Come with me into the sheep barn and meet some of the animals who grow the wool we all love. As enjoyable as the crush of the festival is outside the barn, I like to take time out and visit our suppliers. Even when there’s a crowd here in the aisles between the pens, the sheep barn is usually calm and centering. At this particular (imaginary) festival, the organizers have arranged the pens by wool type, which is handy for us as we make sense of the many varieties of wool. Each time someone organizes sheep breeds, the groups form differently, depending on the criteria being used to sort them. Today we have clusters based on the fiber qualities.
Fine Wools
Let’s begin in this aisle with the fine wools. One of these breeds—Merino —is familiar to almost everyone who has even a basic knowledge of sheep varieties, and the wools have a lot of appeal to most fiber workers. The fine wools are suitable for making next-to-skin garments; they’re soft. What they are not is durable; it’s a trade-off.
There are many types of Merino sheep. Having originated in Spain, the breed spread across the globe and adapted to different environments and local needs. Many of the feral island flocks include strong Merino components. Fine-wool sheep have many wool follicles per square inch of skin, and some Merino strains were bred to have wrinkled skin (think Chinese Shar-Pei dog) to increase the wool yield. Due to difficulties in shearing, the smoother-skinned varieties have won out.
Some Merinos went to France and were bred to produce a slightly different type of sheep, the Rambouillet. Later this became a successful range sheep in the western United States. Rambouillet wool is a bit bouncier than Merino. Another fine-wool range sheep, this one developed within the United States, is the Targhee. [PAYWALL]
Cormo, a breed from New Zealand, has become especially popular among North American spinners. The fleece tends to hold grease—a fleece that felt lanolin-free when initially washed may be slightly tacky again six months later. It’s not you . . .
A CVM lamb at the Estes Park Wool Market. Photo by Christa Tippmann
The Romeldale, a rare breed, makes a good showing in some parts of North America—enough that you might think it wasn’t rare. It’s just that fiber folk value it, so shepherds bring the wool where it’s appreciated. The California Variegated Mutant, or CVM, is a Romeldale with a particular color pattern (called badger faced).
The next couple of breeds also work for next-to-the-skin textiles but can be easier to work with from the fleece than the previous group, and they offer a bit more durability. Both were developed by crossing longwool rams onto Merino ewes.
Starbuck, Carter, and Nimbus, Bond rams from Gleason’s Fine Woolies in Lyons, Colorado. Photo by Joanna Gleason
The Corriedale came into being in New Zealand, and the Bond in Australia. Corriedales grow a wider variety of fleece types, with some edging into the next category of medium wools. Bond fiber tends to be slightly finer and longer stapled, and Bonds are less often sighted at festivals.
Medium wools
The Down breeds
This festival has conveniently put the true Down breeds together, so we can compare them, although because we’re in the United States, we only have five of the six. These sheep are related to each other by history, geographic origin, appearance, and wool type. Their identities developed during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the southern parts of England; they have colored faces and legs, and their wool is springy, of moderate length, perfect for woolen spinning, and difficult (or impossible) to felt. Wool from Down breeds makes great sweaters, mittens, socks, blankets, and other textiles where warmth and reasonable durability are required.
The challenge for fiber folk is getting our hands on the wool. These breeds are predominantly raised for meat, so when showtime comes, the wool is shorn in ways that show off muscle, and the fiber goes in the trash. The fleeces have little commercial value because of “contamination” by the dark hairs of the animals’ faces and legs. Most shepherds don’t even recoup the cost of shearing. A good Down fleece is a treasure. From a bag of Down fleeces bought for near nothing at a shearing demo, you can retrieve a usable amount of wool (and recycle the rest as compost or mulch).
The skill of identifying sheep breeds on sight is one worth playing with, although it’s impossible to master with all the crosses and variants. Nonetheless, breed-spotting can be enjoyable, and the Suffolk is the best one I know to start with. There are a lot of these distinctive-looking sheep around. They have starkly black, wool-free heads, with large, dominant ears set at a downward angle, and black legs.
The Southdown is the oldest of the six classic Down breeds and led to the development of the others. It also has the subtlest coloration on its face and legs, being a soft tan or pale brown. It’s not a large sheep, and the Babydoll Southdown is even smaller yet grows a fleece that’s very similar in all regards and easier for spinners to locate.
Hampshire sheep originated from a blend of the local sheep, Southdown, and some Cotswold. Similarly, the Oxford sheep developed from locals plus Hampshire, Southdown, and Cotswold. The Shropshire, from an English county on the Welsh border, came about by mixing the native sheep with Southdown and possibly Leicester and Cotswold.
There’s a gap in our pens here, because as far as I’ve been able to determine, there are no Dorset Down sheep currently in the United States. There are, however, the Dorset Down’s white-faced cousins, the Dorset Horn and the plain or Polled Dorset, so we can turn the corner and begin our encounter with the next group of medium-wool breeds.
Other medium-wool breeds
We have a whole flurry here of medium-grade, versatile wools. They differ in feel, lock shapes, and availability, but within a fairly narrow range. Uses are the same as for the Down wools we just encountered: in general, fine for next-to-skin wear but without the softness of fine wools.
A Horned Dorset ram at Beech Grove Fiberworks in Indiana. Photo by Kate Larson
First we have five breeds of British origin:
- The two white-faced Dorsets from southern England, the older Dorset Horn and the hornless Dorset (or Polled Dorset).
- Two from western England and Wales, the Kerry Hill and Clun Forest, both with distinctive and different markings.
- The Cheviot, from the borderlands of northern England and Scotland.
The Columbia was developed in the high desert climate of the American West. Imperial Stock Ranch in eastern Oregon has bred Columbias for generations. Photo by Anita Osterhaug
Four breeds that originated in the United States:
- The American Tunis, with a lot of history behind it.
- The Columbia, a longwool/shortwool combination bred to thrive on the western rangelands.
- The Montadale, developed from the Columbia with an addition of Cheviot.
- The Polypay, a fairly recent breed created with Targhee, Dorset, Rambouillet, and Finn genes.
And two that came from continental Europe:
- The Texel, a modern variation of a traditional breed from the Netherlands.
- The German East Friesian, known for high milk production. The wool is generally an afterthought but can be excellent to spin. It may be a bit coarser than the others in this group.
Left: A Jacob from Fair Adventure Ranch at the Estes Park Wool Market. Photo by George Boe. Right: A Border Leicester from Moose Mountain Ranch at the Estes Park Wool Market. Photo by George Boe.
A handful of distinctive medium-wool breeds
The next four types of medium-wool breeds have unique characteristics that place them here, although they are also very distinct from each other.
The Finn grows an easy-to-prepare silky wool that comes in clear white and a variety of colors. It’s generally next-to-skin soft, with a gentler hand than other fleeces of similar micron counts.
Jacob sheep have brown-and-white or black-and-white spotted coats, and the fleeces cover a broad range, from soft to sturdy.
One of the few breeds that holds its dark color as it ages (although the tips may turn red in the sun), the Black Welsh Mountain has wool that tends to have a bit of a crisp hand.
The California Red’s fleece may look and feel a lot like, say, that of an American Tunis (although more tan than white in color) or it may be speckled with short red hairs, a reminder of the hair sheep (Barbados Blackbelly) that is one of its ancestors.
A pair of Bluefaced Leicesters at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Photo by Deborah Robson
Longwools
Versatile longwools
We’ll begin our exploration of the longwools with a trio of breeds that produce what might be called perfect sweater wools. Of course, they can also be used for a lot of other projects. They tend to have more luster and greater fiber lengths than the medium wools, along with greater durability. They’re easy to process, pleasant to handle, and versatile. If you’re examining fleeces, know that each has a range of types, so you can evaluate individually for fineness or sturdiness.
The Romney and Border Leicester are English breeds, one from the southeast and one from the northeast on the border with Scotland.
The Coopworth was developed in New Zealand from a combination of Border Leicester and Romney, so there’s little surprise that it groups with them!
Next comes a breed you’ve probably heard of because of its success in the yarn and the roving and top markets. Its fiber is significantly finer than that of the previous three breeds but is also versatile, trading durability for softness. The Bluefaced Leicester may be the most recognizable breed after the Merino.
Grace and Elizabeth Corrette of Event Horizon Ranch show a pair of Lincoln Longwools. Photo by George Boe
Classic longwools
Next we meet three breeds that can be difficult to tell apart and that all grow fleeces that are sturdier, longer, and shinier than the previous set. The wool can be spun into heavy yarns that work well in rugs and cushions or it can be spun fine and smooth for unusual laces. Colors tend to concentrate in the white-gray-black range, including a lovely gray that’s called English blue.
Cotswold, Leicester Longwool, and Lincoln Longwool may all be shorn twice a year because they grow such lengthy fleeces.
Left: Gotlands feature curly gray locks. Photo by Joy Dally, Shepherds Lane. Right: Teeswater (here, with a black nose) and Wensleydale lambs have long, ringletted locks. Photo by Christa Tippmann.
Longwools introduced through upgrading
Now here are three interesting breeds that are in North America through upgrading, in which imported semen of the targeted breed is used with longwool ewes already established here, in a process that gradually increases the percentage of the target breed in the offspring. I’m thus referring to them as the American versions of the breeds because they incorporate other genetics.
The American Gotland has developed through upgrading a breed that originated in Sweden. Although somewhat similar to Bluefaced Leicester in hand, it is generally easier to hand process. It’s characteristically gray.
The next two breeds grow extra long, shiny fleeces that are more supple than the classics and sturdier than the Bluefaced Leicester and Gotland, and they are often shorn twice a year.
American Wensleydale and American Teeswater wools hang in curly ringlets, resembling Bluefaced Leicester on a larger scale. They can be spun into a variety of smooth or textured yarns.
Specialty
Now we come to some more unusual fleece types. Their uses vary—as do the colors for the first four. Shetland, Icelandic, Karakul, and Navajo Churro sheep all offer some of the widest ranges of colors and patterning.
There’s so much variety in Shetland sheep that individual flocks or animals could be placed in the fine-wool or medium-wool groups, or with the double-coated types. All types of Shetland wools are delightful to work with—it’s just a question of matching the fleece to the project, whether it’s a superfine lace shawl, a sweater or hat, or a sturdy blanket.
Left: Creighton Wood from Piñonwood Ranch Farm with a Shetland ram. Photo by George Boe. Right: An Icelandic ewe. Photo by Nancy Kelley.
The mix of undercoat and outercoat in Icelandic fleeces makes them both lofty and sturdy. They’re great for making lightweight but warm garments.
The Navajo Churro sheep supports three textile traditions in the southwestern United States—Diné (Navajo), Hispanic, and Puebloan. The fleece combines a balance of outer- and undercoats in an unusual mix of both cushiony feel and durability. Best known for use in rugs and blankets, some fleeces also work well for making sweaters, hats, and mittens.
Navajo Churro from Prairie Rose Woolen Works. Photo by George Boe
Here’s a treasure to stretch your fiber world: Karakul. Like the others, it’s a dual-coated breed, although this time the shiny outercoat dominates. A superb rug yarn, it can also encourage the making of smaller textiles such as pillows and bags that take advantage of its colors and durability. It felts like a dream.
At the end of this last aisle, we find pens with four breeds that only occasionally show up in a festival’s sheep barns. If you see them, it’s a blue-ribbon day for sheep-spotting.
The tiny, agile Soay look more like deer than stereotypical sheep. They have very soft wool, most often accompanied by both hair and kemp. Basic colors are dark phase (deep brown) and light phase (caramel colored). They rarely appear in a “parade of breeds” because they are skittish. Their pens may also have tarps or other stimulus-reducing aids on the sides to help them feel more comfortable in a public situation.
Hog Island sheep reflect a blend of English-origin breeds that were brought to an island off the coast of Virginia. A few flocks live on the mainland in the eastern United States. Their wool is springy and spins up more nicely than a first glance would suggest.
Gulf Coast Native and Florida Cracker sheep call the southeastern states their home. Unusual for wool-bearing sheep, they tolerate heat well. The wool can be a treat.
The Santa Cruz is a feral breed associated with Santa Cruz Island off the coast of California. Although they no longer live there, a handful of flocks are scattered throughout the United States. Their wool has unusual elasticity and falls between the fine and medium categories in handling qualities.
With all this abundance of options, where to start? If you’re at a fleece show, give yourself time to wander through the aisles and look at the fleeces. Touch them, but don’t disturb the lock formation without asking the shepherd first. Pick one that sticks in your mind after you’ve seen the array; you may have to retreat to a quiet place for a few moments to determine which fleeces are calling you most strongly. (Don’t worry if there’s a fleece-buying frenzy going on. There are always good fleeces left after the hordes depart—they’ll just be the less commonly recognized breeds.) Then take it home and get to know it. Meanwhile, all the sheep will get on with growing fleeces for you to enjoy next season.
Resources
- Fournier, Nola, and Jane Fournier. In Sheep’s Clothing: A Handspinner’s Guide to Wool. Loveland, Colorado: Interweave, 1995.
- Robson, Deborah, and Carol Ekarius. The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook: More Than 200 Fibers from Animal to Spun Yarn. North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey, 2011.
- ———. The Field Guide to Fleece: 100 Sheep Breeds and How to Use Their Fibers. North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey, 2013.
An earlier version of this article appeared in Spin + Knit.
Deborah Robson is the fiber author of The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook and The Field Guide to Fleece, and is a former editor of Spin Off. Her website is independentstitch.com, and you can find her on Instagram @independentstitch.
