Llama fibre has been a valuable product in South America for thousands of years. From the 11th to the 13th century, the Incas practised sophisticated herd management and selectively bred for fleece quality and strength, as the Incan civilisation probably would not have thrived in its cold, harsh altitude without the warm fleece of these native animals.

Although the vicuna and alpaca fleece was kept for the nobility, llama wool was placed in public warehouses for fabrication into common man's cloth. Many of these practices were abandoned as a result of the Spanish Conquest.

The llama is a double-coated animal. The fine, downy undercoat gives protection from cold and heat whilst the second coat of crimpless guard hair acts as a moisture barrier, repelling rain and snow and protecting the undercoat from debris.

Although generically termed "wool", llama fibre is technically "hair" due to its cellular composition. A magnified cross-section shows it to be a tubular hair with a medullated, or hollow, core, structurally different from sheep and most other wool-bearing animals. Because of this medullation, llama wool is lightweight - the hollow core providing exceptional insulating capabilities without bulk. This unique structure also contributes to the tensile strength and durability of the fibre and to the fact it shrinks little during washing or processing.

Due to its lack of grease or lanolin, llama wool presents a 90 percent yield after washing and being hypoallergenic, can be worn by babies and others who are allergic to sheep's wool. The surface of llama fibre is similar to that of a sheep, with irregular, overlapping scales. Llama wool has, however, fewer scales resulting in less elasticity than sheep's wool.

Fleece quality can be affected by several factors including climate, age, breeding activity and diet. Fibre studies at La Raya, Peru, show male wool production accelerates until seven years of age whereas the female's fleece will change at breeding age when hormonal changes occur and energy is diverted into pregnancy.

The fibre diameter measured in microns, ranges from around 20 to 40 micron. Fleeces generally grow at around the rate of ten centimetres per year and can be harvested by brushing, shearing with electric shears or clipping with hand shears.

Brushing is suitable for the short woolled llamas as they naturally shed their constantly regenerating, downy undercoat. We use a good quality bristle hairbrush and we find the llamas tolerate and actually enjoy brushing when the coat is naturally shedding. Although time consuming, brushing yields a much finer, softer fibre from the short woolled animals as it collects little, if any, guard hair.

For the most part the ability to shed has been bred out of the long woolled llamas so shearing is essential and may be done every year or every second year.

At Xanadu Llamas we prefer to "barrel-cut" our animals, shearing the mid-section or barrel of the animal, making the summer months more comfortable for the llamas as well as providing fleece for processing.

Once harvested, llama wool is a delight to work with, being clean, odourless, greaseless and light. It can be spun by hand or at one of the mills and knitted, woven or felted into any number of garments.