What is the most luxurious animal fiber that is not banned? It is none other than Vicuña fiber. Vicuña wool yarn is like soft gold, not fuzzy soft. It has a solid softness that makes it pretty unique. Only a limited amount of vicuña wool is produced every year. Only a small amount of it reaches end market.
But why rely our story on the topic? We are Team Muslin Dhaka, an expert team with fashion designers, fabric experts, and researchers. With more than 50 years of cumulative experience, we offer Dhaka Muslin – One of the most expensive fabric & fashion in the planet earth. We also curate most luxurious fibers & fashion. With our vast experience in luxury fabrics and fibers, we can certainly answer your question on vicuna topic.
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The glory of Vicuña Wool
Vicuna is a wild animal, a South American camelid (Lama vicugna) that originated from the highlands of Peru (Andes mountains). Their wool has been used since the times of Inka royalty. Throughout history, vicuña fiber has been reserved for Incan Royalty. Why?
Vicuñas are wild animals, and they can not be domesticated. They are swift animals, notoriously difficult to catch. It was so rare and expensive that only the aristocrats of that time could afford one. Now, they are a bit easier to catch with motorcycles and a well-trained team. But vicuña wool is still a luxury item due to scarcity. The history of Vicuña is fascinating.
Please learn more about Vicuña wool history in our detailed article. We will stick to the Vicuña wool yarn here.
Who Needs the Information?
Vicuña is one of the most expensive types of animal fiber in the world. They are one of the rarest fiber. That’s why luxury producers are quite interested about vicuna fiber. If you are looking to make ultra luxury attire with royal vicuña wool, this article will help you. Also It has a lot of important information for any one who loves luxury.
The story is also helpful for the fiber artist who makes accessories and art. Textile students, fabric enthusiasts, and lovers of luxury textiles will find value. Alternatively, you can just read for fun. This knowledge hub satisfy your curiosity about sustainable luxury and vicuña wool yarn.
Why is Vicuña fiber so fine?
Vicunas live about 3 to 5 kilometers above sea level in the Andes mountains, where the temperature drops way below zero degrees Celsius. In the harsh South American mountain weather, vicuñas need extraordinary protection. They grow two types of fleece: an outer coat and a soft undercoat.
An overcoat protects them from the weather, while an undercoat keeps them warm. To survive in that condition, they evolved with extra fine undercoats. The finer the fiber, the better its thermal insulation performance and thermal properties.
How are Vicuña Yarns Made?
Vicuña wool yarn is made from raw fiber. In the wool-shedding season, vicuñas are caught by the herd. A team of motorcycles sends a herd of vicuña into a giant trap. The process is not as easy as it seems. Not everyone is permitted to catch vicuña.
As vicunas are on the Endangered species list, only a certain group, especially the traditional Vicuña wool producers, have the right skills and permission. Once gathered, they are carefully shorn using electric clippers. (De-hairing Process), a community-led event often following the Chaccu ceremony. Vicuñas are very delicate animals, so the shearing process needs to be done very carefully.
Once the wool is collected, the vicuñas go back into the wild unharmed. Then a sorting process takes place. After cleaning and removing impurities, the valuable vicuña wools are ready to be carded and combed, and then spun. The fleece of vicuna is used for luxury fabrics.
Traditionally, spinners used to make vicuña yarn by hand with simple machines. However, a lot of work is simplified by machines. It requires intense attention and high skills. Most yarns and fabrics were produced by local weavers before. But now, most of the Vicuña wool is directly sent to luxury goods brands, mostly from Italy. It’s so expensive that even traditional vicuña weavers get a very small amount of wool every year.
So, naturally, vicuña wool yarns have limited availability. But don’t worry, there are still some good sources of vicuña wool. We will include them in the next part of the article.
What is the microscopic Structures of Vicuña Fiber?
Vicuña’s characteristics are very unique and royal. It can be compared with very few natural fibers, such as Qiviut fiber (wool from a muskox) or Guanaco yarn. It is buttery soft and exceptionally warm. Even a thin Vicuña sweater vicuña can protect you from a cold winter. But what happens? The secret lies in its microscopic structure and fiber scales.
Under the microscope, vicuña has fewer uneven spots than other types of wool. However, it is not as smooth as cashmere but certainly finer than cashmere. Its finness contributes to Thermoregulation. Those two traits contribute to Vicuña’s comfy and cozy character.
What are the specifications of Vicuña Yarn and Fiber?
While working with luxurious yarns, fibers, and fabrics, you will come across some weird numbers and terms. It makes no sense unless you are a fabric expert! But those indicate some important information about the Vicuña wool yarn.
Let’s explain here:
Yarn specifications
With vicuña yarn, you see numbers like 3/36 Nm on the yarn label. The first number indicates how many strands of fiber are used in the yarn. Vicuña wool is made with piling oppositely spun fibers. This creates a stronger bond. 2 strand vicuña yarns are thin, and 3 strand ones are a bit thicker. Those two are the most common.
The second number indicates the yarn count of cashmere fiber. It means 1 gram vicuña yarn length. The longer the yarn count, the lighter and thinner the yarn is, often categorized as lace weight or fingering weight.
So, a 3/36 yarn count indicates that the vicuña yarn is made with 3 strands of fiber, and one gram of the yarn is 36 yards long.
Fineness
Fineness refers to the thickness of vicuña fabric. Usually, you will see numbers below 10 to mostly 12 to 13 microns on a micron count or Average Fiber Diameter (AFD) for vicuña. 12.5 Microns is the standard specific benchmark for Vicuña, often verified by a fiber testing laboratory or OFDA machine.
Here, the micron is one millionth of a meter. A human hair is about 100 micrometers. The lower the fitness, the softer and warmer the clothes are.
Textile Experts at Knitbrary (Luxury Knitwear Artisans) say,
“Vicuña fibers measure around 12 microns, making them the finest animal fiber used in textiles… If cashmere is comfort, vicuña is purity in its most natural form.”
Fiber length
Fiber length is another important metric for vicuña wool and yarn. The best quality of Vicuña wool is not only fine but also long. The length of Vicuña Wool ranges from 2.5 to 3.8 cm.
Yarn Length
The length of the vicuña yarn indicates just the length. It is measured in yards or meters. When you are knitting or making something, you need to know the yarn length.
Strength
The strength of a fiber is expressed as tensile strength. For Vicuña, it’s not very common. But still, you can face a few while buying vicuña or another type of yarn.
What are different types of Vicuña Wool?
Vicuña comes with fairly consistent quality, and there are no subtypes of vicuña wool. But depending on the length and grade, there can be 3 types.
Grade C Vicuña
Grade C is usually short or thicker and not suitable for luxury clothes. But they can be finely used to make different attire.
Grade B Vicuña
Grade B Vicuña is better than grade C. The most expensive vicuña fabrics are produced with grade B vicuña. It’s fine, but not the best.
Grade A Vicuña
Grade A vicuña is the best quality of vicuña. Best vicuña brands like Loro Piana, Incalpaca TPX, and Pascuali GmbH use grade A vicuña fiber for their collections. They come with high-quality Natural Cinnamon color (often called cinnamon brown color). This is the true golden fleece of the Inca legend.
Can Vicuña wool be recycled?
It’s possible to recycle Vicuña wool. As Vicuña is very expensive, a large portion of Vicuña wool is hard to collect for recycling. Also, it is too delicate to be damaged in the recycling process. So, a careful process must be developed to recycle. The demand for vicuña is ever-growing. But we do not have sustainable ways to get more Vicuña wool every year. Recycling practices can solve a part of this problem.
Where to Buy Vicuña Yarn?
Getting Vicuña yarn offline may not be possible in most cases. But you can get it from some online shops. There are strict trade rules on vicuña, so a very limited amount of vicuña products is available. Always check the CITES Certificate while buying. Vicuña yarn must come with a CITES export permit. If a seller can’t provide paperwork, it’s likely “fawn-colored alpaca.”
Here are a few shops that sell high-quality vicuña yarn.
FAQ
What is the difference between vicuña wool and cashmere wool?
Vicuña wool and cashmere wool have a whole different experience. Vicuña wool is solid and soft, while cashmere is fuzzy and soft with ultra-smoothness.
Are all vicuña yarns the same?
No, there are different qualities of vicuña yarn. Make sure to check the specifications while buying.
Wrapping Up
Vicuña wool yarn is available. Many People specially DIY Hobbyist love to try it. But again few information in online. Here We aimed to fill authentic information gap as thoroughly as possible. Still, If you have any further questions, feel free to contact us.
Wanna buy vicuña? You must best vicuña wool brands before buy!
