These American-made Alpaca Socks are Perfect for Winters Spent Outdoors

On a farm in New York’s Hudson Valley, American Made Alpaca produces wool that becomes socks – and hats, headbands, scarves, shawls and gloves.

Alpacas first came to American farms in 1984 when the South American countries where the furry, fluffy animals thrived for centuries lifted export bans.

Today, alpacas are a popular livestock, prized for their luxurious wool and gentle nature, with hundreds of thousands now residing in America.

Members of the camelids breeds along with llamas, guanacos, camels and vicunas, alpacas produce a wool fiber that has become the go-to for warm and fashionable wintertime apparel.

Diana Bellissimo is the owner of the American Made Alpaca company, which produces excellently warm socks. The company was chosen to appear in the Alliance for American Manufacturing 2025 Made in America Holiday Gift Guide.

Socks are always a practical gift exchanged between family members. And, of course, they also make great stocking stuffers.

Bellissimo raises Alpacas on her Pleasant Valley, N.Y. farm and through a cooperative provides the sheered wool for apparel manufacturing. The alpaca socks are entirely made in America with American alpacas.

Bellissimo and her husband bought what is now known as Lilymoore Farm in 2013 and it became home for more than 200 animals.

That’s just the way Bellissimo likes it.

“I love being a farmer,” said Bellissimo. “I actually love all of the animals. I love being outside with them.

“We’ve owned the farm for 12 years and I have had alpacas for 11 years. I am a huge animal lover, so I wanted alpacas for their fiber. I did not want an animal that is going to be on the dinner plate, so alpacas really appealed to me.”

Bellissimo has 29 alpacas on the farm along with two huarizos, which are a cross between an alpaca and a llama, and six llamas.

The alpacas are sheared once year in May and a pickup truck bed full of the soft fiber material is delivered by Bellissimo to an alpaca pool in Massachusetts. The New England Alpaca Fiber Pool (NEAFP) processes the fiber, then makes yarn or alpaca apparel such as socks, hats, scarves, sweaters and gloves.

Bellissimo then gets a credit determined by weight to collect the manufactured socks for sale to the public.

“Alpaca fiber has firsts, seconds and thirds,” said Bellissimo. “The firsts are the blanket and usually yarn is going to be made out of that, and the socks are made out of that as well. The blanket is kind of the belly and back of the alpaca. The blanket, the firsts, are the most important fiber. That’s where you are going to get most of your weight and that is also what most things are made out of.”

Alpacas produce 22 colors of fiber that are recognized including white, rose greys, traditional greys, black and some that are patterned. The fiber is also dyed by the NEAFP or dyed on Bellissimo’s Lilymoore Farm.

“I’m a farmer, so to me the socks make a huge difference in my life because they allow me to be comfortable being outdoors eight or more hours a day,” said Bellissimo, “It’s been kind of brutal up here lately but I have had the socks on and I am super comfortable.

“Alpaca is naturally temperature regulating and moisture wicking. It’s also odor resistant and flame resistant. We have yarn, headbands, gloves, scarves, blankets and hats, but the socks are what people really love a lot. A huge amount of our sales comes from the socks.”

Lilymoore Farm is located about a 90-minute drive from New York City so during warmer months it is a back-to-nature day trip for the city dwellers. The farm offers alpaca treks, which are almost always a delight for the visitors.

“The alpacas all have names, and they have really big personalities,” said Bellissimo. “Alpacas are a lot of fun. Mine are awfully friendly and sweet.”

And what would a working animal farm be without horses? The farm is named after Bellissimo’s horse Lily and the bird sanctuary located on the farm, Dreaming of A Chance Sanctuary, is named after her daughter’s horses Dreamer and Chance.

“I always had a lot of pets, but farming is a relatively new adventure for me and it’s one that I actually love,” said Bellissimo. “We’ve had Lilymoore Farm for 11 years and American Made Alpaca as its own entity has been five years now, so people are finally starting to recognize it online which has been lovely.

“American alpaca fiber industry is very tiny compared to South America but I’m hoping people are starting to see there is really fabulous quality with the American-made products.”

The American alpaca industry is indeed growing with a market value of approximately $216 million in 2024. It is expected to grow to more than $346 million by 2030.

Bellissimo enjoys life around her alpacas and the colorful socks they produce.

“I have a lot of stuff on sale for the holidays, and I try to get orders out within 24 hours,” she said. “We’ve also have gift cards on our website if they want to let the person decide for themselves.

“We’ve been constantly restocking and will continue to restock right up through the holidays. On the gift card is a drawing of one of my first alpacas, Bella, when she was a baby.”

American Made Alpaca socks range in price from $20 to $34 depending on thickness. Visit All American Alpaca at www.americanmadealpaca.com.