Cape Alpaca

Cape Alpaca

The story behind our garments is not ordinary. After 30 years in the food import business and once our family was grown, we wanted something a little different - a bit more authentic, a little more in touch with the earth.
We found a 300 year old derelict farmhouse on a lovely piece of land, nestled between vineyards and mountains, just an hour’s drive from Cape Town.
We imported a small herd of alpaca from Chile, drawn to their gentle beauty and luxurious fleece and filled with ideas and excitement about all the beautiful things we would make. And so began a wonderful journey of learning – how to care for them, how to breed for volumes of long super-fine fibre and how to make yarn. Our old mill machinery has come from all over Europe, carefully reconditioned and set just right for our extremely low micron fibres. Our girls give us beautiful cria in spring and autumn and for fun we name each animal. We shear in early spring and with great delight and anticipation, grade and batch the fibre whilst imagining the finished shades of yarn and planning what to make.
So, our garments are not ordinary. Our alpaca are gently nurtured and we know who has contributed to each batch of yarn. We sort and wash and card and spin right here on the farm. Much of the knitting and finishing is done right here too.
Great care and attention is devoted to each and every garment from planning the shades and design, to wrapping in tissue before tying the bow on the box. We hope your garment or yarn gives you many years of comfort and warmth and perhaps a little extra pleasure knowing a little about its journey.
10 products