The Lamb & Kid Birdie – Baby Suri Alpaca & Silk, Light Fingering Weight

$33.00
Color
Duckworth

Birdie by The Lamb & Kid is an exceptionally soft and airy blend of baby Suri alpaca and silk, creating a light, drapey fabric surrounded by a beautiful fluffy halo. The baby Suri brings softness and loft, while silk adds strength and a subtle luminosity to the finished fabric.

With 328 yards in each 50-gram skein, Birdie offers plenty of versatility. Knit it alone for a delicate, diaphanous fabric, hold it double for more substance, or pair it with another yarn to add softness, color, and a luxurious halo.

Birdie is also a wonderful alternative for knitters who love the fuzzy effect of mohair but find mohair uncomfortable or irritating. Compared with a typical mohair-silk yarn, its Suri alpaca fibers create a somewhat fuller, more opaque halo when held alongside another yarn.

Lightweight, wonderfully soft, and remarkably versatile, Birdie works beautifully across seasons and can transform even a simple project into something special.

Technical Specifications

• Fiber: 74% Baby Suri Alpaca, 26% Silk
• Weight: Light Fingering
• Yardage: 328 yards (300 m)
• Skein Weight: 50 g
• Texture: Soft, Fluffy Halo

Why We Love It at A Show of Hands

Birdie gives you all that beautiful fuzzy softness we love in a carry-along yarn, but with the distinctive drape and halo of baby Suri alpaca. It's equally beautiful used on its own or paired with another yarn.

We especially love how versatile it is. One skein can add something completely different to a familiar yarn or color, while knitting Birdie alone creates an incredibly light, ethereal fabric.

Perfect For

• Holding together with another yarn
• Lightweight sweaters and cardigans
• Shawls and wraps
• Scarves and cowls
• Adding a soft halo to another yarn
• Delicate layering pieces
• Marling and color play
• Mohair-alternative projects
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Gather and craft Join us in our store for crafting, to ask questions, or dream up new projects!
Pay with Apple Pay We offer Apple Pay as a swift and secure way to make a payment at checkout.
Order online, collect in-store Choose in-store collection at checkout to pick up your order at select Fresh locations.
Gather and craft Join us in our store for crafting, to ask questions, or dream up new projects!

We’re here for the love of it and the fun of it. For the craft that connects us to something older than any of us.

Fiber Information

Yarn Weight + WPI

Yarn weight refers to the thickness of a yarn. Thickness determines appropriate needle or hook size, finished fabric density, and yardage requirements. Standard weight categories from thinnest to thickest: lace, fingering, sport, DK, worsted, bulky, super bulky.


Weight labels on yarn are approximate. Wraps per inch (WPI) gives a more precise measurement. To measure WPI: wrap yarn snugly around a ruler for one inch, without overlapping strands or stretching. Count the wraps.


WPI reference:

  • 30+ WPI: lace
  • 20–28 WPI: fingering
  • 14–18 WPI: sport
  • 11–14 WPI: DK
  • 9–11 WPI: worsted
  • 7–8 WPI: bulky
  • Fewer than 7 WPI: super bulky

WPI is most useful when a label is missing, when substituting yarns, or when working with handspun yarn.

Gauge and Sett

Gauge is the number of stitches and rows per inch in a knitted or crocheted fabric. It is determined by yarn weight, needle or hook size, and individual tension. A pattern’s gauge is the measurement the designer used to calculate sizing. If your gauge does not match the pattern, your finished dimensions will differ. A small difference over many inches makes a big difference in fit.

To adjust gauge: a smaller needle or hook produces more stitches per inch; a larger needle or hook produces fewer. The goal is to match the pattern’s gauge, not its suggested needle size.


Sett is the weaving equivalent of wraps per inch (WPI). Sett controls how open or dense the finished woven cloth will be. A standard starting point for sett is half the WPI for a balanced plain weave. Twill structures generally require a slightly closer sett; lace structures a more open one.


Both gauge and sett are starting points that need to be confirmed by sampling. Calculate first, then verify with a swatch. Record what you find; your future self will thank you.

Wet Blocking

Blocking is the process of wetting a finished piece, shaping it, and allowing it to dry. It evens out stitches, sets the final dimensions, and for lace, opens the pattern fully.


For protein fibers (wool, alpaca, cashmere): soak in cool water with a small amount of wool wash until fully saturated, typically 15 to 20 minutes. Gently press out water without wringing. Roll in a towel to remove excess moisture. Lay flat, shape to finished measurements, and pin if needed. Allow to dry completely before moving.


For lace pieces, blocking wires threaded through edge stitches produces cleaner lines than pins alone.


Fiber-specific notes:

  • Wool holds its blocked shape well once dry.
  • Silk and silk blends block well and dry quickly.
  • Linen and cotton do not respond to blocking the same way protein fibers do, but wet finishing still softens and settles the fiber.
    Steam blocking is appropriate for fibers that should not be fully saturated. Hold the iron several inches above the surface. Do not press down on wool -- direct pressure and heat flatten the fiber's loft.

    Block to finished measurements, not to the dimensions of the piece as it came off the needles or loom.