Alpaca yarn comes from a medium size camelid. The camelid family also includes llamas, camels, vicunas and guanacos. Most commercial yarns made from alpaca are sheared from the back. The hair from an aplaca has virtually no crimp (curls or waves)  which also means no elasticity making it a good choice for items that call for drape … stoles, shawls, afghans, coats, scarves, etc.  It is fairly warm and light. It also felts very fast in both wet and dry (needle felting) projects and is often found in batting sold to needle felters. As  shown on the right, it dyes beautifully.

Angora yarn is spun from the hair combed from live angora rabbits which is why it is fairly expensive and sold in smaller skeins. It is most practically used as trim in mittens, hats and scarves. Like apaca, it has no crimp so can be used in the same items as alpaca. Different breeds of angoras have varying degrees of loft or fuzziness … French or German rabbits having the highest or longest loft. The loft traps dead air space making it 8 times warmer than wool. If used in a felting project, angora’s loft will stand out from  plain wool.

Angora rabbits come in different colors ranging from white to black. Red, lilac, doe are all in between. A black angora rabbit will yield gray yarn with black tips. It is difficult to dye angora. Most colors are a little more muted than regular wool.