Du Store Alpakka

Du Store Alpakka sells yarns made from Peruvian alpacas. When you stand with a ball of knitting yarn from Du Store Alpakka, you stand with a product that has both ethics, fair trade, quality and respect for the delicious natural material.

Du Store Alpakka was founded back in 1999 and specialises in hand knitting yarns in alpaca fibres. This means that today they are one of Norway's experts in knitting yarns from alpacas. The people behind Du Store Alpakka are Kari Hestnes and Per Svendsen, who at the time were the first in Norway to import yarn from Peru. Alpaca yarn has always had a reputation for being an exclusive yarn made from a unique material. The special fibres and processing produce the softest yarn of the finest quality you can imagine. Alpaca yarn became very popular during the period 2007-2010 and gave Du Store Alpakka a huge growth. In 2012, the yarn company was taken over by House of Yarn, which today is located in Bryne, near Stavanger.

Today, Du Store Alpakka continues to reign supreme when it comes to being a yarn wholesaler with a focus on hand-knitting yarns from alpacas. They've become almost a brand name in alpaca yarn, and you know you're getting great yarn quality for your money when you buy wool yarn from Du Store Alpakka.

Du Store Alpaca offers and variants

Of course, you'll find Du Store Alpaca offers with us. We stock a wide range of their yarn qualities, and you're always sure to get the yarn at a reasonable price. We can always give a great price on Du Store Alpaca. With our day-to-day delivery, you can quickly and easily get started with your knitting projects.

Among the selection, you will find Du Store Alpaca Baby Silk often on sale with us. It's a luxury yarn that combines baby alpaca with the finest mulberry silk. Already during the sorting process, the very softest fur from the adult animals is selected and taken off for baby alpaca. When you knit with Babysilk, your clothes will be incredibly soft, with almost a sheen in the thread itself. Check out the big colour chart and get inspired for your next creative project.

Du Store Alpaca Strong is a more durable yarn that has a combination of alpaca, merino wool and nylon. The four-ply yarn has just that composition to be a soft, light and durable yarn you can use in many different knitting projects, whether in clothing for yourself, self knitting, baby knitting, children's clothing or for others in your family or circle of friends. Strong holds up to machine washing on wool cycle at 30⁰C degrees. Never use fabric softener and let the project dry flat.

In addition, we also sell polyester yarn with a nice glitter effect, Du Store Alpakka Bling, if you want a special design on your knitwear. If you are more into making fur effect scarves or knitting and crocheting teddy bears, we also stock the special Du Store Alpaca Fur.

All-season yarn with great properties

If you want a delicious all-season yarn of the highest quality, Du Store Alpaca is a safe choice. As all-season yarns, they are equally topical, whether it's spring, summer, autumn or winter. In total there are 15 different qualities, of which we sell the best selection. You can therefore be left with a yarn in 100% pure alpaca or a yarn with a blend of merino wool, pure new wool or mulberry silk. Depending on what the yarn needs to do, Du Store Alpakka has created different yarn qualities with a light blend of nylon, polyamide and acrylic to increase durability, so you're sure to have knitting projects whose lifespan is increased. So you get absolutely fantastic wear properties when you buy yarn from Du Store Alpakka.

Actually, alpaca yarn is not wool, but hair, and these hairs are made up of hollow fibres. It's brilliant insulation against heat and cold. In their nature, they are smooth and enormously soft. Uniquely, alpaca yarn does not contain lanolin, which means it does not bind to dust and bacteria. That's why alpaca yarns are really good for baby clothes and clothes for allergy sufferers. At the same time, the hollow fibres of alpaca yarn provide brilliant insulation against heat and cold. If you sit very still or are prone to cold, alpaca yarn is an obvious choice. For some with rheumatic diseases or arthritis, alpaca yarn can relieve symptoms.

Washing and maintaining alpaca yarn

The special feature of high-quality alpaca fibres is that they contain sulphur, which means that the yarn has self-cleaning properties. If your knit gets dirty, always try airing your knit first. Usually, the smell from the garment will disappear quickly when alpaca yarn is allowed to hang in fresh air. This way, you can avoid throwing your home-made alpaca yarn project in the washing machine. As a general rule, you should not wash your alpaca knitwear because it tends to filter when washed in the washing machine.

If you have a stain on your alpaca knit, you can treat it directly without washing the entire alpaca garment. Try gently dabbing with a damp cloth, but be careful not to rub the cloth on the garment as the yarn can easily filter here too. If a wash is unavoidable, the garment should be washed very gently. Always use a special detergent for wool or silk and never use fabric softener. It can be a good idea to turn the project inside out and wash one project at a time, adding a towel to the drum if necessary. After washing, the project can easily be stretched into shape and should be dried flat, preferably on a warm tiled floor, such as in the bathroom.

Ethical responsibility when shopping You Great Alpaca Yarn

If you as a consumer want to contribute to sustainability and ethical responsibility, you do so when you buy yarn from Du Store Alpakka. With people and nature in mind, they act to create a better world.

They work from the four basic sentences:

• To be trusted
• A warm heart
• Quality combined with good deeds
• Luxury you can buy with a clear conscience

Kari Hestnes and Per Svendsen have started working closely with the people who live up in the Andes, the longest mountain range on Earth. Here the alpacas, a species of llama, live in a herd. The people live with the alpacas and look after them. For the founders of Du Store Alpakka, giving something back to the people has been important, which is why they helped found and run the Mirasol school to provide schooling for the poor children of the Andes. Every time you buy a skein of yarn from Du Store Alpakka, you are also donating money to the good cause of the Mirasol school. The school is funded by donating $1 from every kilo of yarn sold to the school. Alongside this, Du Store Alpakka has also set up a sponsorship scheme. In this way you, as a consumer, also contribute to a better future for the poor children.