The most popular breeds of sheep in the United States, by numbers, are
the down breeds. These are what we traditionally think of as “meat
sheep.” They are generally black faced with white bodies that grow
fast and large. Their name comes from the southern part of England,
where the breeds were developed, which has low hills they call “downs.”
They are sometimes called farm breeds. They were bred for meat and
kept in pastures and paddocks, not sent up into the hills to forage.
The most common down breeds are Suffolk, Hampshire, Southdown, Oxford
and Shropshire. Handspinners don’t usually go seeking this type of
wool, but since it is usually plentiful and low priced, it can be fun to
obtain and play around with. To find a shepherd in your area with this
type of wool, contact your local cooperative extension office and ask for
the name of a breeder who sells club lambs to the 4-H and FFA kids.
Down wool is short stapled, generally not growing more than 3” per year.
It has a particular type of crimp which is almost more of a Z in the fiber
than the usual softer S type of crimp. The down fleeces will frustrate
handspinners who want to create a fine, smooth yarn. These fibers
produce yarns that will be lofty and full, they are much better suited to
a worsted weight or bulky two ply yarn.
This type of yarn is excellent for winter hats and mittens. The
lofty yarn traps air which acts as extra insulation and helps to keep hands
and heads warm. Finer spun, it also makes socks that wear well.
Most people find it too coarse for wearing in sweaters or scarves, however.
Because of the short staple length, carding is easier than combing for
this fleece. If the fleece is very short, hand cards will work better
than drum carding. Due to the crimp and lock structure of down fleeces,
they are easy to card and are a good fleece for beginners to learn on.
Down fleeces are not very good for felting. This makes them excellent
fleeces for beginners to learn washing and dyeing techniques on.
You almost can’t ruin a down fleece!
Where down fleeces really shine is in quilt batting. Because of
the crimp, the resistance to felting and the fact that they rarely “beard”
up through the cotton quilt tops, down fleeces make excellent quilt batts.
Fleeces can be sent to one of many commercial woolen mills around the country
to be processed into quilting batts.
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