Indian woman spinning and knitting Llama wool (Jujuy, Argentina)
Compared to sheep's wool, lama fiber is lighter and warmer, and has no oil, and thus produces a greater yield (yards of yarn per ounce of fiber). Warmer also means that a thinner yarn and lighter garment produce the same heat retention. This is terrific for fine dress garments, but not for the bulky look our culture expects from sweaters (unless you REALLY like to sweat!). No oil means that the fiber does not need to be washed before processing or storage, but that handspinners who have learned to spin raw sheep's wool will generally find pure lama fiber tricky to adapt to at first [source: http://lostcreekllamas.com/fiber.htm]
Add to Lightbox Download![Compared to sheep's wool, lama fiber is lighter and warmer, and has no oil, and thus produces a greater yield (yards of yarn per ounce of fiber). Warmer also means that a thinner yarn and lighter garment produce the same heat retention. This is terrific for fine dress garments, but not for the bulky look our culture expects from sweaters (unless you REALLY like to sweat!). No oil means that the fiber does not need to be washed before processing or storage, but that handspinners who have learned to spin raw sheep's wool will generally find pure lama fiber tricky to adapt to at first [source: http://lostcreekllamas.com/fiber.htm]](https://archive.mirjamletsch.com/img-get2/I0000UOvreGX6D68/fit=1000x750/Mirjam-Letsch-JUJUY-52.jpg)
