Anybody ever knit with Alpaca yarn? I bought 10 50-gram balls of it in Peru.

[sinkingfeeling]

It's pretty light weight, so I would guess maybe 120 yeards or so in each ball. I would like a pullover sweater pattern for an adult that I could knit in this beautiful stuff. I don't have it with me, but think it's combined with either silk or cotton yarns.

[China_cat]

1. I'm knitting with lace weight baby alpaca.

Unless the yarn is marked that it's a blend, then it's pure alpaca...which is very close in softness to cashmere. The lace weight is very, very fine and slippery to work with. I imagine heavier weights are too so you'll probably want to use bamboo needles with it. They grip the yarn better and fall out of the stitches as easily.

[la la]

3. I'm knitting a shrug type sweater

for my daughter- using yarn that's 95% alpaca, and it's very light and soft. The pattern is a lace one, and I was using old aluminum needles, which kept falling out and I would have to start all over, because of the pattern with yos and psso and such---so I went out and got some bamboo---thanks, china_cat!

It's moving along much better now!

la la

http://cigarboxbeads.etsy.com

[wovenpaint]

2. As you plan your project

keep in mind that alpaca fiber is VERY warm, so lace weight is the way to go...open spaces for air
Have fun with it and best of luck!

[knitter4democracy]

4. Two things to keep in mind:

If you're doing a sweater, knit it more tightly (it's heavier than wool and can sag from its own weight and then add length by the end of the day) than you usually would.

Two, it's heavier and warmer than wool, so intarsia's better colorwork than fair isle, since you don't need a double-layered fabric.

If it's a blend, that should help with the warmth and weight, but the best thing to do is swatch it out with several different needles and see what you like after washing and blocking.