DROPS Alpaca is a lovely yarn spun from 3 strands of 100% superfine alpaca, with an extra twist to provide a durable surface. The alpaca fiber is untreated, which means that it is only washed and not exposed to any chemical treatment prior to the dyeing. This highlights the fiber’s natural properties, while it also provides a better shape and texture quality.
DROPS Alpaca has a large and varied range of patterns available in the DROPS collection. Garments made in this yarn are lightweight and comfortable, super soft directly on the skin, and have a nice, characteristic sheen.
Content: 100% Alpaca
Yarn Group:
A (23 - 26 stitches)
/ 5 ply / sport
Weight/length: 50 g = approx 167 m
Recommended needle size: 3 mm
Knitting tension: 10 x 10 cm = 24 sts x 32 rows
Care: Hand Wash, max 30°C / Dry Flat
/ Feltable (See more)
Made in: Peru
Raw material origin: Alpaca from Peru
Read more about our products' sustainability here
Click on the Order button and you'll be redirected to the DROPS retailer's own web store to place your order.
Store name | Online price | |
---|---|---|
Knitted Home London |
2.88 GBP 50g |
Order |
LindeHobby Webstore |
3.01 GBP 50g |
Order |
Purple Sheep Yarns Webstore |
3.04 GBP 50g |
Order |
Bùth Bharraigh Ltd Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
Cotton Pod Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
Damsel In This Dress Ltd Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
Ewe and Ply Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
Fibre and Fleece Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
KNiTT Ltd Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
Laughing Hens Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
Slipstitch Ldn Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
Stitched Up! Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
The Knitters Attic Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
The Knitting Network Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
The Novello Wool Shop Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
The Orry Mill Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
The Wool Factory Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
Timeless Fabrics Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
Weaveknitit Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
Wool Warehouse Direct Ltd Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
Wool Zone Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
Woolpatch Gallery Webstore |
3.20 GBP 50g |
Order |
Check here if your local store has it in stock.
Click on the Order button and you'll be redirected to the DROPS retailer's own web store to place your order.
Store name | Online price | |
---|---|---|
Knitted Home London |
2.97 GBP 50g |
Order |
LindeHobby Webstore |
3.01 GBP 50g |
Order |
Purple Sheep Yarns Webstore |
3.14 GBP 50g |
Order |
Bùth Bharraigh Ltd Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
Cotton Pod Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
Damsel In This Dress Ltd Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
Ewe and Ply Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
Fibre and Fleece Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
KNiTT Ltd Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
Laughing Hens Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
Slipstitch Ldn Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
Stitched Up! Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
The Knitters Attic Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
The Knitting Network Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
The Orry Mill Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
The Wool Factory Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
The Yarn Patch Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
Timeless Fabrics Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
Weaveknitit Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
Wool Warehouse Direct Ltd Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
Wool Zone Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
Woolpatch Gallery Webstore |
3.30 GBP 50g |
Order |
Check here if your local store has it in stock.
Hand Wash, max 30°C / Dry Flat
See the washing symbols explanation
Take a closer look at the yarn and see how a knitted sample looks in this video:
Many of our yarns can be combined together to get a different tension, texture or feel. Here's a few combination ideas to inspire you.
See how this yarn looks before and after felting:
Needles: 5.50 mm
Before: 16 sts x 20 rows
After: 21 sts x 32 rows
1) What type of fibers make the DROPS yarns?
Yarn can be made from a large number of natural and synthetic fibers. DROPS carries mainly yarns made from wool, cotton, alpaca, linen, mohair and silk. Each fiber type has its own qualities, and they are often mixed to take advantage of the best properties of each one. Coarse yarn has the advantage of being stronger and more durable, and finer fibers offer more softness and comfort. Here a bit about the main fibers we carry:
Alpaca:
Alpaca fleece is the natural fiber harvested from an alpaca, and it is similar in structure to sheep wool fiber. Its softness comes from the small diameter of the fiber, similar to merino wool. It is a soft, durable, luxurious and silky natural fiber. Yarn made from alpaca fibers does not felt or pill easily, and it can be light or heavy in weight, depending on how it is spun. While similar to sheep’s wool, it is warmer, not prickly, and has no lanolin, which makes it hypoallergenic. Alpacas come in 22 natural colors, with more than 300 shades from a true-blue black through browns-black, browns, white, silver and rose-greys.
Mohair:
This fiber comes from the Angora goats, and it's considered a luxury fiber. Mohair yarn is warm as wool, but much lighter in weight; it is durable, dyes well and does not felt easily. Mohair fibers have also a distinctive luster created by the way they reflect light. Despite being a hard fiber, mohair is usually spun into a very fluffy yarn, resulting in airy and lustrous garments.
Wool:
The wool fibers come from the skin of sheep and are relatively coarse fibers. Two striking characteristics of wool are its susceptibility to heat and its felting property, which is caused by the scales on the surface. Depending upon the breed of sheep, the appearance of the wool varies.
Wool from Merino sheep is considered the finest type of wool, having as characteristics that is finely crimped and soft. All the Merino wool in the DROPS yarns has its origins in South America, coming from sheep that have not been subject to Mulesing.
Pure new wool is wool made directly from animal fleece, and not recycled from existing wool garments.
Machine washable wool is wool treated chemically to minimize the outer fuzzy layer of the fibers, and be therefore fitable for machine wash (see Superwash).
Silk:
The silk fiber is a fine continuous fiber produced from the cocoon of a moth caterpillar known as the silkworm. While silkworm is cultivated, the wild or tussah silk is obtained from uncultivated silkworm cocoons. Silk fiber is one of the strongest natural fibers and makes a wonderful knitting yarn. It blends really well with other fibers, especially wool. Silk also dyes beautifully with natural dyes.
Vegetable fibers:
There are several varieties of vegetable fibers, found in the cell walls of plants or vegetables. Of all the varieties, two are recognized as major knitted or textile fibers. They are cotton and linen.
Cotton is the fiber surrounding the seeds in a cotton pod, and it is almost pure cellulose. Cotton is usually white in color but there are green and brown varieties as well. The cotton fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile that is good for summer clothing and accessories, making a weaker yarn than silk or linen but stronger than wool.
Mercerized cotton is cotton that has been through a mercerization treatment. This treatment gives cotton fabrics and threads a lustrous yarn that is more lustrous than conventional cotton. It is also stronger, takes dye a little more readily, makes the yarn more resistant to mildew and reduces lint. It also may not shrink or lose its shape as much as "regular" cotton.
Linen is a fiber derived from the stalk of the flax plant that is durable and stronger than any other fiber. The linen fiber is relatively soft, straight and lustrous and becomes more beautiful with age. Linen is more comfortable to wear in hot temperatures than cotton, due to the fact that it absorbs moisture better and dries more quickly.
Other materials used in our yarns include synthetic fibers such as acrylic, viscose, polyamide (nylon) and polyester. These fibers are used mostly to give strength to a yarn (like our sock yarn, DROPS Fabel) or a special kind of structure (like our blown yarn, DROPS Air).
The polyamide fibre, commonly known as nylon, is very strong, durable, lightweight, easy to care for (can be machine washed and dried), and elastic, which makes it perfect for blending with other fibres to produce hard-wearing yarns like sock yarn.
Compared to polyester, polyamide is softer and more flexible, but it also absorbs more water and dries slower.
3) What type of information can I find on the DROPS yarn labels?
All DROPS yarn labels include information about fiber content (wool, cotton, etc.), weight in grams and ounces, length in meters and yards, washing instructions and symbols (explained here), color number, dye lot number and yarn group information.
4) What are the DROPS yarn groups?
All DROPS yarns are classified into 6 different thickness groups (A to F). Yarns in a same group have similar knitting tension/gauge, and can therefore be interchanged in patterns; however the length may be different, so when substituting always calculate the amount of meters/yards needed for the pattern to know the amount of yarn you need to get.
5) Can I use a different yarn than the one mentioned in the pattern?
Yes, as long as the yarn can be worked in the same knitting tension/gauge. Always swatch to make sure you get the same number of stitches in width and rows in height as given in the pattern.
Remember that different yarns with different textures, will give the garment different looks. The yardage/length may also be different, so when substituting always calculate the number of yards needed, in order to know the amount of yarn you need.
Read more about how to calculate the amount of an alternative yarn - and how to replace 1 thread of a yarn with 2 or more of another, here.
6) What does it mean when a yarn is “Superwash”?
A superwash wool is a special wool product that has been treated or processed in a way that allows it to be machine washable. Many people are afraid to work with wool because it is so easy to shrink (though some shrink wool on purpose) and superwash wool can allow them to work with great fibers without worry. (Read more here).
7) What does “Oeko-Tex® certified” means?
The Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 was introduced at the beginning of the 1990s as a response to the needs of the general public for textiles which posed no risk to health. The Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 is a globally uniform testing and certification system for textile raw materials, intermediate and end products at all stages of production. The test for harmful substances comprise substances which are prohibited or regulated by law, chemicals which are known to be harmful to health, and parameters which are included as a precautionary measure to safeguard health.
For more info go to www.oeko-tex.com
10) How accurate are the colours on the shade cards online?
When obtaining images for the shade card, we do our best to achieve the highest level of color accuracy. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee how images will appear on your computer screen. Every monitor displays color differently, some colors might look darker than they really are, and some colors might be more saturated on some screens. If you experience that many of the yarn colors looks different on your screen than the actual color of the skeins, you can adjust the setting on your monitor.
11) What is a micron? What does super fine / extra fine mean?
The fineness of yarn fibers is measured in microns (thousands of millimeters). Super fine alpaca wool is 26-28 microns. Fine merino wool is less than 21.5 microns and extra fine merino is under 19.5 microns. The less microns the softer and more delicate a quality can be, the more microns the more hard wear the quality will be.
The reason why the microns in a yarn’s fibers are important is that the yarn will eventually become something else, and how delicate or coarse a yarn is will determine in part what we use it for. That’s why we recommend the softest yarns (like DROPS Baby Merino) for baby clothing, or why we choose to use a more hard wear yarn like DROPS Snow, for a seating pad or slipper.
12) Why are the colours in my skeins of print yarn different?
The reason why two skeins of a same print yarn look different can be 1) that both skeins are part of different dye lots; 2) that the skeins have been dyed using a technique called "magic print" (the one used for example in DROPS Delight), which provides unique patterns and smooth colour transitions to each skein, meaning also that within one dye lot, lighter or darker varieties might appear. This is no fault or defect, but part of the yarn's character.
13) My store doesn’t have the colour I want, what can I do?
If your DROPS store doesn’t have the yarn colour you want, try contacting a DROPS Super Store (the ones with the golden badges) - they will make sure to get a hold of the colour even if they don’t have it in stock themselves. See a list of all DROPS stores here.
14) Where can I find a specific dye lot of a colour?
Always try contacting your DROPS store first. If they do not have the dye lot you want we recommend you to ask other knitters and crocheters in the DROPS Workshop in Facebook or Ravelry, which may have the dye lot in their stash and might be willing to part from it.
Yarn sheds because there's not enough twist to hold all of the fibers together. All yarns have excess fibers (from production) that might come off as lint or shedding, in varied degrees that depend on how the yarn is spun. Brushed yarns ("hairier" yarns) like DROPS Melody, have more of these loose fibers than other yarns, and therefore shed more. Shedding also depends on what is worn under or over the garment, and whether this pulls at the yarn fibers. It’s therefore not possible to guarantee that there will be no shedding.
Below are some tips on how to get the best result when working with hairier yarns:
Ingrid Zabel wrote:
Guten Tag, ich würde gerne wissen wie sich die Alpaca Wolle mix in der Zusammensetzung von der uni colour unterscheidet, mir ist aufgefallen das die uni Wolle deutlich weicher ist und ein viel glatteres Strickbild ergibt. Vielen dank, und viele Grüße Ingrid
10.05.2022 - 15:57:DROPS Design answered:
Liebe Ingrid, es gibt keinen Unterschied zwischen beiden, außer daß bei den Mix-Farben verschiedenen Farbtönen zusammengesponnen sind, während bei den Unifarben alle Fäden den gleichen Farbton haben . Viel Spaß beim stricken!
11.05.2022 kl. 13:25:
Agnes wrote:
Liebe Drops-Wolle Freunde! Gibt es eine Woll-Farbkarte von Ihrem wunderbaren Wollsortiment. Ich würde mich sehr freuen, diese zu bekommen. Herzlichen Dank! Liebe Grüße Agnes Gotthardt
07.05.2022 - 09:18:DROPS Design answered:
Liebe Agnes, sowas haben wir schon aber nur auf unserer Website. Sollten Sie Hilfe brauchen, eine bestimmte Farbe zu wählen, wenden Sie sich bitte gerne an Ihrem DROPS Laden, dort wird man gerne - auch telefonisch oder per E-Mail weiterhelfen. Viel Spaß beim stricken!
09.05.2022 kl. 09:09:
FRANCINE wrote:
Bonjour, je dois faire un échantillon avec alpaca et kid-silk patron 213-33 avec les aiguilles 5 mm en côtes anglaise et 3.5 mm en jersey, mais lorsque je fais celui avec le 5 mm cela ne fonctionne pas du tout. Pourtant les instructions donne bien des aiguilles 5 mm. pourriez-vous m'aider? Merci
05.05.2022 - 21:28:DROPS Design answered:
Bonjour Francine, pour ce modèle, l'échantillon jersey et côtes anglaises se tricotent tous les 2 avec les aiguilles ( (ou bien la taille adéquate pour obtenir votre échantillon). N'hésitez pas à adapter la taille de vos aiguilles si besoin - retrouvez plus d'infos ici. Bon tricot!
06.05.2022 kl. 08:03:
Iben Christiansen wrote:
Hej! Jeg tænkte på om der var nogle af de mange farver som ikke var indfarvede? Altså om der er nogle af alpaka garnerne der er ufarvede når nu i skriver at alpaka naturligt kommer i 22 forskellige farver :) Hilsen Iben
05.05.2022 - 11:01:DROPS Design answered:
Hej Iben, ja det kan der være, dog vil de fleste farver være farvede, for at få dem i samme nuance hver gang :)
06.05.2022 kl. 14:33:
Jana Drvotová0 wrote:
Prosím, máte na prodej ještě Drops Alpaca barva 2110? Měla by to být světle žlutá. Moc děkuji za odpověď. Drvotová Jana
01.05.2022 - 20:40:DROPS Design answered:
Dobrý den, paní Drvotová, bohužel tato barva už se nevyrábí. Zkuste poptat u jednotlivých lokálních prodejců, zda někomu nezbyla skladem - jejich seznam najdete zde. Hezký den!
08.05.2022 kl. 17:05:
Anna Landers wrote:
Welche Ihrer Garne folgen den REACH Richtlinien? Und welche den OKEO-TEX Richtlinien? Welche folgen beiden Richtlinien? Beste Grüsse, Anna Landers
01.05.2022 - 12:31:DROPS Design answered:
Liebe Frau Landers, unter die Beschreibung von jedem GArn finden Sie, ob es die Oeko-Tex Zertifierung hat - unsere alpaga Garne haben sie nicht, aber alle unsere Baumwolle + fast alle unserer Wollen haben sie. Hier lesen Sie mehr. Viel Spaß beim stricken!
02.05.2022 kl. 13:36:
Jules FAIRFAX wrote:
Is there ANY WAY I can order from you and have you send me good alpaca yarn? It is impollible to buy here (Xico, near Xalapa--the CAPITOL of the state of Veracruz, Mexico) My address is # 92 Venustiano Carranza, Xico, ver.91240 mx. ("HEE-koh")
30.04.2022 - 02:56:DROPS Design answered:
Dear Jules, you can find the DROPS stores that ship worldwide at the following link: https://www.garnstudio.com/findastore.php?id=19&w=1&cid=19
30.04.2022 kl. 21:42:
Lajla Wolff wrote:
Hej Jeg mangler Farve 0601 mørkebrun. Er den udgået, hvilket garn er bedste erstatning. Med venlig hilsen Lajla
01.04.2022 - 21:18:DROPS Design answered:
Hei Lajla. DROPS Alpaca farge nr 0601 mørkebrun er utgått fra vårt sortiment. Ønsker du en brun farge i DROPS Alpaca er det kun farge nr. 607, lys brunmelert vi har. Om du ønsker en mørk brunfarge i samme garn tykkelse som DROPS Alpaca, kan du ta en titt på DROPS Fabel farge nr. 300 (75% Ull/25%Polyamid) eller DROPS Baby Merino farge nr 52, sjokolade (100% merino ull). mvh DROPS Design
04.04.2022 kl. 08:51:
Lisa Y wrote:
I normally purchase Drops Alpaca from Wool Warehouse and Purple Sheep Yarn but they have both been out of the lime for quite some time. Has this color been discontinued? I desperately need it. If it’s no longer available can you recommend a non Alpaca yarn in the closest color and weight? Thank you.
28.03.2022 - 14:25:DROPS Design answered:
Dear Lisa, correct colour 2916 is now discontinued. You are welcome to contact your DROPS store for any assistance choosing the best matching colour. They will help you even per mail or telephone. Happy knitting!
28.03.2022 kl. 16:15:How can I replace this yarn? If you are looking to replace this yarn with another DROPS yarn, you can use another yarn within the same yarn group, or try our yarn converter!
Very nice to work. Soft and cozy
30.04.2022 - 01:38: