DROPS is a Norwegian brand. DROPS Design, the company behind garnstudio.com, has its head office in Oslo and has worked in hand-knitting yarn since 1982. It designs its own yarns and publishes a large library of free knitting and crochet patterns, with catalogues in many languages. Yarns such as DROPS Lima and DROPS Kid-Silk are used in many of those free patterns.

DROPS sorts its yarns into groups A to F by thickness, A being the thinnest and F the thickest, so yarns in the same group can usually replace each other in a DROPS pattern. Group A knits to about 23–26 stitches per 10 cm, B to 20–22 and C to 16–19. DROPS Kid-Silk and DROPS Safran are group A, and DROPS Lima is group B. Always check your gauge with a swatch.

Yes, and that is one of its most common uses. DROPS Kid-Silk is 75% mohair and 25% silk with 210 m per 25 g; on its own it knits on 3.5 mm needles into a light, see-through fabric. Held together with a smooth yarn such as DROPS Merino Extra Fine, it adds a soft halo and warmth and moves you to a thicker gauge. Swatch the two strands together before you start.

It depends on the fibre, not the brand. DROPS Merino Extra Fine is 100% merino wool and is soft enough for baby clothes worn next to the skin. Alpaca blends like DROPS Lima (65% wool, 35% alpaca) feel soft to most people, while mohair yarns such as Kid-Silk have a halo that some find tickly on bare skin. If wool bothers you, cotton yarns like DROPS Safran avoid the issue entirely.

It comes down to thickness and finish. DROPS Safran is 100% Egyptian cotton, 160 m per 50 g on 3 mm needles, for fine baby clothes, lace and small amigurumi. DROPS Muskat is 100% mercerised cotton with a soft sheen, 100 m per 50 g on 4 mm. DROPS Paris is the thick one, 75 m per 50 g on 5 mm, for bags and home decor. At VILRITA you'll also find DROPS Belle, which blends cotton with viscose and linen.

For speed, DROPS Snow is 100% wool and super bulky, just 50 m per 50 g on 9 mm needles. DROPS Melody is lighter: 71% alpaca, 25% wool and 4% polyamide with 140 m per 50 g on 8 mm, so a big jumper stays airy. DROPS Brushed Alpaca Silk (77% alpaca, 23% silk, 140 m per 25 g on 5 mm) gives a fluffy, warm fabric at a finer gauge.