from:
4.10£
5.55€
Content: 70% Alpaca, 30% Silk
Yarn Group:
A (23 - 26 stitches)
/ 5 ply / sport
Weight/length: 50 g = approx 167 m
Recommended needle size: 3,5 mm
Knitting tension: 10 x 10 cm = 23 sts x 30 rows
Care: Hand Wash, max 30°C / Dry Flat
Made in: Peru
Raw material origin: Alpaca from Peru, silk from China
DROPS BabyAlpaca Silk is spun from 3 strands in a combination of the best of two wonderful fibers, being a mix of 70% baby alpaca (for the softness) and 30% mulberry silk (for strength and glossy shine). The yarn fibers are untreated, which means they are 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 BabyAlpaca Silk is great for baby garments. It is soft against the skin, cooling when hot and warm when cold.
Read more about our products' sustainability here
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!
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 a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) about our yarns.
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:
Lila wrote:
It's the most beautiful, elegant, the softest and warmest yarn . Why is it discontinued? Is it going to be replaced with similar one?
12.01.2023 - 22:35:DROPS Design answered:
Dear Lila, our yarns are continuously being renewed as time passes. There may be a replacement yarn coming out to replace BabyAlpaca Silk.
15.01.2023 kl. 09:48:
Line wrote:
Ja har prøvet DROPS Alpaca, DROPS Flora og DROPS Nord intet måler sig med blødheden og letheden i dette garn ?
12.01.2023 - 16:13:DROPS Design answered:
Hei Lina. Prøv også DROPS Baby Merino (100% ull), veldig mykt og godt garn. Har noen meter lengre løpelengde, så er ørlite lettere, det samme gjelder for både DROPS Flora og DROPS Nord (lengre løpelengde). Men disse kvalitetene har ikke samme innhold som DROPS BabyAlpaca Silk, og siden DROPS BabyAlpaca Silk utgår er det disse alternativene vi kan tilby. mvh DROPS Design
16.01.2023 kl. 07:48:
Anna wrote:
It's the best, softest and warmest yarn for babies and children. Why is it discontinued?
10.01.2023 - 13:39:DROPS Design answered:
Dear Anna our yarns are continuously being renewed as time passes. There may be a replacement yarn coming out to replace BabyAlpaca Silk.
15.01.2023 kl. 09:48:
Line wrote:
Hvilket alternativ vil i anbefale i stedet for, nu når denne type udgår 😭?
04.01.2023 - 12:52:DROPS Design answered:
Hej Line, Har du prøvet DROPS Alpaca, DROPS Flora eller DROPS Nord ?
12.01.2023 kl. 15:40:
Lynn wrote:
Is it gone for good? Please don't get rid of this lovely yarn! One of my most favorite tops ever is knitted with this.
29.12.2022 - 07:48:
Anna Bahriantseva wrote:
Ich fand dieses Garn auch nicht in meinem Shop erhältlich. Ich bin so sauer. Ich traf sie zum ersten Mal im Sommer und wollte mehr kaufen. Bitte bringen Sie es wieder in die Produktion! Dies ist ein großartiges Produkt und so viele Kunden lieben es. Oder erstellen Sie etwas Ähnliches 🙏
28.12.2022 - 09:12:
Caro wrote:
Je suis tellement déçue que cette qualité de fil s’arrête, je l’utilise pour tous mes pulls et j’en suis très contente!
18.12.2022 - 07:36:
Elizabeth Gibbons wrote:
I am very disappointed that Drops Baby Alpaca Silk appears to have been discontinued. It is the best yarn I have ever knitted with, and the completed garments hold their shape beautifully as well as being extremely comfortable to wear.
17.12.2022 - 07:49:
Jenny wrote:
Det kan ikke være sant at dere slutter med dette garnet ?? Det er mitt absolutte favorittgarn 😱 det er mykt, varmt, lunt og ikke minst kløfritt !!! Vær så snill og start produksjonen igjen❤️
09.12.2022 - 09:13:
Marta wrote:
Please don't withdraw this one! Its perfect for kid and not only for them! This yarn is so elegant! Loved this one and do!
30.11.2022 - 14:11:
Joanna wrote:
Wird ein ähnliches Garn ins Sortiment eingeführt? Also Wolle und Seide?
22.11.2022 - 19:22:DROPS Design answered:
Liebe Joanna, zur Zeit ist nichts geplannt aber später vielleicht. Viel Spaß beim stricken!
23.11.2022 kl. 16:14:
Lena wrote:
Sehr schade, dass das Garn aus dem Sortiment verschwindet :( Ich habe meine ersten Strickprojekte damit gemacht (trage sogar gerade eines davon) und finde das Garn so angenehm. Drops sollte solche Infos wirklich in einem Newsletter ausschicken (Oder gibt es das schon? Hätte das jedenfalls noch nicht wo gesehen) Habe bereits mehrmals schmerzlich erfahren (und das zu spät), dass Garne oder Farben aus dem Sortiment verschwinden.
16.11.2022 - 12:14:
Nathalie wrote:
Bonjour, S’il vous plaît, laissez-nous cette si belle laine, elle est si fantastique pour nos bébés !! Please, Please, Please....
12.11.2022 - 19:48:
Lieselotte wrote:
Es ist wirklich ein Jammer, dass diese Wolle aus dem Sortiment genommen worden ist. Das war eines der tollsten Garne, die ich bisher verwendet habe und das zu einem fairen Preis. Man kann nur hoffen, dass die Entscheidung noch einmal überdacht wird... Wirklich traurig!
05.11.2022 - 22:48:
Hanna Mourino wrote:
Hej! Detta garn är så flott och fint, snälla, plocka inte bort den från produktion. 🙁 Jag har använt den till många projekt.
23.10.2022 - 22:11:
Jane wrote:
I'm so upset. I didn't know this yarn would be discontinued, and I planned to use it for two different future projects but haven't bought it yet, and now I can't because it's already unavailable in my country. This yarn was fantastic, please, please, reconsider.
23.10.2022 - 15:34:
Elsebeth Norshald wrote:
Baby Alpaca Silk er bare sådan et dejligt blødt og supert garn. I må venligst ikke lade det gå ud af produktion 🙏
20.10.2022 - 14:26:
Anne wrote:
Er det virkelig slik at dette garnet går ut av produksjon??? 🙈. Min «dropsbutikk» hadde ikke hørt det…trodde bare det var endel farger på vei ut…????
19.10.2022 - 23:28:DROPS Design answered:
Hei Anne. DROPS BabyAlpaca Silk er nok dessverre på vei ut fra vårt sortiment. mvh DROPS Design
24.10.2022 kl. 14:40:
Wollfühlladen wrote:
Können Sie die deutschen Kunden, die nach dem Garn fragen nicht einfach an mich verweisen? Ich habe noch fast alle Farben vorrätig.
18.10.2022 - 23:48:
Ada wrote:
Please bring back this yarn or at least say its gonna be replaced with similar one... Its my favourite to knit with
12.10.2022 - 14:10:
Andrea Högenauer wrote:
Please bring back Baby Alpaca Silk in yiur program - this is such a fantastic yarn to work with and to wear - would so much appreciate having this yarn back in program even with enlarged colourrange - e.h. beige, camel, light brown, flamingo, apricot, coral - woulc be nice colours in this quality pistacchio, berry Think it over please please - thank you very much
12.10.2022 - 04:11:
Gabriele wrote:
Please think over your decision about putting the yarn out of your program, it is my favorite yarn to knit with. That was a bad decision.
07.10.2022 - 13:32:
Lia wrote:
Please bring back this yarn, it is by far my favourite and a real joy to work!
06.10.2022 - 16:19:
Inge wrote:
Please, bring back the BabyAlpaca Silk and the Alpaca Silk lace yarn! Why oh why are they being discontinued?
30.09.2022 - 15:20:
So sad and disappointed that you are discontinuing this very special yarn. It was so beautiful, soft, light, warm and luxurious. I wanted to make a lot more projects using it, but won't be able to now.
03.01.2023 - 17:21: