Alpaca?

[Babyduck87]

Unfortunately since i dont have a lys i buy my yarn from walmart or michaels..im going to some birmingham yarn stores in march and i was wondering what the average price of alpaca is..i want to make a shawl and its gonna take lots and lots of yarn..thanks!

[cristeen]

Well, it sort of depends on your location, and the weight of the yarn. I got 2 skeins of lace weight alpaca for about $14, made a shawl out of them. But the same LYS carries other weights of alpaca (worsted, bulky), and they're more expensive.

You can get laceweight alpaca at Knitpicks for $4-5/skein though, and they give you free shipping over $50.

[vaknitter]

Yarn prices vary greatly brand to brand and store to store IMHO that is...I am not a huge fan of buying yarn on line mainly b/c I like to touch and feel.
I just bought some berroco alpaca at Christmas time that was about $8/hank, I have a scarf I made out of an alpaca/silk blend (yummy) that was closer to $10/ball, and I did buy some Elann.com alpaca last year that was about $5 skein and actually I really liked working with that yarn and will most likely order from them for my next project.
Have fun in the yarn store - make sure to touch everything twice !!

[Jan in CA]

I just bought some Bernat Alpaca Natural Blend (30% alpaca, 70% acrylic) for about $3 at Michaels. It's extremely soft and it's a bulky yarn.

[fibrenut]

Hiya babyduck,
I bought some Andean Treasure from Knitpicks, and OMG, talk about soft as a kitten. And the best part is that it's not that expensive for being 100% baby alpaca (the softest you can get). When I got it I couldn't stop from petting it all the time I was knitting with it!!!

[DeborahToo]

Hello Babyduck:

I've just joined this wonderful forum - saw your post and wanted to share a lovely 100% Baby Alpaca yarn I've used to make a very pretty scarf.

I purchased this yarn off the internet but felt comfortable buying it since I'd used the brand before. I agree with my fellow poster about the importance of "feeling" and seeing the yarn prior to purchasing it.

This yarn is called Baby Alpaca Indiecita and is manufactured in Peru by Michell & Co. It retails anywhere from $5.99 - $9.99 per skein but I've been fortunate to have purchased it at a price of $2.50 to $3.99 each (delivered). I believe you too could find it at the discounted price.

This particular brand has a wide assortment of fabulous colors in its line. The yarn is lightweight and delicate which beautifully lends itself to the lacey affect of this pattern. The scarf is 70" long not including the fringe and 9" wide. I used approximately 5 1/2 skeins to complete it. I used a US size 7 needle.

So, if you are looking to make a lightweight and lacey shawl this may be a good brand of baby alpaca for you. Depending on the size of the shawl you may be able to make it with 10 skeins or less.

This is the second lacey scarf I've made with the baby alpaca yarn. The first one (which unfortunately, I didn't photograph) was made with a gorgeous violet color.

I taught myself to knit and crochet nearly 3 years ago and have found it to be an art form. It's incredibly relaxing and fulfills any expression of an artistic bent I may have.

Good luck Babyduck and I hope you find the baby alpaca you need at a good price.

All the best,

Deborah




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[Babyduck87]

thats a beautiful scarf!i cant wait to get my hands on some alpaca!