Alpaca Sweaters, Cardigans and Hats for Women

On a cold morning, the sweater a woman puts on shapes how the rest of the day feels. Christine Alcalay's women's knitwear is meant to keep her warm without bulk, and to look finished when the coat comes off at a desk or a dinner table. Alpaca and baby alpaca make up most of the pieces for the colder months. For spring and early fall, there are lighter sweaters in merino wool and pima cotton. An alpaca sweater feels different from ordinary wool as soon as it goes on. The fiber is soft against bare skin and contains no lanolin, so women who find wool itchy can usually wear it. It is also light for how warm it is, which makes an alpaca wool sweater easy to wear under a blazer. This alpaca knitwear starts with alpacas raised in Arequipa, Peru, and the wool is softer and warmer than merino wool.

Sweaters for women and alpaca cardigans come in open knits as well as tighter, warmer stitches. Knit skirts and pants are made in the same yarns and colors as the sweaters, so a matching pair becomes a knit set suited to dinner out. Each piece also works on its own with tailoring or jeans. Every fiber is natural, and alpaca, merino, and cotton biodegrade at the end of their life, which acrylic cannot do.

An alpaca beanie or hat keeps the head and ears as warm as a sweater keeps the body, and an alpaca scarf covers the neck in between. The sweaters and cardigans pair well with tailored trousers and suiting. Each design begins as a drawing in Brooklyn and is then knit in small runs, sized to actual orders, by makers in Peru and New York City with whom Christine works in person.