Baby alpaca: the new collection, and what the name really means
Autumn begins here with baby alpaca. The new collection is small: a long knit dress, a triangle scarf and a wide, long scarf, both scarves with a matching beanie. The same three colors run through all of it – gray, cocoa and dark gray. The wide scarf set has a men's version too.
Baby alpaca is not the wool of a baby alpaca
The name is easy to misread, so it is worth saying plainly. Baby alpaca is the finest grade of the clip, taken from the softer upper torso of an adult animal. It describes how fine the fiber is, not how old the alpaca is.
Why it does not itch
Baby alpaca has virtually no lanolin, so it does not itch. The fiber is also hollow: it holds air, and that gives warmth without the weight. In this collection it is blended – 60% baby alpaca, 25% extrafine superwash wool and 15% nylon – so every piece keeps its shape. The fiber is short, with no long fluff, so it does not shed over what you wear underneath.
AGNESA – a long knit dress
A long, straight dress with a high ribbed collar and raglan sleeves. A 15 cm slit runs up each side, so the long hem leaves room to walk. One size, 115 cm long, with an easy shape rather than one that hugs the body. Raglan sleeves work on narrow and broader shoulders alike.
AGNESA in cocoa · dark gray · gray
A triangle scarf and beanie
A wide triangle, 220 cm along the top edge and 70 cm deep. Wear it with the point at the front and the ends wound around the neck, or open over the shoulders of a coat. A matching beanie goes with it. Take the whole set, or the scarf or the beanie on its own.
Triangle scarf set in cocoa · dark gray · gray
A wide, long scarf and beanie – for women and men
90 cm wide and 252 cm long. There is enough of it to wind twice around the neck and still let the ends fall, over a coat or a jacket. The same set is in the men's collection, in the same three colors.
Wide scarf set in cocoa · dark gray · gray
Men's wide scarf set in cocoa · dark gray · gray
How every piece is made
Every piece is knitted to shape – fully-fashioned, never cut out of a length of knitted fabric. Wherever the knit is joined, it is hand-linked. The open stitches are fed onto the linking machine one loop at a time, so the join stretches with the knit.
Then it is hand-steamed and washed before it leaves the workshop, so it arrives at its true size. The yarn is spun in Italy. I design every piece myself, and it is knitted a few at a time in a small workshop in Lithuania.
Every piece passes through my hands before it is packed – I check each one myself before it goes out.
Caring for baby alpaca
Hand wash at up to 30 °C. Squeeze the water out gently, without wringing, and dry it flat – a wet knit on a hanger loses its shape. No tumble dryer. Steam it, or iron on the lowest setting with steam.
The whole collection is in the shop now – the dresses, the scarf sets and the men's sets.