Alpacas, cousins to the llama, are beautiful, intelligent animals native to the Andean Mountain range of South America, particularly Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. The alpacas, which provide the fiber for Pashen Collection styles, are from Peru.

Adult alpacas grow to approximately 36 inches in height and generally weigh between 150 and 200 pounds. They do not have horns, hooves, claws or incisors. They are alert, curious and predictable. They are social animals that seek companionship and communicate most commonly by softly humming.

Alpacas are shorn, without harm, every 12 to 18 months. They produce five to 10 pounds of luxurious fiber. Long ago, alpaca fiber was reserved for royalty. Today it is purchased in its raw fleece form by hand-spinners and fiber artists, and by knitters as yarn.

Alpaca fiber is very soft, have the luster of silk, and is warm yet lightweight. It comes in 22 natural colors, yet it can be dyed any desired shade.

Containing no lanolin, alpaca fiber is also naturally hypoallergenic. Most people who are sensitive to wool derived from other sources find that they can wear alpaca without the itching or irritation they experience from wool because alpaca fiber is smooth. Other characteristics include: stretch, water repellency and odor reduction. For travelers, clothing made from alpaca is desirable because it is wrinkle-resistant.

Sensitive to their environment in every respect, alpacas have soft padded feet instead of hooves and can leave even the most delicate terrain undamaged. Damage to topsoil decreases long-term soil fertility and in the process, the soil is eroded and weed invasion is encouraged.

Alpacas prefer to eat tender grasses, which they do not pull up by the roots. Lacking upper teeth, they “cut” the grass with their bottom teeth and upper palate. This vegetation cutting encourages the plants’ growth. Because they are modified ruminants with a three-compartment stomach, they convert grass and hay to energy very efficiently and stop eating when they are full, further preserving the landscape on which they live. Alpacas also do not mind eating brush, fallen leaves and other “undesirable” vegetation.

Alpacas’ pellet-like droppings are PH balanced and are an excellent, natural, slow-release, low-odor fertilizer. This rich fertilizer is perfect for growing fruits and vegetables. Because alpacas consolidate their feces in one or two communal spots in the pasture, it is easy to collect and compost, and the spread of parasites is controlled.

While alpacas are environmentally friendly … and even beneficial… to the land, what makes them even more ‘green’ is the fiber they produce. No chemicals are employed either during feeding or during the industrial production of alpaca fleece into fiber. If dyeing is desired, only 20% of a normal dye quantity is required. All fiber from an alpaca can be used – even the fiber from the lower legs, belly, neck, etc is being used for things such as natural weed mats to be placed around trees. Alpaca fiber is biodegradable. Alpacas require no insecticides, herbicides or fertilizers that pollute the groundwater.

Whether it be tops, bottoms, knit accessories, or woven bags all of these wonderful attributes make alpaca a perfect fit for Pashen Collection!

(Source for reference: Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association)

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The group of artisans is led by an American anthropologist with a heart of gold who is dedicated to helping them survive and beyond that, thrive, using dyeing and weaving skills native to where they live that have been passed down for many generations. Some of these techniques are in danger of extinction.

I first emailed the anthropologist simply asking if they would be open to talking to me about doing custom work for a project I was working on. Little did I know, that from that first message I sent on October 6, 2011, would blossom a beautiful exchange of knowledge based on technique and history related to silk weaving and dyeing and many, many conversations about tradition and style and a true love for the art of working with silks in this region. I truly learned so much and am eternally grateful for the attention, dedication and professionalism I have experienced in working with this group to create the first group of Pashen Collection ikat silk scarves.

With the anthropologist as our intermediary, acting as a director/manager on their behalf and translating back and forth, the artisans and I worked together and the result is a group of gorgeous silk scarves.

I wanted to work with natural dyes that would result in varying shades of blue and gold.

The gold/bronze color was achieved by using jack fruit.

The blue and blue/grey shades were achieved by using indigo.

The shapes I wanted to incorporate in the motifs were diamonds, hearts, arrows, and the naga serpent. I gave them direction but I also wanted them to add a bit of their own magic to each piece and they did just that.

The dyeing technique for the gold/bronze silk scarves is ikat + float weave.  The dyeing technique for the indigo pieces is ikat. Some pieces are similar but because they are hand-dyed and crafted, no two pieces are exactly alike.

The indigo silk scarves measure approximately 36 x 36 inches and can be worn as head scarves, cowled around the neck, wrapped around the waist or even wrapped around the bust (like a crop top). The gold/bronze scarves are approximately 80 x 30 inches and can be worn many different ways as well. Each and every scarf is a very special, handcrafted piece of art.

Phat spinning

Nok doing ikat

A close-up of ikat tying

Dyeing

More dyeing

Saat weaving

Indigo blue ikat scarf

Indigo blue and grey ikat scarves

Bronze/Gold ikat scarf

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This project has been a long time coming and to see finished garments in my hands that were created based on the images in my head and scribbled in my notebooks, is absolutely amazing.

It was just the first round and there are some corrections to be made but I believe hard work pays off and I am looking forward to sharing my hard work with the world.

A few snippets from the package:

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In designing my pieces, I have done a lot of research, looked at hundreds of stitch samples, and I have found myself taking a new approach in selecting stitch patterns/designs to use in each piece.

I am inspired by a countless number of things on a daily basis: the shapes of leaves and clouds, the colors in our amazing backyard sunsets, the gorgeus hues that turn up on our orchids, the colors that result when I mix paint or the way it splatters into a shape, a reflection in water, the soft and smooth feel of a piece of fabric or just the way it moves when I wear it, the list goes on and on. I post images on a cork board in my office or slip them into an inspiration book I keep. If I don’t physically have an image to post on my board or tuck in my book, I try to take pictures and catalog them in folders on my computer to go back to for reference.

I go back to the inspirational images and I look for a shape that I want to be mimicked in a stitch pattern and the brilliant artisans that are working on my samples take it from there. So far, they haven’t rejected a single challenge – in fact, they say I am pushing the boundaries of how they typically work and they are enjoying the process!

Here are some tiny sneak peeks – I can’t wait to show you more!

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I asked my mom for her wedding photos the other day.  I was looking at samples of lace fabric and some swatches of different types of knitted lace and remembered I used to look through her wedding photos all the time when I was little.  She looks ethereal with her long brown hair, big brown eyes, and formal multi-layer lace ball gown.  I scanned a bunch of the album pages so I could keep copies of my own.  Now, I can look at them whenever I want.  Just beautiful…

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