Mill Pond Mercantile

CARING FOR YOUR MPA ALPACA WARES

To best care for your natural fiber products, it is helpful to understand felting. While alpaca is naturally antimicrobial, it does require intermittent washing as needed. Your Mill Pond Alpacas wares deserve special attention to ensure your investment stays pristine. Felting occurs when the shaft or scales of an animal fiber interlocks and fuses together, creating a dense, flat fabric. This process is caused by applying heat, moisture, and mechanical action, such as agitation. Fiber with more pronounced scales, like sheep’s wool, are more easily felted. Alpaca fiber has a smooth, semi-hollow shaft, which makes it more felt-resistant over other natural fibers. While intentional felting can have many applications in both crafting and clothing, preserving the integrity of your Mill Pond Alpacas items is our priority. Avoiding felting ensures that your wares remain soft, lofty, stretchy, and smooth.

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To avoid felting, Mill Pond Alpacas recommends hand washing your alpaca wares in tepid water with a gentle wool/natural fiber detergent of your choice. Never wring, twist or shake your items when soaking wet. Gently squeeze excess water from your item. Some wool washes do not require rinsing; if your preferred wash requires rinsing, repeat the process with clean tepid water. Once your wares are clean and rinsed (if needed), squeeze again and lay flat on a clean towel. Roll your towel with your freshly washed wares inside, and squeeze additional moisture gently. Lay flat to dry; this preserves the shape and texture of your items. Avoid hanging wet items, as the weight of any remaining water can stretch out your items.