the rare suri alpacas. Suri fiber is very fine, silky, and lustrous, and forms long, pencil-like locks. Each animal is sheared once a year, yielding 5 to 10 pounds of fiber.
Traditionally, Peruvian suris were almost always white, but U.S. alpaca breeders have been selectively breeding to produce colored suris. Bent Pine Alpaca Farm maintains tradition by breeding for light colors with our Peruvian Suri herd. It is as soft as cashmere, lustrous like silk, and warmer and stronger than wool-without the scratchiness! Alpaca fiber accepts dye exceptionally well, allowing us to offer beautiful products in a wide variety of colors.
When commercially processed, suri fiber is almost always processed using the “worsted” process, which results in a thin, hard thread which is used in making gabardines and crepes. Suri fiber brings a premium price on the world market because of its scarcity and unique characteristics.
