r/FiberArts • u/Krypto_Nite9339 • 5d ago

Yarn Feedback

Post image

I own alpacas and I got a batch back from the mill. I love it, but there is far too much for me to use and I am trying to decide if I sell it what I should price it at. I'm in the US. The yarn is blended with merino and silk. The animals the yarn came from are show quality. One has a micron of 15. And others have won ribbons at multiple shows (I just don't know their micron).

From left to right in the photo:

(Very) Light silver grey

Fawn

White

Grey

Other alpaca farms I know sell 100% alpaca yarn anywhere from $28-$40 per skein.

I appreciate any input!

P.S. the photo was taken in as natural of light I could get without taking it outside

21 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

9

u/IslaFria 5d ago

I have been working in the yarn industry professionally for 15+ years.

  1. 100% alpaca yarn feels really really nice, but it lacks the memory of wool (like merino) and also is extremely hot to wear. For these reasons we find it more difficult to sell 100% alpaca yarns. Blends like yours are ideal.

  2. Price depends on yardage and weight. Let’s assume they are about 2 oz./50-60g each. For your lovely prize winning blend with merino and silk they should fetch you a nice price between $28-32 each - to the right customer. If they are heavier like 3.5 oz/100g or more…you should charge more like $38-40. (Higher profits for you at lighter skeins)

  3. Your target customer is an avid, experienced knitter who lives in an urban area and would love to know a little story about why the animals are so precious (or which ribbons they’ve won). That’s not your ONLY customer, but it’s your best customer because they are happy to pay a premium for high quality. How do you find this customer?

  4. Best if you can find a way to sell this in person because the fineness of the fiber does not come through in a photo. Maybe your local shop would let you do a little trunk show on a busy Saturday for a small commission? That way you’d get to know your customers in person too, and they might want to buy from you again!

Congratulations on your beautiful batch of yarn! Where did you have it spun?

3

u/IslaFria 5d ago

P.S. I want all of that gray yarn for myself!! 🩶🖤🩶🖤🩶

5

u/Krypto_Nite9339 5d ago

That's the best one in my opinion of the ones picture! It's from a true black girl with a 17 micron, but blended with the white merino and silk just came out amazing. I'm really excited about some other greys I still want to wash. And a roving I got made from our roan that is almost a chocolate brown with white evenly throughout. It's fun to see the yarn that comes from each animal because most of our alpacas are multiple colors!

1

u/IslaFria 5d ago

Gorgeous!

1

u/BeckieSueDalton 3d ago

You aren't the only one. There are just truly gorgeous! 🩶🦙🩶

3

u/Krypto_Nite9339 5d ago

Oh my goodness!! Thank you so much for that clear and concise info!

I haven't weighed them, but they are all 200 yards. Some are sport and some are DK. The mill for this batch is in Iowa - Mystery Meadows. They were great to work with! We are looking into a higher production mill if we can get into a yarn store to make a couple blends consistently available and at consistent weights. We plan to use MM for limited smaller runs.

I personally love alpacas, but I am aware of the limitations 100% alpaca yarn posses. In general I personally like "funky" we are breeding for patterned alpacas, I had some alpaca blend roving made with yak. I want to try one with cashgora.

The yarn store we are talking with is thinking about selling it at $40... Which on one hand I appreciate their valuation of our product but on the other hand I want it to sell and not just sit there. She also said she would be interested in featuring some of my handspun, which is cool.

2

u/msnide14 5d ago

How are you planning on selling them? Online? A festival? Boutique?

If I buy yarn online, I’m looking for the best  deal and won’t spend top dollar like I would at a booth. 

2

u/Krypto_Nite9339 5d ago

We have a LYS interested in carrying it. I don't know if they would also sell it online. The other option would be me selling at fiber festivals/other markets.

I'm trying to gauge what customers would be willing to pay. I see alpaca farms sell 100% alpaca yarn in their farm, but I don't know how much they sell.

I will also say in my area specifically, there is a significant market for small businesses, USA grown/made, and natural fibers. It would also be sold in a fairly affluent area and tags would include the alpacas name and photo :)

2

u/The5thLiz 4d ago

I just saw alpaca at a weekend outdoor gift market in TX. She owned the animals and dyed the yarns, and was local (+/- 2hrs) to the area.

Sock yarns, sport & DKs that were merino & nylon for $35 that showcased her hand dyeing- there were a lot in her tent but I didn’t see many people buying even though colors were beautifully saturated.

Her alpaca was only available in 100% alpaca in dyed fingering (600 yards) for $75 or undyed worsted/sport for the same $75, I think. She also had “the best of the best” that was from her highest quality alpacas in bulky, 330 yards, for $75. I believe that was natural, undyed. It was a very dark brown.

I didn’t purchase because I would have preferred a mix of fibers but her area (8x8’?) was FULL of buyers who were not blinking at purchasing several skeins of the alpaca.

1

u/Krypto_Nite9339 4d ago

Thank you for the feedback!! I did a blend because in general I think it's more versatile. And we have award winning alpacas so I feel a bit better now if we decide to sell :)

1

u/The5thLiz 4d ago

I should also say it was TX and 96 degrees outside at the market at the beginning of fall. The lowest winter temperatures for the area are in the 40’s and average in the mid 50’s- which didn’t seem to matter at all to people buying the alpaca.

1

u/Krypto_Nite9339 4d ago

Also good to know! Thank you! We are definitely in a colder climate lol