3Sixteen Alpaca Crewneck Sweater

Alpaca is a fibre that behaves unlike wool and is worth understanding before you buy it. Wool has crimp, a natural waviness that makes it bouncy, elastic, and inclined to hold a shape. Alpaca has very little, so it falls instead of springing. A sweater with this much alpaca in it drapes from the shoulder rather than standing away from the body, and it reads longer and quieter on than a comparable lambswool crew would. It is also hollow-cored, which is why it insulates well at a weight that does not feel like armour.

The handle is the other difference. Alpaca is dry and smooth rather than slightly waxy, so it sits differently against the skin and takes dye with a subdued depth. Oak is the right name for this one. It is a warm mid-brown with enough grey in it to keep company with charcoal, indigo, and black without looking like it is trying to be a statement colour.

The wool in the blend restores some of the elasticity alpaca lacks, and the small percentage of polyamide is there for yarn strength. It is a sensible construction rather than a purist one.

Why we selected it

Brown knitwear is difficult to buy well and most of it is either too orange or too dead. This is neither. We chose it for the colour first, which is not something we would usually admit, and for the fibre balance second: enough alpaca for the drape to actually register, enough wool that the sweater comes back into shape rather than growing a size every winter. It is also the piece in this range that most obviously belongs beside the European knitwear we carry rather than beside the workwear, and we like a house that can do both.

3Sixteen is known first for denim and workwear, and this crewneck is the quieter side of the same line, made for the wardrobe those clothes live in rather than as a departure from it.

Materials and construction

Sixty percent alpaca, thirty percent wool, ten percent polyamide, made in India. Ribbed collar and cuffs, with a knit detail worked into the bottom band. Colour: Oak.

Fit notes

A crewneck of this fibre composition hangs rather than holds, so it will read softer and slightly more relaxed on the body than the same shape in a firm lambswool. It layers over a tee comfortably and will go under an unstructured jacket, though it is not a thin sweater and a close-cut blazer will feel crowded. Alpaca relaxes with wear across a day and recovers when it rests, so a sweater that feels correct in the morning and generous by evening is behaving normally.

Styling

Over the Pima tee with raw denim. Under the Work Blazer in grey, where the brown against the grey is better than it sounds. With the Service Pant for something quieter than denim.

Care

Alpaca and wool want less washing than you think and no hanging at all. Fold it, air it between wearings, and hand wash only when it genuinely needs it, in cool water with a wool detergent, then dry it flat and reshape it while damp. Hanging is what ruins a fibre that drapes this readily. Our general care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

For lighter knitwear from the same maker in Peru, the Long Sleeve Knit Polo and the Knit Polo. It sits under the Work Blazer in Grey without crowding it, and under the Liner Jacket when it turns properly cold. Everything we currently hold from 3Sixteen is listed together.