Alpaca

Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)

a lustrous textile, made from the hair of the alpaca. The hair or fiber is fine and glossy, though less so than mohair. It ranges in color from yellowish brown to black. The characteristic which distinguishes it from most wool fiber is that it retains its luster after being dyed. Titus Salt, a worsted spinner in England, was the first to discover the possibilities of alpaca fiber. He found a few hundred pounds lying in a shed on the wharf at Liverpool, where it had been left by some importer who had failed to find a purchaser. Salt experimented with the fiber for some time before he produced a satisfactory fabric. His first alpaca factory was opened in 1854; eighteen years after he had decided that the fiber would prove available in spinning. This fiber or hair, which is from two to eight inches in length, is spun into yarn. With this yarn as a filling, and a cotton warp, a durable, handsome, and dust-defying material is produced. Before spinning, the fiber is sorted into eight grades, each suitable for one class of goods. Most alpaca is woven plain, but it may be brocaded. After leaving the loom, it is washed, dyed, and pressed. Then it is "sheared" to remove any fuzz that may have been raised on the surface. After being washed, dried, and pressed again, it is ready for wrapping. Alpaca varies in quality, its beauty and durability depending upon the fineness or coarseness of the cotton warp and alpaca fiber, and upon the number of theads per inch, the evenness of weave, and the luster. The better qualities are hardly to be distinguished from pure mohair. The luster of genuine alpaca is permanent. A cheaper and less serviceable material resembling, and often called, alpaca, is made from the fleece of some varieties of sheep. It is a common fashion of late to call all this class of goods mohair. A genuine alpaca garment possesses a gloss almost like silk, sheds dust as well as linen, may be washed without injury, and is easily and successfully pressed.