Which wool to choose
Wool is the coat of several animals: sheep, goats, rabbits, alpacas, llamas, yaks. Fibre softness is measured in microns: the thinner the hair, the softer the yarn and usually the higher the price. Vicuña, the finest fibre in the world, sits around 12-13 microns. Ordinary sheep wool runs 25-40. Everything in between is your choice. Here are the main wool fibres in order, and the full range sits in the fibre section.
Ordinary sheep wool
The classic: strong, elastic, warm. It holds ribbing and texture, wears well, absorbs moisture and stays warm even damp. Coarser fibres prickle, and that is not a defect but a property: this wool is excellent for hats, mittens and outer layers that never touch skin. If you want organic, look for GOTS on the product page. For example BC Garn Bio Shetland GOTS: 100% organic wool, 50 g at 280 m, needles 2.5-4 mm.
You can browse plain wool in the wool category.
Merino
A fine-fleeced sheep breed: 12-22 microns depending on class. Merino does not prickle, breathes, moves moisture away from skin and works for garments worn next to it, children's included. Most merino lines here carry GOTS. A superwash treatment allows machine washing, but the band still tells you the cycle. A good example: Kremke The Merry Merino, 100% merino wool with GOTS, a 50 g ball, needles 3-4 mm, 24 colours.
All merino lines are collected in the merino category.
Mohair
Fibre from the Angora goat. Its trump card is the halo: the fabric looks airy yet insulates like a dense one. Kid mohair, the clip of young goats, is finer and softer than regular. Pure mohair is hard to knit, so it is almost always blended with silk: the thread gains strength and keeps its shine. Mohair is often carried along a second strand of another yarn to add fluff. That is how Kremke Silky Kid RMS works: 72% mohair and 28% silk, 210 m on 25 g.
Fluffy lines wait in the mohair category.
Alpaca
A fibre with no lanolin, so people who find sheep wool prickly often get on with alpaca. It is warmer and lighter than sheep wool but barely elastic: ribbing stretches out, so pure alpaca is mostly knit into wraps and loose silhouettes, while socks and close-fitting pieces take blends. Fluffy, voluminous options like Kremke Alpaka Bouclé, 89% alpaca and 11% polyamide, 250 m on 50 g, suit oversized sweaters and shawls.
More alpaca in the alpaca category.
Cashmere and rare fibres
Cashmere, 15-19 microns, is the undercoat of the cashmere goat: very warm, very soft, noticeably more expensive, and the finished pieces ask for delicate care. Yak gives a sturdy fibre at 15-17 microns, and camel wool is known for temperature regulation. Angora, rabbit down, is fluffier than all of them and fussier in wear than all of them. These fibres are for accents and special projects rather than daily wear.
How to decide
Three questions usually settle it. What is in the blend, and in the micron count where stated: those are facts from the product page. How will the piece be washed: the band answers. And who wears it: for sensitive skin and children take merino or alpaca, for daily wear blends with polyamide, for hats and mittens plain wool. And knit a swatch before a big project: wool forgives blunt needles, not a wrong calculation.
Where to start
- Kremke The Merry Merino: 100% merino, GOTS, 50 g.
- BC Garn Bio Shetland GOTS: 100% organic wool, 50 g at 280 m.
- Kremke Silky Kid RMS: 72% mohair, 28% silk, 210 m on 25 g.
- Kremke Alpaka Bouclé: 89% alpaca, 11% polyamide, 250 m on 50 g.
Nothing quite right? We will find a substitute by composition and meterage.