warm blankets

The ancient Inca discovered the unique attributes of alpaca and today Felipe Berckholtz shares them with this throw. Featuring long fringed ends, the throw is knitted of baby alpaca, which is the wool from the season's first shear renowned for its incredibly soft, lightweight warmth.

The ancient Inca discovered the unique attributes of alpaca and today Felipe Berckholtz shares them with this throw. Featuring long fringed ends, the throw is knitted of baby alpaca, which is the wool from the season's first shear renowned for its incredibly soft, lightweight warmth.

The ancient Inca discovered the unique attributes of alpaca and today Felipe Berckholtz shares them with this throw. Featuring long fringed ends, the throw is knitted of baby alpaca, which is the wool from the season's first shear renowned for its incredibly soft, lightweight warmth.

The ancient Inca discovered the unique attributes of alpaca and today Felipe Berckholtz shares them with this throw. Featuring long fringed ends, the throw is knitted of baby alpaca, which is the wool from the season's first shear renowned for its incredibly soft, lightweight warmth.

The ancient Inca discovered the unique attributes of alpaca and today Felipe Berckholtz shares them with this throw. Featuring long fringed ends, the throw is knitted of baby alpaca, which is the wool from the season's first shear renowned for its incredibly soft, lightweight warmth.

Felipe Berckholtz of Peru was inspired by the expansion of nature and changes of the seasons in designing this reversible blanket in shades of grey. Made of 100% baby alpaca, the extra fine fleece from the first shearing of the season, the throw blanket is luxuriously soft and warm. The blanket features an abstract design of rays emanating from a central nexus in graceful, organic lines. The blanket is finished at the top and bottom edges with a thick layer of fringe.

Woven by hand, precious alpaca brings beauty and lightweight warmth to this generous ruana cape from Peru. Stefano Basso selects baby alpaca — the fine fleece from the season's first sheering — in combinable shades of ash and slate grey. The ends are finished with fringe.

Intricate geometric motifs come to life in radiant colors derived from natural dyes. Artisans of the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco work with ancestral techniques to create fashion for today and always. This elegant ruana cape is woven by hand of fine alpaca wool, prized by the ancient Inca for its lightweight warmth. The cloak of many colors includes red, goldenrod yellow, fuchsia and orange, among others.

The community raises and cares for its own alpacas. The fleece is washed, carded and spun by hand using a pushka, or drop spindle. The dyes come from plants, nuts and tree bark. The next step is one of the most important, as the artisan prepares the warp, or vertical threads for the backstrap loom. This determines the size of the textile, the color combinations, and the patterns that will be woven.

The intensity of color can vary depending on the hardness of the water, the altitude and the local dye sources, making each textile a unique piece of handcrafted art.