Kremke Soul Wool yarns

Kremke Soul Wool is a German yarn label built on a simple conviction: natural fibre, honestly specified. The catalogue runs from GOTS-certified merino to undyed bases for dyeing yourself, and the whole range sits in the Kremke brand section. It is a wide shelf: alongside the classics there are vegan cotton lines, recycled wool and whole families of natural-white skeins waiting for a dye pot. This tour walks through the three families knitters reach for most — Merry Merino, Silky Kid and the alpaca lines — and every figure below comes straight from the product cards.

The Merry Merino: GOTS merino in four weights

The heart of the brand. The Merry Merino is 100% merino wool with GOTS certification, in 50 g balls — and it comes in four weights, so the number in the name is simply the metres per ball: 70, 110, 140 or 220 m. The sport-weight 140 works on 3–4 mm needles at 24 stitches per 10 cm, in 24 colours; the fine 220 asks for 2.5 mm needles and spans 35 colours; the 110 sits between them on 4 mm needles; the aran-weight 70 knits up fast on 5–6 mm at 16 stitches per 10 cm, in 24 colours.

Why merino at all? Its fibres are fine enough not to prickle, it absorbs moisture while still feeling dry, it breathes and keeps its shape — which is why it suits next-to-skin sweaters and children's knits alike. GOTS, for its part, means the wool is traceable along the whole chain and produced to strict ecological and social standards — a real plus for baby knits. The full fibre story is in our Merino Yarn guide.

Silky Kid: mohair and silk

Silky Kid pairs 72% kid mohair with 28% silk: 210 m on a 25 g ball, lace weight, in 45 colours. The silk gives the delicate mohair halo a stable, slightly lustrous thread that behaves well in lace patterns. And there is a classic move: carry one strand of Silky Kid along a merino or alpaca yarn, and a plain stockinette fabric turns soft and voluminous.

The alpaca side: Babyalpaka and Alpaka Bouclé

First, a small decode: "baby" in baby alpaca is not about young animals. It is a fineness grade — fibres around 22 microns, as soft to the hand as good cashmere. Kremke Babyalpaka LACE is 100% alpaca, 400 m on 50 g, worked on 2–3 mm needles at 28–30 stitches per 10 cm, in 20 colours; a solid-colour sibling, Kremke Babyalpaka, keeps the same 400 m on 50 g in a tighter palette of 11 shades. Alpaca carries no lanolin and is warmer and lighter than sheep wool — but it barely springs back, so plan shawls and loose silhouettes rather than tight ribbing. For texture, Alpaka Bouclé blends 89% alpaca with 11% polyamide, 250 m on 50 g, on 3.5–5 mm needles: the looped construction knits into soft, cloud-like surfaces for oversized sweaters and wraps.

How to choose

Match the number to the project. The fine 220 is for colourwork and fine-gauge sweaters; the sport 140 is the everyday-sweater workhorse; the aran 70 makes quick hats and warm outer layers. Silky Kid works as an accent — alone for airy shawls, or carried along another thread. Babyalpaka LACE is shawl territory: one 50 g ball carries a surprising 400 m. For washing, let the ball band have the last word — natural fibres reward gentle treatment. And whatever you choose, knit a swatch first: alpaca grows, mohair blooms, and a 10 cm square saves a whole sweater.