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Alpaca needs less care than almost any other natural fiber. It wicks moisture, doesn't hold odor, and sheds dust, so most blankets go a season or more between washes. When one does need cleaning, here's how to do it without shrinking, felting, or stretching it.
Before you wash: try air and sun
Hang or lay the blanket outside for up to 15 minutes. That's usually enough to refresh it. Keep it short — longer sun exposure fades the color.
How to wash an alpaca blanket by hand
- Fill a tub or large sink with cold water and a small amount of gentle detergent — a wool wash or even baby shampoo. Nothing with enzymes, bleach, or fabric softener.
- Submerge the blanket and let it soak 10–15 minutes. Don't rub, twist, or agitate it.
- Drain, then refill with cold water to rinse. Repeat until the water runs clear.
- Press the water out gently. Never wring. Rolling it in a towel works well.
How to wash an alpaca blanket in a washing machine
Possible if your machine has a wool or delicate program that imitates hand-washing. If it does:
- Program: wool or delicate, whichever is gentler.
- Temperature: cold. Warm or hot water shrinks alpaca.
- Spin: off. Alpaca doesn't like to be heated, wrung, or spun.
- Detergent: a gentle wool wash, small dose.
Our weavers' first recommendation is still dry cleaning (or chemical-free green dry cleaning) for throws with a complex weave or fringe.
Drying
Lay the blanket flat on a towel or a drying rack, reshaped to its original dimensions, somewhere with airflow. Don't crumple or layer it or it won't dry evenly. Never put an alpaca blanket in a dryer — heat and tumbling will shrink and damage it.
Pilling
Light pilling on a new blanket is loose surface fiber working free, not a defect. Lift it off with a sweater comb or fabric shaver. It stops after the first few uses.
Storing an alpaca blanket
Clean before storing, then keep it somewhere dry. A breathable cotton bag or a sealed bin keeps moisture and moths out. Cedar or lavender sachets are fine; mothballs are not.
What not to do
- No hot water, no dryer, no iron on high.
- No wringing, twisting, or hanging wet (it stretches).
- No bleach, enzyme detergents, or fabric softener.
- No mothballs in storage.
Cared for this way, an alpaca blanket lasts decades and gets softer the longer you use it.
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