Knitting with Llama Yarn

Knitting with Llama/Alpaca Yarns

Submitted by; Fran Soukup

Sugar River Llamas

We all love our llama’s/alpaca’s fiber. Therefore, when we knit, we want to enjoy the feel or hand of this soft, luxury yarn. A soft, supple knit project will also show off the color, luster, and design of our project. So, how do we get the most out of our llama/alpaca yarns?

A finished project is the direct result of the yarn thickness, needle size and, some planning on the knitter’s part. If the needles are too fine and/or the tension too tight for the yarn, knitting is difficult. The resulting fabric is stiff and has no “give.” The fabric does not feel nice. If the needles are too big, the fabric is loose. It may look appealingly soft and feel nice, but it has no hold. Another words, the fabric “grows,” and grows, and grows, never recovering its original shape. If the yarn and needles are of the right size, the fabric is elastic and keeps its shape. It is not stiff or sloppy, but nicely firm. Plus, it looks and feels even and soft.

First of all, what kind of yarn do you have? Is it tightly spun or softly spun, thick, thin, lumpy, with the guard hair, or without? The answers to these questions will help you decide what kind of project you can knit from your yarn. I developed a chart to help identify what kind of yarn you have. If purchased, the yarn label should also give this information. Or, the mill where your llama fleece was spun should also be able to provide the yards per ounce. Or, you can wrap your yarn around a pencil and then count the number of wraps per inch.

Yarn Style	Yards/lb.	Approximate wraps/inch*	Suggested Needle Size	Typical Gauge (stitches per inch)	Suggested Projects for Llama/Alpaca Yarns
Lace, baby	2600 +	Greater than 35	0 - 8		Shawls, scarves, caps, and baby clothes
Fingerling, sock, baby	1900 - 2400	19 - 22	1 - 4	6 ½ - 8	Baby, shawls, caps, vests, scarves, socks, sweaters - more durable, warmer, easier to knit than lace. Light weight garments.
Sport, baby	1200 - 1800	15 - 18	4 - 6	5 ½ - 6	Scarves, shawls, caps, hats, socks, & sweaters. Light weight garments.
DK, or light worsted	1200 - 1400	12 - 14	5 - 7	5 - 7	Scarves, shawls, caps, hats, socks, vests, & sweaters. Good for felting.
Worsted, afghan. Aran	900 - 1200	9 - 11	9 - 17	4 ½ - 5	Sweaters, vests, out wear, afghans, mittens, heavier socks, caps. Going to be very warm. Good for felting. Can be heavy. Good for use with knitting frames.
Bulky, chunky, rug	600 - 800	7 - 8		2 - 4	Scarves, hats, home decorating, rugs, pillows, pictures, crafts. Extremely warm.

Yarns with irregular textures (thick and thin) make fantastic scarves, patchwork sweaters, hats, caps, and mittens. These yarns are frequently the result of learning to spin. Hang onto them. They are unique and make unique items. And, can be knit with big needles, making a quick and easy project for the beginning or experienced knitter. Use large enough needles to allow the knit item to show off just how unique those yarns are and how wonderful the llama fiber feels.

Llama and alpaca yarns are 30% warmer than sheep wool. Therefore, a heavy yarn may make a garment that is too warm. Suri fiber, if spun into a heavy yarn, is heavier than silky, huacaya, or double coat llama fiber and yarns.

Now, you know the approximate yarn style. What kind of item are you really going to knit? The key to working with any fiber is to understand its characteristics and then work WITH them instead of fighting them. Asking a fiber to do something it can't, is a sure road to failure. How should llama/alpaca yarns be knit? . Advance planning is the next key to success.

Does the yarn have guard hair? If the guard hair is included in the yarn, it may be too prickly to wear next to the skin. With our silkies, the guard hair is getting finer and finer. However, even a stray hair every few inches can be uncomfortable to wear near the skin. Take a look at your yarn with a critical eye. Does it have hair sticking out to give it a fuzzy appearance? If you are unsure, take a short length of yarn and hold it in the inner bend of your elbow or put it under your neck. Hold it for 15 - 30 seconds. Does it prickle? Then, it probably has guard hair that would best be worn away from the skin. These yarns are still great for outer wear and home decorating, mittens, and hats/caps. If the yarn does not prickle, then, any project is suitable. Yarns which have guard hair removed may be more expensive to process or purchase. Even alpacas have guard hair, so it is important to check this out, regardless of your yarn source.

Let’s think about patterns for your knitting project. Pick your pattern design to match the fiber characteristics of llama/alpaca, the yarn, and your ability to knit.

Flat knitting is done pretty much the way it sounds. It is knit stitches on one side, and purl on the other. Many machine knits are done as flat knitting. It goes well for sweaters, and jackets, socks, mittens, caps, afghans - just about anything. Color variations can be added, for interest. Patterns can be added. Flat knitting may be difficult for the beginner knitter in large projects because irregularities in tension of the yarn show up quickly. On the other hand, small projects will help hide those irregularities, as will variations in the yarn. Or, flat knitting is also good for items to be felted.

Lace knitting has holes in it. Lace can be done with any size yarn. But, what is the effect you want? Scarves from llama/alpaca are made very nicely from lace designs. The llama/alpaca is so warm, the holes will allow some of the warmth to escape. Simple lace patterns are easy for beginners, once they can differentiate between knit and purl stitches and/or are able to counts as they work across the row to keep the pattern going. However, if lace is knit from heavier yarns, while beautiful and lighter to wear, these garments may stretch. Lace is another way to use those over-spun, over-twisted yarns that sometimes result from early handspun efforts. The too twisted yarns create interest in the lace, but may be harder to knit.

Cable knitting is the movement of stitches across the row to make raised designs from knit stitches. Knit and purl stitches are varied, to pull out the design elements. Cable designs can build stretch into a garment or scarf or hat. This may be desirable as less stretchy yarns are used, such as those with less twist or less crimp and crinkle in the original fiber. Cable designs will make a heavier garment, as more yarn is utilized for all the stitch cross overs.

Garter stitch is a good type of stitch for beginners. Only one type of stitch is used, because every row is knit. Caps, hats, mittens, slippers, scarves, and sweaters or vests can all be done entirely in garter stitch.

One of the challenges in knitting with llama/alpaca is that it may stretch and have little resilience. Llama and alpaca yarns tend to have poor memory. This means that once over-stretched, the yarn may not go back into shape. To get around the problem of lack of memory there are several things you can do.

• Use smaller size needles for ribbing. If a size 4 is recommended, use a 2 or 3 size needles.

• Use more stitches in your ribbing pattern. For instance, if the pattern calls for knit 1, purl 2, then knit 2 or 3 or even 4, and purl 2 or 3 or even 4. The more knit and purl stitches, the more elastic the ribbing.

• Used twisted ribbing, instead of plain knit 1, purl 2.

• Knit elastic into your ribbing.

• Incorporate cable patterns into the over all design.

• Support shoulders by hand sewing Taylor’s tape along the shoulder seam (1/4 inch wide inelastic cotton tape).

• Knit back and forth, instead of in a circle. This will also help with unbalanced, over-plied yarns (those twisty yarns may twist your garment and cause a slant, if knit on circular needles)

• Avoid long unsupported lengths that will grow from their own weight. If you can't, compensate by knitting tightly or fulling your finished work. Make a LARGE swatch, wash it and let it hang to dry, with weight if necessary. Measure the swatch both before, and after washing to determine the amount of stretch. Then, plan your piece, to compensate for stretch, so that it will stretch INTO size rather than out of it.

As hard as this sounds, it is a good idea to make a sample swatch. Yes, this is time consuming, but, it saves time in the long run, if you are about to begin a major project. Frequently, using a needle which is a size or two larger than called for in commercial patterns, will result in a much nicer feel and hand. An item knit on a large size needle or with much looser tension will enhance the softness of the yarn - isn’t that one of the things we like about our llamas and alpacas? Alpaca especially has some loft or fluffiness that is not always apparent in the yarn alone. Try the suggested directions for gauge and knit the size sample suggested. Then, try increasing several needle sizes until you get the look and feel you like. Yes, it is sort of like knitting a small scarf, but the time and effort are well worth it. In the end, you can tear out the sample and use it in the garment. Or, keep going and make that scarf. Some people save these swatches with needle and yarn information so they can replicate or match similar yarns to projects.

By knitting a sample, you will see if this is the design you really want. Sometimes the yarn is too soft for a lace or cable to retain its design elements. The lace and cable melt into a flat appearance. Maybe the yarn is too fuzzy or too slick and slippery for the desired effect. The loft or fluffiness of the yarn may be lost by the stitches being too tight. The fabric may feel too stiff. The softness of the natural fiber may be lost. By trying various needle sizes, almost always larger, you will get the feel, texture, and appearance your want.

Maybe you are knitting your project from your own llama/alpaca fiber? Just enjoy! Start with a simple project. Scarves are great because little can go wrong. If nothing else, it will be warm to wear while caring for those critters on a cold winter or fall day, it will be fun to knit, and it is llama/alpaca and, YOU knit it! Or, knit something to felt. Felt hides all those irregularities. And, most felted project use less yarn. It is still something you made, from llama/alpaca!