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| Types of Wool | |||||||||||
Wool is a natural fiber with great abilities: strong and durable, elastic, warm even when wet and flame resistant. Wool from different breeds is widely varied in color, length, fiber diameter and curl or crimp pattern. We design our yarns to work with and emphasize the special character of each breed's wool. | |||||||||||
| Type of fleece | Description | Best Uses | Breeds | ||||||||
 Fine | Soft enough to be worn next to the skin. Fine wool fleeces are very refined, fibers throughout the whole fleece should be consistent. Exceptional felting ability. Not a strong fiber. | creates the finest, softest garments such as shawls, scarves, baby wear. Wet and needle felting |
Merino Rambouillet Cormo | ||||||||
Down | Down type wools have a shorter staple length, medium diameter and usually a matte appearance. They are characterized by a well developed spiral crimp, giving exceptional resilience and elasticity. | fine felts, flannel, baby wear, fine fabrics woven or knitted, blankets, tweeds. Cushioning things: socks, mattress pads, comforter/quilt batts | Clun Forest Dorset down Shropshire Suffolk Hampshire Welsh Mountain | ||||||||
Medium | Medium diameter fibers with a medium to long staple length. They are the most versitile of all the wool types. | Used for a wide variety of knitwear, yarns, blankets and tweeds |
Corriedale | ||||||||
Long | Larger average fiber diameter and long staple. Easy to hand spin and very strong and hard wearing. Long wool is lustrous and can have a silky feel. | loop yarn (boucle) woven furnishing fabrics including bags and rugs. Finer types used for embroidery thread. Excellent knitting wool for outerwear, sweaters, hats and mittens, throws and blankets |
Coopworth Cotswald Border Leicester Leicester Longwool Lincoln Romney | ||||||||
Double-coated | Heritage breeds that retain the primitive fleece character of a long outer coat to repell weather and a soft down undercoat for warmth. Fleeces from lambs will be softer with successive shearings more coarse. Exceptional felting ability | Coarse fleeces traditionally used for carpets, rugs and outerwear. Some have softer character and the down, separated from the outer is used for very fine applications such as Shetland shawls | Karakul
Icelandic Navajo churro Scottish Blackface Shetland | ||||||||
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Sources:
Spinning Wool, Beyond the Basics by Anne Field In Sheep's Clothing, A handspinners Guide to Wool by Nola Rournier, Jane Fournier Fiber Facts by Bette Hochberg The Enclyclopedia of Hand Spinning by Mabel Ross Teach Yourself Visually, Handspinning by Judith MacKenzie McCuin | |||||||||||
©2009 Gretchen Frederick