Corriedale
The lovely fine fibres and long staples have made this breed a favourite spinning fleece for many years. Flick card only and wash carefully after spinning in hot soapy water. The Corriedate is a cross with the Merino and was developed on the South Island of New Zealand at the turn of the last century because the Merino was not suitable to wetter country. British breeds were used to cross with the Merino giving it the strong body of a British breed and the medium to fine wool of the Merino.

English Leicester
The heavy curly lustrous wool is even in length and fibre diameter. You could show these lovely staples off using them as surface texture in felting or weaving. English Leicester is one of the Old English breeds developed in Leicestershire and dates back to the 1700s. For many years it was the most popular long wool sheep in the North of England with a dual purpose of large meat body, with a heavy strong fleece of wool renowned for its wavy crimp and big round locks.

Gotland
We are lucky to be able to offer these lovely fleeces this year. The colour choice is varied and as scrumptious as always. The fibres are soft and silky for spinning, with a high lustre and low bulk. It is popular in the high fashion industry as well as with handspinners for knitwear and weaving as well as felting. The Gotland originated on the Swedish Island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. It is a native Landrace breed belonging to the North European short-tailed group of sheep. Lambs are born jet black and have developed their distinctive grey curly pelt by the time they are about five months.

Merino
These superfine fleeces are easier to manage if you separate out the staples and wash them one by one carefully in hot soapy water to soften the lanolin before spinning. Spin them very fine with a high twist. For people wanting to spin some super-fine threads for the first time, we can recommend the book Merino by Margaret Stove. This takes you through the step-by-step stages of sorting, washing and the techniques of spinning the fine Merino fibres. The Merino is the oldest established and most numerous breed in the world. It is believed to originate from Spain or North Africa. Merino is a sheep apart from the many British breeds. It likes dry conditions and is renowned for its fine quality wool.

Perendale
Pernedale is a Cheviot and Romney cross which is an easy care breed that can forage in the hill country of New Zealand. The fleece settled into the finer crossbred range with exceptional spring which gives good shape retention to knitted garments and adds bulk and stand-up ability to carpet pile. It has a high insulation factor in blankets.

Polwarth
This breed was developed in Australia in 1880 by using Lincoln-Merino cross ewes and bred back to Merino rams. The objective was to combine the fine wool of the Merino with the longer staple of the Lincoln. Its long stapled, soft wool is very sought after by spinners for woven and knitted garments.

Romney
This fleece is very popular because of the unique way it combines several traits. The fleece is lustrous, hangs in separate locks, with minimal cross fibres between the locks. Uniformity of crimp from the butt to the tip of a lock is typical. Romney wool has the finest fibre diameter of all the long wool breeds, with a spinning count from 40-48 which is 38-31 microns. It spins easily with a low grease content that makes it a very light shrinking fleece. These qualities enable Romney to be used for many products, ranging from sweaters to outerwear to carpets. The Romney originates from the wet fens of south-east England.

*** If you would like an advance listing of next year's specialty fleeces, please send us your email and phone number and we will contact you in January 2011.

email: info@treenwaysilks.com | call toll free: 1.888.383.7455

→ For natural and dyed wool rovings, see Ashford products.

A New Experience in Spinning (down like wool)

By Marion Cameron, Masterton, New Zealand

We live on 4.5 hectares (11.5) acres on the outskirts of Mastertone in Wairarapa, in the North Island of New Zealand. We have a flock of 50 sheep of varying shades of brown (morrit) and grey, with a few white. Although the original stock was basically Romney we have concentrated on breeding more down–type wool because I enjoy its elasticity and bounce. Down–type wools are short (1–3 inches) compared to other wools such as crossbred or Merino–type wools and do not show the distinctive crimp patterns of these wools. They do not felt but produce very elastic and bouncy yarns. These are the qualities I enjoy.

I spin the short wool straight from the fleece (without carding). I work with small groups of staples spinning mostly from the CUT END. With a good fleece the fibres just spin themselves as easily as a carded fleece. Sometimes parts of the fleece may need the top opened to remove rubbish but it usually just falls out anyway. I have tried hand carding or combing the fleece before spinning but unless you spin the wool immediately there is no advantage (as the fibres bounce back to their natural state) and you might as well spin direct from the fleece. Longer, down–cross wools do card well by machine. They are good for dyeing in the fleece because they do not felt easily and dry quickly. The biggest problem I have with spinning the down–type wool is to produce very fine yarns. Although this is partly because of how I spin, it is also affected by the elasticity of the yarn produced. The plied yarns must always be washed before knitting to release the tension. The yarn always becomes shorter and more bulky. You need to check your tension carefully before you start an article. I still find the washed yarn is not as fine as I expect it to be.

Web Link

We were introduced to an interesting web site: U of Oklahoma lists breeds of sheep with details, descriptions, history of the breed. www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/

"How Much Does it Take to Make a Sweater?"

–Reprinted from The Wheel #15 published by Ashford Handicrafts

Not sure whether you have enough fleece for that special project? Paula Vester of Stone Mountain, Georgia, has some good advice. Although most knitters and crocheters buy yarn by the ounce and weavers buy yarns by the yardage, people are always interested in how much raw material it takes to make something.

It is hard to accurately answer that question for all spinners, but some guidelines can be given. One of the reasons for variations is the way that different spinners spin their yarn. If the thread is spun thick, there is less yardage and it will take the same approximate yardage which will weigh more: if the yarn is spun very thin a piece may weigh a lot less.

The form in which you buy the raw material will also determine the amount you will need. If you are buying wool right from the sheep, you will have to wash it and card or comb it for spinning. Depending on the breed of the sheep and the farm it has come from, you can lose up to 50% of that weight in dirt and grease. Some breeds have less grease and some have more: for example, Romneys have less grease than Merinos and Corriedales. With the Romney a spinner may only lose 30%. If you buy ready to spin roving, you will have less waste and can purchase closer to the weight needed for the finished piece.

Knitting takes less yardage and therefore weight than crochet. Weaving can use up yardage because of the loom waste, but the finished pieces may have similar weights as knitting.

Here are some general guidelines:

• an average sized sweater may weigh about 1¼lb (570g)

• a vest may use ¾lb (340g)

• boot socks use about 2–4 oz (60–120g)

• baby clothes like sweaters, dresses, booties and blankets often use up tiny amounts of yarn

• a child's sweater may use less than 8 oz (225g)

Spinners have been dealing with this question for years. Many spinners solve the problem by doubling every amount of raw material they buy for a project, or by simply spinning what they have and then seeing what else must be added to make a finished piece. It takes trial and error but spinners learn their own spinning needs and many remember when their first sweater weighed 3 lbs instead of 1¼lbs.