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 offers 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 its 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 comes 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.