Wool
for a Purpose
by Pegg Thomas
There are so many different breeds of sheep that the
spinner’s palette
of choices is full to overflowing. But how is a new spinner
to know
what to look for? There are a few books on the subject, In
Sheep’s
Clothing by Jane Fournier and Fleece
in Your Hands
by Beverly Horne come to mind. (See links to
Amazon.com below to find these books.) These will
give the reader good information about the breeds of sheep and the type
of wool they produce. In this article
I’ll just cover a few of the basics.
Fine wools:
Fine wools are considered to be the softest wools. These are
fibers that almost everyone can wear next to their skin in a
sweater. The
most popular breeds for this type of wool are Merino, Rambouillet and
Targhee. The Cormo breed is growing in popularity as
well. The only down side of this type of wool is that is
lacks the long wearing toughness of other breeds. Socks made
of a fine wool will not last half as long as socks knit from a good
long wool.
Long wools:
Long wools are just what they sound like, breeds of sheep that grow
longer wool. Many of these breeds are shorn twice a
year. While they are sometimes considered coarse wools due to
their fiber diameter, many
have a very silky hand (feel) and can be worn next
to the skin.
The silkier long wools include Border
Leicester, Blue-faced Leicester, Romney, Lincoln, Cotswold
and Coopworth. These wools are the sock wools! They
are the tough wearing, durable wools. But don’t
limit them to socks, try vests, hats, gloves, shawls… all
sorts of things.
Down
wools:
The down breeds are mainly breeds used to produce meat, rather than
wool. However, the down wools can be effectively used for
hard wearing items of clothing, such as mittens and hats that need
added warmth. The down breeds produce very widely crimped
wool that has wonderful insulating properties. It is not,
however, something most people would want to wear in a
sweater. The common down breeds include, Suffolk, Hampshire,
Southdown, Oxford, Dorset, Shropshire and Tunis.
Double-coated wools:
The breeds that have a double coat are some of the more primitive
breeds, such as Icelandic, Shetland, Karakul and
Navajo-Churro. While quite a bit of effort has gone into
breeding the double coat out of many of these animals, the spinner
should still be aware that they carry the potential
for it. Double coats have a long, harsh outer layer that
protects these primitive breeds and a soft inner coat that keeps them
warm. The fiber diameter, texture and feel of these wools
varies greatly from flock to flock, and even individual to
individual. These fleeces are best purchased when the spinner
can touch, feel and evaluate the fleece, or from a known
source. Depending on the quality, the wool may be suitable
from everything from next-to-the-skin wear to rugs.
Medium wools:
Medium wool is a catch-all phrase for wool that doesn’t fall
into one of the other categories. It can mean almost
anything! Breeds like Jacob, Cheviot, Finn, Polypay,
Corriedale and Black Welch Mountain can be classified in this
category. These breeds are often kept as “dual
purpose” sheep, meaning that they are used for both wool and
meat.
How nice the wool is will depend largely on the shepherd and where
he/she
puts the emphasis on their breeding program. Some shepherds
with these
breeds produce wonderful handspinning fibers! The best of
these breeds
can easily be worn next to the skin. Again, these fleeces are
best
purchased when the spinner and handle and evaluate each fleece, or from
a
known source.
Home Page