Sheep Breeds
Loosely grouped by wool types
Loosely grouped by wool types
Merino
Delaine Merino
Rambouillet requires careful preparation
Debouillet good for the softest, “next to the skin” garments
Booroola Merino
Cormo
Suffolk
Dorset
Oxford
Hampshire
Shropshire
Southdown
Jacob
Clun Forest good beginner fleeces
Tunis used most often for mittens, hats,
Finnish Landrace (Finnsheep) sweaters, gloves and jackets
Polworth
Perendale
Navajo Churro
Shetland
(those listed below are also known as Crossbreed)
Columbia
Panama
Romeldale
Targhee
Corriedale
Montadale
Romney
Lincoln
Cotswold
Leicester
Blue-Faced Leicester
Border Leicester good for outer garments
Coopworth lend themselves to worsted yarns
Lincoln Longwool
Teeswater
Wensleydale
Karakul
Cheviot
Scottish Blackface
Welsh Mountain used for hardwearing fabrics and rugs
Black Welsh Mountain
Rough Fell
Swaledale
Recommended Wools For Specific Yarns
(Remember, these are just recommendations, not rules set in stone!)
For soft yarn,
Fine: Merino, Southdown, fine Romney, Corriedale,Shetland
Medium: Corriedale, Perendale, Romney, Shetland
For thick, bulky yarn: Cheviot, Perendale, Southdown, or fine Romney
For shiny yarn: long-stapled lustrous breeds such as Leicester, Coopworth, or Romney
For dull yarn: Cheviot, Southdown.
For hard yarn: Lincoln, Leicester, Coopworth, strong Romney.
For smooth yarn: long-stapled fleece from Romney, Leicester, or Coopworth.
Simmons, Paula. Turning Wool Into a Cottage Industry, Seattle, WA: Madrona Publishers, Inc., 1985.
Raven, Lee. Hands On Spinning, Loveland, Co: Interweave Press, 1987.
Brown, Rachel. The Weaving, Spinning, and Dyeing Book, New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984.
Field, Anne. The Ashford Book of Spinning, New Zealand.
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