Alpaca vs. Wool vs. Cashmere Blankets: What Actually Changes

Most "alpaca vs. wool" articles are a list of adjectives. This one is about what actually changes when you swap the fiber: the weight on your legs, whether you itch, what happens in the wash, and how the blanket looks in year five. If you just want to shop, the full collection is at Alpaca Blankets — 25 styles, 165 colorways.

The short version

	Alpaca	Sheep's wool	Cashmere
Warmth for the weight	Highest — hollow fiber	Good, but heavy	Good, thin
Itch	None (no lanolin, fine scales)	Yes for most people	Rarely
Allergies	Hypoallergenic	Lanolin is the usual trigger	Usually fine
Pilling	Light, stops early	Moderate	Heavy — the fiber is short
Durability	Decades; one of the strongest natural fibers	Long	Thins with use
Water	Wicks and resists it	Absorbs ~30% of its weight	Absorbs
Care	Cold hand wash or wool cycle, flat dry	Same, felts more easily	Hand wash only
Price	Mid	Low to mid	High

Warmth: why the weight matters

Alpaca fiber is partly hollow. Those air pockets insulate, so an alpaca blanket delivers more warmth per ounce than a solid wool fiber of the same thickness. In practice: a king alpaca bed blanket weighs roughly half of a comparable wool blanket and sleeps warmer. The same structure lets it release heat when you warm up, which is why people who normally kick blankets off at 3 a.m. tend to keep an alpaca one on.

Cashmere is warm too, but it's usually woven thin because the fiber is expensive, so a cashmere throw is a layer, not a blanket.

Itch: it's the lanolin, not the wool

Sheep's wool itches for two reasons: lanolin (the grease in the fleece, which also triggers most "wool allergies") and a coarse scale structure on the fiber surface. Alpaca has no lanolin and much finer scales. That's the whole explanation for why someone who can't wear a wool sweater can sleep under an alpaca blanket. It also means alpaca is naturally hypoallergenic without any chemical treatment.

Within alpaca there are grades. "Baby alpaca" isn't about the animal's age; it's the finest fleece, under 22.5 microns. "Royal" is the top couple of percent of that. Standard alpaca runs 23–27 microns — still softer than most wool, but you can feel the difference. Everything in our blanket collection is baby alpaca unless the product says otherwise.

Pilling and how the blanket ages

Pilling happens when short fibers work loose and tangle on the surface. Cashmere fibers are short, so cashmere pills a lot and thins over time. Wool pills moderately. Alpaca fibers are long and strong — alpaca is among the strongest natural fibers in textiles — so you'll see light pilling in the first few uses, then it stops. A sweater comb handles it. Ten years in, an alpaca blanket is softer than the day you bought it; a cashmere throw is usually in a drawer.

Water, odor, and dirt

Wool absorbs up to about a third of its weight in water before it feels wet, which is great in a sweater and less great in a blanket on a humid night. Alpaca wicks moisture and resists it, doesn't hold odor, and sheds dust, which is why most alpaca blankets go a season or more between washes. Fifteen minutes in the sun refreshes one.

Washing

All three want cold water and no dryer. Wool felts most easily if agitated. Cashmere is hand-wash only. Alpaca hand-washes or goes through a wool/delicate cycle with spin off. Full instructions, including storage and moth prevention, are in How to Wash & Care for Alpaca Blankets.

Where the fiber comes from

Alpaca has been woven in the Andes since before the Inca, who valued the fiber above gold. Ours is still handcrafted in Peru, by artisans working under Fair Trade guidelines, and each product is certified by the International Alpaca Association so you know the fiber is what the label says. Alpaca comes in 22 natural shades — whites, fawns, browns, greys, black — and takes dye well, which is how a collection gets to 165 colorways without a single synthetic fiber.

Which should you buy?

• You run cold at night and hate heavy blankets: alpaca bed blanket.
• You run hot and still want something on top: alpaca, because it breathes; a throw if it's for the couch.
• Someone in the house reacts to wool: alpaca. It's the lanolin they react to, and alpaca has none.
• You want the thinnest, most delicate layer and don't mind replacing it: cashmere.
• Budget is the only variable: wool, with the understanding that it'll itch and felt.

Questions people ask

Is alpaca warmer than wool?

Weight for weight, yes. The hollow fiber insulates better than a solid wool fiber, so an alpaca blanket is warmer than a wool blanket of the same weight, or as warm at a fraction of the weight.

Is alpaca better than cashmere?

For a blanket, yes: it's as soft, far stronger, pills less, and costs less. Cashmere wins only if you want something very thin and fine.

Is alpaca warmer than fleece?

Fleece is polyester. It's warm when dry, holds odor, doesn't breathe, and sheds microplastics in the wash. Alpaca is warmer by weight, breathes, and is a natural fiber.

Are alpaca blankets worth it?

If you'll use it for a decade, the math is easy. If you want a disposable throw for one winter, buy fleece.

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