Alpaca yarn is warm. Very warm. Perhaps too warm. Our solution (Mom’s really): lace weight yarn. She’s going to knit a few wide scarves with this very light yarn, hoping people will be able to wear them in the spring and fall, instead of just the winter.
She “ordered” skeins in 4 different colors. This is the skein I spun from Zane’s fleece (he’s one of our shearer’s alpacas). It is a dark charcoal grey, blended with 10% merino, so it has great memory.
The 3 ounces of fiber I used ended up making around 250 yards of yarn. Which is a ton. It just doesn’t feel like much. That’s the problem with lace weight yarn. You work and work, there’s probably 12 hours worth of spinning and plying there, and it makes this tiny little skein.
Ok. Done complaining. It came out pretty nice, and I know it will go a long ways for Mom.
Cliff House Alpacas 
I really enjoyed this post. How much are you selling a skein of this lace weight yarn for? I think your Mom has a great idea here. Just think how wonderful it would be to wear Alpaca year round.
Thanks for the info.
Momma
Thanks! That Mom of mine does have the good ides. I guess I’d charge around $20, but I don’t usually charge you for the yarn, Momma. The fact that there isn’t much fiber in it is totally outweighed by how long it takes to spin it all.
You know I love, love lace-weight yarn and this is really beautiful!
The white I finished last night came out way better (maybe I’ll post on that tomorrow). I consistently under-ply lace weight yarn, so these four skeins were actually a real struggle.
I know from experience, no matter what I’m creating, practice makes perfect. If you are consistently under-plying lace weight yarn please make more of it! Make it I will knit with it. I’m sorry those four skeins were a struggle. What did they say in “Conan”? “Those things which do not kill us make us stronger”.
Momma
Beautiful yarn. Makes for good knitting!
Thanks! It is more flexible than the thicker yarns, in that you can use it for more different kinds of projects.
thanks! http://www.segmation.wordpress.com
I love lace-weight yarn too. I wasn’t sure from your post whether you spun this yourself or not? If so, is it difficult to spin so thin? or do you just use single ply? Please elaborate.
Oh! Sorry that wasn’t clear. Yes I spun it myself. In some ways, it’s actually easier to spin than regular worsted weight yarn (though true worsted weight yarn is also prepared differently than regular yarn: the fiber is passed through a diz, a small disk with a hole in it).
Lace weight is easier to spin because it is easier to maintain a consistent thickness. Thin is just thin. You just have to make it as thin as possible at all times. But because it is so fragile, it also breaks on you more easily. I have just enough tension on the scotch brake to keep the string from sagging: as little tension as possible. And if it comes apart on you and the loose end gets into the bobbin, it is MUCH harder to find.
I’ve never just used a single to knit with. I’m told you can, if you properly finish the yarn by setting it during washing. I’d probably only try it with a medium weight single, seems safer.
Thank you. Yes, I’ve had the experience of losing the end on/in the bobbin. Sometimes I never do find it. Thanks for the great explanation.
I’ve never tried it, but I’ve read you can use scotch tape to try and find a lost end. Seems like it might work!