carolaug

I went to a fiber fair and bought alpaca batting...I just finished my quilt and just took it out of the washer. I have to hang dry it...its smells...and I mean smells...I pray the smell goes away once it is dry. My cats are totally scared of the quilt...

lynnie

So sorry... so that's what i need to do to keep my zoey away.

alisonquilts

Oh no!

I have never heard of alpaca batting - did it needle well? I have an alpaca scarf that a friend got for me in Peru 30 years ago, and it stinks if it gets even a bit damp. (But no one expects to wash their scarf!) Can you contact the batting maker and ask her advice?

Alison

cabbagepatchkid

Hopefully, when it dries it will not smell . I know that my dogs fur smells when it's wet but not when it's dry. Don't forget to post how it smells once it's dry.

carolaug

I used a blue needle (Jean) once I did that I had no problem quilting. The quilt looks great it just is so smelly...hoping once it dries it will not smell. I am not sure what I am going to do with this...I doubt I will keep it. then again it will keep the cats off the guest bed. It was the first time that the cats did not go near me while quilting. if you want to keep your cats out of the sewing room buy a small piece of the batting and put it in the room. They will not go in that room...really.

michelled

I bought an alpaca sweater years ago and I always try to wear a silky blouse underneath because it feel scratchy against my skin. I was told by the woman who knit it (and sells other alpaca products) to wash it and then rinse it in hair conditioner. Hair conditioner not only makes it soft, it gives it a pleasant smell.

Jan in VA

Good grief! Reminds of an embroidered coat made of reverse animal skins that I bought decades ago (early 1970s) in Germany but it was from somewhere in Africa as I remember. Lands, that thing reeked!! Finally threw it out even though it did make me look like the Beatles, LOL! Much later I found out those things were 'cured' with urine, can you believe!! SO glad I grew out of that phase, LOL!

Best of luck with your alpaca batting. Just goes to show that every crisis is an opportunity....no more cats in the sewing room. Stick with cotton and wool and sew away peacefully!

Jan in VA

Bluelady

When I hand wash my cashmere sweater it smells like wet dog, horrible. When dry there is no smell and it is wonderful to wear. Hopefully your alpaca will do the same

mightbme

LOL, this reminds me of a story I read once about a woman who made yarn out of poodle fur. She said every dog on the street wants to check her out when she wears the sweater she made of that yarn.

OHSue

I am a spinner and can tell you that most animal fibers smell when wet. The smell will go away when it is dry.
I had never heard of alpaca used in a bat. I wonder if the animal was shaved? Most of the fiber we spinners use is brushed from the animal giving us only the softer parts of the coat. But many animals have 'guard hairs' that are stiffer and can be very irritating in a spin fiber. If the animal is shaved those guard hairs will be in the fiber. The poster who said that her alpaca sweater was scratchy probably got something made from yarn that was shaved as opposed to brushed, much less expensive that way for a commercial breeder to produce fibers that can be harvested in a single shaving vs brushing the animal every week or so.