100% Alpaca Rugs

Almost nobody makes rugs in pure alpaca. The yarn is scarce, it behaves differently on the loom than sheep's wool, and most manufacturers decide it isn't worth the trouble. We decided otherwise — we weave 100% alpaca rugs on our own looms, and they are among the few things we make that we genuinely cannot get from anywhere else.

Why alpaca instead of wool

It has no lanolin. Sheep's wool carries lanolin, the greasy wax that triggers most "wool allergies." Alpaca fiber has none of it, which is why people who cannot live with a wool rug are usually fine with alpaca. It is also why alpaca doesn't hold onto odor the way wool can — there is no oil in the fiber for smells to bind to.

It is warmer and lighter at the same time. Alpaca fiber is hollow at its core. That structure traps air, so an alpaca rug insulates better than a wool rug of the same weight while feeling lighter underfoot.

It feels different, immediately. The fiber has almost no crimp, so the surface has a smooth, cool, faintly silky drape rather than wool's springy texture. Most people notice it the moment they step on one barefoot, before anyone tells them what it is.

The colors are the animal's own. Alpaca grows in more than twenty natural shades, from bright white through fawn and rose-grey to true black. Our undyed alpaca rugs use those colors directly — no dye at all, which means nothing to fade and nothing to bleed if the rug is ever washed.

What alpaca is not good at

We would rather you hear this from us. Alpaca has less natural bounce than wool, so a deep-pile alpaca rug will show furniture impressions more readily and takes longer to recover. It is also a softer fiber, which makes it a poor choice for a mudroom, a hallway that takes boots, or under a rolling office chair.

Put an alpaca rug where people are barefoot and comfortable — a bedroom, a reading corner, a living room that isn't a thoroughfare. Put wool where the traffic is.

Living with one

Vacuum without the beater bar. Blot spills immediately with a clean white cloth — never rub, and never use a household stain remover, which can strip the fiber's natural finish. Rotate the rug once a year so wear and sunlight land evenly. When it eventually needs a proper wash, we hand-wash alpaca in our own facility; a machine or a steam cleaner will mat the pile permanently.

Any size, and any of those natural colors

Because we manufacture, an alpaca rug does not have to be a size somebody else chose. We weave to your dimensions in the natural shades or a custom blend of them — simpler pieces start around three weeks. The same is true for runners, including stair runners, though we will steer you toward wool if the staircase is a busy one.

Common questions

Is alpaca really hypoallergenic?

It is lanolin-free, and lanolin is what most people reacting to wool are reacting to. That is not the same as being allergen-proof — any rug collects household dust — but in practice alpaca is the fiber we recommend to customers who have given up on wool.

Why does alpaca cost more than wool?

Supply. A single alpaca produces a fraction of what a sheep does in a year, and the fiber has to be sorted by hand because the natural shades vary from animal to animal. There is no way to make it cheap, and anything sold as inexpensive alpaca is almost always a blend.

How do I know mine is actually 100% alpaca?

Ask for the fiber content in writing, and be suspicious of "alpaca blend," which can legally mean a very small percentage. Everything in our alpaca collection is pure alpaca, and we will put that in writing on the invoice.

Will it shed?

Lightly, for the first few months, then it settles — the same as any new handmade rug. It sheds less than wool over the long run because the fiber is smoother and holds together better in the yarn.

Come feel one

This is a fiber that does not photograph. The colour looks flat on a screen and the hand doesn't come across at all. We keep alpaca on the showroom floor, and we will also bring one to your home so you can see it in your own light — no charge, no obligation, anywhere in Chicagoland.

See the 100% alpaca collection, or call (630) 324-6567.

Cassim Rug Gallery · 239 Ogden Ave, Downers Grove, IL 60515 · Mon–Sat 10–6, Sun 12–5.