would an alpaca blend work?

[abunchofus]

Hey ladies - A lady on another group I'm on posted a link for helmet liners for the troops.

You can find the pattern to make them here http://www.geocities.com/helmetliner/

I want to make my brother one but got to thinking that alpaca is supposed to be very warm.

BUT - will an alpaca blend pill too much?

I know merino tends to stretch out and pill up fairly easily. They suggest cascade 220 or another soft wool. Isn't cascade a peruvian wool?

what would you suggest?

[IamtheWalter]

Yes, cascade is made from peruvian wool but all that means is that the wool used to make the yarn comes from peru. It's a 100% wool yarn and doesn't contain any alpaca fiber.

[abunchofus]

thanks - I knew that cascade didn't contain alpaca -but did wonder if it would work ok.

does alpaca require any special care that say cascade would not?

[IamtheWalter]

I don't think that alpaca would need any special care. Very few items I make I keep for myself, so I can't say how an alpaca blend would wear and hold up to washing but I don't see it felting or pilling any easier than wool, in fact pure alpaca yarn has in my experience taken longer to intentionally felt than wool.

Commercial alpaca yarn does have a tendency to grow over time but since this is a smaller item and since you're planning on using a blend, I don't think this would be a problem.

Since it's a hair fiber, the alpaca will probably start forming a "halo" of fuzziness after a few washings though.

[abunchofus]

Thank you!