When you think of alpaca you might be picturing the soft crimps of the Huacaya alpaca.
Well, today we'll deep dive into the lustrous locks of its lesser known sister – the amazing Suri alpaca!
We'll learn all about the properties of Suri, fibre blends, ways to use it and the lovely patterns you can make with this luxurious silky soft fibre.
PLUS we are discounting 30% off of our Chaska Aqu Lace Suri Silk and Indiecita Baby Suri Alpaca as we discontinue those to make room for more Setaruri :)
Fluffy gold
Suri fibre was once reserved for Inca kings and used as currency in the Andes. And it's probably because of it's unique properties and lustrous feel.
Suri produce a unique fine fibre that make it incredibly soft (as soft as cashmere), naturally lustrous, and with a beautiful silky sheen.
Suri does not contain lanolin and no chemicals are used to process it, making it hypoallergenic and suitable for even the most sensitive skin. Its scales are flat which means they don't prickle so it's a great alternative to mohair if the mohair feel is not your thing!
You can see the difference between the Huacaya and Suri fibres in the image above.
Suri & Silk Yarns
Because of it's crimpless properties, Suri is usually blended with silk to give it structure. The result is silky 2.0 (we can't emphasise enough how cloud-like and soft it is!)
You can knit it on its own (single strand, double strand or even triple strand to get the weight you're after) or combine with other yarns to create a really lofty, soft and lovely fabric.
On its own
The 2ply yarn is quite versatile and will look a little different depending on how you knit it.
In the first swatch on the top left we used 3.5mm needles with one strand
Lana Grossa Setasuri making it light and lacey.
The swatch in the middle uses two strands on 4.5mm needles to get an 8ply weight with the lovely soft halo.
The swatch on the right uses 6mm needles with 3 strands to get a bulkier weight perfect for cozy garments.
Mix and match
Much like mohair (but with a smoother, less fluffy feel) you can knit one strand of Suri/Silk combined with other yarns to get a luxurious fluffy texture.
Printed Patterns
Suri looks great on the alpaca but how will it look on me? The answer is: effortlessly stylish, luxurious and cozy!
Suri/Silk on its own patterns
There are plenty of patterns to try on Ravelry too!
The
Faux Paux Pullover by Brienne Moody makes a cozy and dense (not see-through) garment with lace patterns on the sleeve and front for a delicate touch.
You can also try the soft
Aisling Sweater specially designed for Suri alpaca blends. This drapey ethereal garment is knitted from the bottom up starting flat then worked in the round up the body.
The
Kersidian sweater makes the most of Suri's light yet warm properties by knitting with slightly bigger 4mm needles to get the cozy effect. It also comes with the option to use a contrasting colour for the lower body and sleeves and features a flattering circular yoke.
The airy
Transcend sweater is light yet voluminous and can be knit at a cropped or longer body length. Its eyelet lace pattern also give it a nice delicate touch.
A modern take on the Old Shale stitch, the
Cupcake top mixes rows of Surisilk with a fingering yarn every 13th and 14th row - so you can make something totally new while using leftover yarn in contrasting or tonal colours.
Suri/Silk combination patterns
There are endless beautiful patterns to mix and match Suri/Silk with fingering (even DK yarns) or using double strands of Suri/Silk. Here are some of our picks :)
The timeless construction of the Lento sweater (featured on issue 11 of Laine magazine) combines merino with Surisilk for an extra soft finish. This pattern has been super popular for how quick it is to knit and how good it looks on everyone!
Andrea Mowry's Pink Velvet sweater and Velvet Mirror Cowl blend a fingering yarn with Suri/Silk to create stunning fluffy colourwork.
A great one to start with is the Superlove Sweater. With it's eyelet construction, it's quick to knit and you only need 2 balls (400m) to knit the smallest size with double strands of Lana Grossa Setasuri.
Pecolia combines merino sock yarn on the lace construction and Suri/Silk to make a light, soft and airy triangular shawl.
The option-packed Lacey Fluff top uses two strands of Suri/Silk to create a soft relaxed top or cozy sweater. The pattern comes with a video tutorial to walk you through the crocheted neckline (with an option for i-cord neckline).
Experiment with different combinations on the stylishly casual
Bad Idea Blouse. You can knit it holding 2 strands of Suri/Silk, or a single strand and a strand of fingering weight merino. The pattern is free on ravelry and can be knit with short or long sleeves, cropped or longer body.
Have fun with the colourful
My Chrysalis Shawl which combines merino and Suri/Silk for a playful texture using eyeletes, stripes and brioche.
Version 1 of the
Islet Cardigan mixes and a tweed yarn (
Rowan Tweed is a good alternative as it's closer to a fingering than a DK weight) with Suri/Silk to create contrasting rows of colour and eyelets.
If you want your first venture into a Suri/Silk garment to be a smaller one, you could try the
Ponyo Children's Sweater mixing merino DK with Surisilk worked seamlessly in brioche stitch from the top to bottom.
Suri/Silk Clearance Sale
Get these yarns before we discontinue them and go all in on the Lana Grossa Setasuri range.
Lana Grossa has similar metreage to what you'd get from a ball of Sesia Vivienne and Kidsilk Haze as well as an extensive colour palette you'll want to use on your garments. We decided to increase our range of Setasuri and let our other 2 suri blend yarns go. So now's your chance to scoop them up until they're gone!
We hope you enjoyed learning about Suri alpacas (we really did) and are as excited as we are to use them on your next project.
Happy knitting!
xx Loopine Team
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