My fiber studies

For those of you who are interested in my fiber studies:

I'm spinning for the Online Guild's Certificate of Achievement, not every day but still several times a week. I can't show what I'm doing, because my work has to be anonymous when the assessment takes place, and that will be about 18 months from now.

But I'm spinning other yarns too, and those I will show in my blog, only not so often as earlier.

Cheviot. My Fiber Studies 23

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right. 


The Sheep

Cheviots have a fascinating history. It's far too complicated for a short blog post, so I suggest you read more in literature and on internet. There are two links to very informative blog posts from Deborah Robson in the "Read More" section below. I suggest you start with them, and continue with Deb's book The Fleece & Fiber Source Book.

Shortly, it's an old breed, and there are several different Cheviots, Border, North Country, South Country, American. They origin in the Cheviot Hills on the Scottish border, and they have been around since the late 1300s. Cheviots were imported to US in 1838, and to Australia 1938. As often happens when a breed is introduced in new surroundings, it changes. That has happened both to the American and the Australian Cheviots. They are not the same as the British ones.

Cheviot sheep are not threatened, but Cheviot wool is, as the breed is mainly bred for meat in our days.

The Wool

The white wool is of down type, with high crimp, light, dense and strong. The British Wool Marketing Board classifies Cheviot as "Hill" type wool. The staple length is 7-13 cm, the micron count 28-33 or harsher. Cheviot has traditionally been used for tweeds, but also for knitting yarns. Cheviot is often used to blend with other wools to create a lofty yarn.

My Experience

I had a small wool sample of unknown origin, but very nice Cheviot from the Super Sampler package I bought from The Spinning Loft.

Preparation: I washed the raw fleece sample, then combed it on Valkyrie Extra Fine combs
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:8.5
Twists per inch TPI in singles: 8
TPI in finished 3-ply yarn: 16
Wraps per inch WPI in singles: 38
WPI in finished 3-ply yarn: 14
Twist angle in singles: 45
Twist angle in finished 3-ply yarn: 45 

Crimpy, short wool like Cheviot is usually carded, but I wanted to use my new combs, so I combed. The result was wonderful: lofty, even tops. As I wanted a lofty and elastic yarn, I chose the woolen draft and 3-ply.

This time I just wished to sit back, relax and spin, not thinking too much about what I was doing. I spun only one yarn. I chose a rather low whorl for the spinning so I wouldn't get very much twist in the thin singles. I just let the wheel do the job, held very lightly on to to the wool and enjoyed.

Then I plied with a little more twist, but with the same ratio. I always ply by measuring the singles between my hands before I let the yarn wind on to the bobbin. In that way I don't have to think while plying. Once I have decided the twist, I just pull with my left hand until I have reached as far as I decided I should while keeping the singles in order with my right hand, then I wind on, pull, wind on...

I look out of the window and see whatever there is to see. Right now there are tractors. Are they mating?? They seem to multiply... Whatever they're doing they raise a dust cloud over the valley, no use hanging laundry out this time of the year, or cleaning windows.

What an easy fiber to spin! I had a great time. I got a yarn I could use for lots of different garments, but this is only a sample so it won't be used in anything else than a swatch.

Swatch pattern from Barbara C. Walker's Charted Knitting Designs 3
 
Read More

Internet
Cheviot Sheep Society
American Cheviot Sheep Society
Wikipedia with links to three different Cheviots
Deborah Robson on Cheviots
Deborah Robson on Cheviots

Literature
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, 2011
M. L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth, 2007
Nola & Jane Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995
Clara Parkes, The Knitter's Book of Wool. Potter Craft, 2009
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010

Dorset Horn. My Fiber Studes 22

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.
 
The Sheep

Dorset Horn is one of the oldest British sheep. Both sexes have horns, and both the sheep and the horns are big. The sheep can breed almost at any time of the year, with two lambings a year or three in 18 months. The New Zealand rare breeds site says it's "very active", whatever that means. The history of the sheep is quite interesting. Dorset Horn and Poll Dorset are closely related. You'll find more information on the New Zealand site, link in the "Read More" section below. Rare Breeds Survival Trust (UK) classifies the breed as Minority, and American Livestock Breeds Concervancy as Threatened.

If you want to see what the sheep look like, please go to the links below.

The Wool

Wool from Dorset Horn is mostly used for mattresses and futons. The wool is very white, fine, soft and crimpy with a staple length of 8-10 cm and a  micron range of 33-34. It can be used in many garments, and handspinners find it most interesting.

Dorset Horn, washed wool

My Experience

Fiber from The Spinning Loft (Super Sampler package). Staple length 4-6 cm, very much crimp, very soft

Preparation: scoured and then hand combed on Valkyrie Extra Fine combs
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria

I combed the crimpy, short and soft wool because carding was quite impossible. I got awesome tops, bouncy, soft and very clean. My new Valkyrie Extra Fine combs are very, very good tools! Here: Valkyrie.

Tops as they come from the combs: Lincoln longwool to the left, Dorset Horn to the right. Both combed on Valkyrie Extra Fine combs. Two completely different fibers

1st sample. Semi-woolen 2-ply yarn

TPI (twists per inch) in singles ratio 1:8.5: 10
TPI in plyback from ratio 1:8.5: 6
TPI in finished 2-ply yarn from "rolags": 15
WPI (wraps per inch) in singles: 32
WPI in finished 2-ply yarn: 18
Twist angle in singles: 45
Twist angle in finished 2-ply yarn from "rolags": 45

I was a bit nervous about not being able to spin a soft and bouncy yarn. I decided on a woolen draw from the fold. That was not bouncy enough, so I rolled small bits of the top into "rolags", and that worked very well. I also tried ratio 1:6, but that was not good as there was almost no twist at all in the singles so when plied they flattened out. Next time I know not to draw out the top as thin as I did this time if I want to spin from "rolags" made of tops. A thicker top would make bigger "rolags".

The 2-ply spun from mini rolags with woolen draw really bloomed when washed in hot - cold - hot water. WPI in singles was 32, plied and finished 18. TPI in singles was 10, in ply back 6, and 15 in plied finished yarn. This fiber can take a lot of manipulation.

2nd sample. Navajo 3-ply

The same singles as 1st sample
TPI in finished navajo 3-ply yarn: 10
WPI in finished navajo 3-ply yarn: 15
Twist angle in finished navajo 3-ply yarn: 45

This became a bouncy, soft yarn, as one could expect. The bends in the navajo chain adds loftiness too.

3rd sample. Semi-woolen 3-ply yarn

TPI (twists per inch) in singles ratio 1:8.5: 12
TPI in finished 3-ply: 19
WPI (wraps per inch) in singles: 32
WPI in finished 3-ply: 15
Twist angle in singles: 45
Twist angle in finished 3-ply: 45

I made a 3-ply yarn by spinning the tops with a woolen draw without rolling or folding them, using ratio 1:8.5 and a slow drafting speed for better control. I got an even, soft, stretchy yarn.

4th sample. Worsted super fine yarn

TPI in singles spun worsted ratio 1:20: I couldn't count the the twists because I couldn't see them...
TPI in finished worsted 2-ply yarn: 29 (I think)
WPI in singles spun worsted ratio 1:20: I didn't measure
WPI in finished worsted 2-ply: 40

Just for fun I spun a really thin yarn. I changed to high speed flyer and bobbins and ratio 1:20 (I think, I'm not sure about the ratios, middle whorl anyway). If I'd do this again I'd go through the fleece very carefully to get all double cuts out. But it was still easy to spin a super fine yarn. The fibers are so crimpy and so strong that they catch the twist imediately without any fuzz. I used a short backward worsted draw.

5th sample. Slubs and coils

I didn't measure this yarn
 
This was just for fun also. I spun a few meters of slubs and coils and knitted a swatch. Yarns like this could be used in a hat or a vest. The swatch har considerable strength and holds together well. A baby blanket would be nice too.

Conclusions

I'm still not very good at spinning soft, crimpy fibers, but I'm getting better. I have a tendency to spin too compact yarns with a lot of twist and not much bounciness. The Dorset Horn is one of the softest and crimpiest wools I have ever spun. I had to slow down my treadling and drafting speed quite a lot to be able to master the fibers. It was a good experience. My yarns have bounce and softness.

I have never before spun a fiber with so much memory and with such capasity to do exactly as I wanted. I am amazed and full of wonder! I think I got the neck part of the fleece from the look of some of the locks. That could explain why the the fibers are so soft and so strong. I could pull even the finest singles back from the flyer without it breaking.

Read More

Internet
Dorset Horn and Poll Dorset, UK
Dorset Horn, New Zealand
Rare Breeds Survival Trust
American Livestock Breeds Concervancy
Dorsets, USA

Literature
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, The Fleece & Fiber Source Book, 2011
M. L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth, 2007
Nola & Jane Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995

Wensleydale. My Fiber Studies 21

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

Wensleydale sheep can be found mostly in Wensleydale in North Yorkshire. The rams are used for crossing with local hill breeds, producing crossings like the Masham for meat and wool. They are big, strong sheep with dark skin and big top knots. Wensleydale is listed as "At Risk" by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

Photo from Beautiful Sheep almanac 2011

The Wool

Wensleydale wool has high lustre and silkyness. The staple length is 20-30 mm, the micron count 26-30. It's one of the finest of the luster longwools. It's used in many kinds of textiles, mostly for garments. It's also used for blending with other wools to add strength an luster. Wensleydales are white to creamy, and you can also find small flocks of black sheep.

My Experience

Raw fiber that I washed and prepared.

Worsted yarn sample

Preparation: hand combed on Valkyrie Extra Fine combs
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio spinning and plying: 1:8.5
TPI in singles: 12
TPI in worsted 2-ply: 8
WPI in singles: 30
WPI in finished 2-ply: 17
Twist angle in singles: 50
Twist angle in finished 2-ply: 45

A lovely fiber from The Spinning Loft! It's the first fiber I've combed with my brand new Valkyrie Extra Fine combs. The combs are designed for finer and shorter fibers than Wensleydale, but I took care in not to load the combs too full and to be careful when combing. The result was wonderful tops with nothing else than the longest and strongest fibers in them. They were very easy to spin.

I spun a fine short forward worsted 2-ply and from the left overs on one bobbin a 3-ply navajo.

Woolen yarn sample
Preparation: standard Finnish handcarders
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio spinning: 1:13
Ratio plying: 1:8.5
TPI in singles: 9
TPI in finished 2-ply: 6
WPI in woolen singles: 20
WPI in finished 2-ply: 13
Twist angle in singles: 50
Twist angle in finished 2-ply: 50

I got a lot of combing waste, which I carded on my standard Finnish handcarders. I spun a 2-ply woolen yarn, trying not to smooth out all the neps.

Conclusions

I loved working with this wool. I was happy to get a sample of the extremely rare black Wensleydale in The Spinning Loft's Super Sampler package. The two yarns I spun are both nice. I like the color changes and the structure of the woolen yarn, and I like the lustre of the worsted one. Both are very strong yarns.

Woolen to the left, worsted to the right

Read More
Internet
Rare Breeds Survival Trust
Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Breeders

Literature
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, 2011
M. L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth, 2007
Nola & Jane Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010

Teeswater. My Fiber Studies 20

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

Teeswater sheep has been bred for about two hundred years in the Teesdale area in UK. It's a large, white, longwooled sheep, hornless, and with a big topknot. The face has dark brown markings.

The sheep is listed as "Vulnerable" by Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

If you google for "Teeswater sheep" you'll find plenty of pictures. It's an impressive sheep even on photos.

The Wool

This is a citation from the British Teeswater Breeders: Teeswater wool

Good, clean open lustre staple, not too strong and of medium length, with no black fibres.
Uniform over the whole fleece.
This should be fine, long-stapled lustre wool with no dark fibres in the fleece. It should be uniform in texture over the whole body.


The wool is mostly used for hand knitting yarns.

My Experience

The Teeswater top I bought from International Fleeces was just like it's described in the citation above. It was a joy to spin, I wish I had bought more of it.

Spinning

Fiber preparation: top from International Fleeces
Staple lentgh:  15-33 cm
Hand: medium
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:8.5
TPI in singles: 12
TPI in finished 2-ply:
WPI in singles: about 33
WPI in finished 2-ply: 25
Twist angle in singles (unwashed and at an average): 50
Twist angle in finished yarn: 45

I spun a thin high twist 2-ply yarn I thought could be used in a shawl.

Conclusions

I'm still not so used to spinning longwools. I liked this Teeswater top even if the big differences in staple length made it more difficult to spin even than a staples of the same length would be. I'm pleased with the yarn. It's quite soft and it has good luster. I didn't measure the yarn, but I think there is enough of it for a small scarf. The color is yellowish, which may come from the canary stain that sometimes occur in longwools. It may also be the natural color of the fleece.

I'm getting more and more fond of longwools. I need to spin much more to get the yarn I want, but I feel I'm closer to my goal this time than with other longwools I've spun.

Read more

Internet
Teeswater Sheep Breeders
American Teeswater Sheep
Rare Breeds Survival Trust

Literature
M. L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth, 2007
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, The Flecce and Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, 2011
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010
Nola & Jane Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995

White Face Woodland. My Fiber Studies 19

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

The Whitefaced Woodland sheep is one of the largest of Britain's hill sheep. It has a long tail, and both sexes are horned. The status of the sheep is "Vulnerable" due to Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

The photo shows pictures from "British Sheep & Wool" and "Sheep & Man". I'm very fond of the shepherd's dress code in the newer photo!

The Wool

The white wool is mainly used for carpets. Handspinners find it very interesting for blankets, and blended with other wools for garments. Softer fleeces can be spun for sweaters and cardigans. It takes dyes well.

My Experience

Fiber preparation: roving from International Fleeces
Staple lentgh: 4-12 cm
Hand: medium to coarse
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:6
TPI in singles: 8
TPI in finished 3-ply:
WPI in singles: about 22
WPI in finished 3-ply: 9
Twist angle in singles (unwashed and at an average): 45
Twist angle in finished yarn: 45

I found the roving from International Fleeces very easy to spin with a woolen draw. I wanted to spin a yarn that could be used in a light carpet, so I used a low ratio and plied a 3-ply. A 4-ply would be even better, and a 2-ply could be used in blankets.

Conclusions

I have a feeling my roving was of the softer kind. Roving from coarser fleeces would be even better in carpets.

I remember my grandmother used to weave stripes in her rug carpets with rough, colorful yarns spun from wools that I think where very much the same as this. My hands remember how it felt. I think she bought the dyed yarn in the local store, because I never saw her spin even if I later was told she was a good spinner. But she was still weaving when I was a child, so I like to think she used yarn from a sheep bred for the kind of wool you get from Whitefaced Woodland.

Read More

Internet
Whitefaced Woodland
Rare Breeds Survival Trust: Whitefaced Woodland

Literature
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, 2011
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010
M. L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth, 2007
Jane & Nola Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995

Portland. My Fiber Studies 18

This is my first fiber study as a journeyman in spinning in my local craft guild Björken at Stundars. Because I now have to be more thorough in my exploration of fibers and spinning, I introduce a few things I have mostly ignored earlier, such as twists per inch TPI, wraps per inch WPI, twist angles, staple length.

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

The history of Portland sheep is obscure. It's probably what's left of the Western Tanfaced horn sheep that was common in the Southwest (Dorset) of England during the middle ages. Both sexes are horned. The sheep are small, and they have long tails. The breed is at risk for the moment. Here is a short video: Portland on Youtube. There are a few articles in newspapers and quite a lot of photos on Internet too. Google for "Portland sheep" and see what you can find. This is an interesting breed.

The Wool

The lambs have a foxy red color that fades into creamy white when they grow up. The micron count is 31-35 with a staple length of 5-9 cm. It's a wool suitable for many purposes.

My yarn on top of a photo of Portland sheep in Wild Fibers magazine, Winter 2010/2011

My Experience

Spinning

Fiber preparation: roving from International Fleeces
Staple length: 6-8 cm
Wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:8.5
TPI in singles: about 11
TPI in finished yarn: 11
WPI in singles: 34
WPI in finished yarn: 18
Twist angle in singles (unwashed and at an average): 50
Twist angle in finished yarn: 45

The roving from International Fleeces was easy to spin. The roving was clearly directional, so you have to find out from which end it wants to be spun.  I spun two singles with a woolen draw, and plied a 2-ply, ordinary yarn, my default yarn.

Conclusions

I would use this yarn for hats, mittens, gloves, cardigans, sweaters. A 3-ply or 4-ply would be a good sock yarn.

Read More

Internet
Portland Sheep
Rare Breeds Survival Trust

Literature
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, 2011.
Wild Fibers, Winter 2010/2011
M. L. Ryder, Sheep & Man, Duckworth, 2007
Jane & Nola Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995

Boreray. My Fiber Studies 17

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

This sheep is one of the island sheep from the North Atlantic off the Scottish coast. They have an interesting history, which you can read more about in the links below. They really do look a bit wild, with their shaggy fleece and dangerous looking horns. The state of the breed is critical.

              Photo in British Sheep & Wool, p. 155

The Wool

The wool shows a wide variety of fibers: soft undercoat, soft to harsh overcoat, and kemp, with a micron count of 18-35 and even coarser. It's used for tweeds and other fabrics, and can also be used in knitting yarns. The colors range from light gray to brown and black.

My Experience

Preparation: combing and carding, and opening locks with my fingers
Spinning Wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:8.5

The samples of fleece I got from Jane had been chosen with care to make a spinner happy: there was a lot of different fiber types. So many interesting fibers to spin! I roughly divided them into heaps: undercoat, over coat, both under and over, and in grey and offwhite. The fibers came from four different fleeces.

I combed some of the fibers, carded some. I pulled out the undercoat from a couple of samples.

I spun the rolags and tops with both woolen and worsted draw and a lot of twist to keep all the fibers in the yarns. I found myself changing my drafting a bit once in a while, but it seemed as if most of the fibers and preparations wanted to be spun worsted. I spun the coarsest fibers from the locks without preparing, only opened the locks with my fingers and spun worsted from the tip end.

In the yarns you can see the soft undercoat, hair (overcoat) and kemp. Some of the hair is quite soft, but there's also quite harsh hair.

Conclusions

What joy! Last spring I thought I'd spin primitive wool only if I have to. After my class with Deborah Robson in August I found I would gladly spin these wools again. I hadn't spun rare breeds before that, but Finnsheep and Finn crossbreeds have a large range of wool types, and that's what I spun in the 80s and 90s until exhaustion. Now I look at them with new eyes. I think I might start looking for funny fleeces among the meat sheep in the neighborhood.

The Boreray with all these wooltypes is so challenging, a wonderful fiber to work with. In the samples above you can see quite soft yarns suitable for spinning and weaving, stronger yarns that could be used in outdoor sweaters, and harsh strong yarns for weaving.

Yes, I want to work with this wool again.

Read More


Internet
Boreray sheep
Rare Breeds Survival Trust
Wikipedia

Literature
M.L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth, 2007
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010
Nola & Jane Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, to be released in May 2011

Gulf Coast. My Fiber Studies 16

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

Gulf Coast sheep is one of the oldest breeds in North America. It's ancestors could be the first sheep the Spanish brought with them in the 1500s. It has developed in the Gulf coast area for hundreds of years. After World War II not many were left. That was a dramatic change from the hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast sheep that had been grazing the lands before the war. The breed is now considered critical by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.

The Wool

Gulf Coast Sheep are mostly white, but other colors occur (brown, black). The wool has a micron count of 26-32. It's suitable for a wide range of products, for knitting, weaving and felting.

My Experience

Preparation: mill carded roving
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:8.5
WPI in singles on my wpi-tool: 28

The roving from Spirit Trail produced a wonderful knitting yarn. It was easy to spin with a woolen draw. I spun a 2-ply and from the left overs on one bobbin a Navajoplied 3-ply.

           I have labeled the skein "Spinning Loft", but the roving is from Spirit Trail

Conclusions

I would be happy to spin more of this. A sweater comes to my mind first of all. Hubby would love that :)

Read more

Internet
Gulf Coast Sheep Breeders Association
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy

Literature
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, to be released in May 2011

Lincoln Longwool. My Fiber Studies 15

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

           Photo in "British Sheep & Wool", p. 99

The breed originates in the Middle Ages. There is much written about Lincoln sheep, so please look at the links below or read more in books. Lincoln is now a dual purpose sheep for meat and wool, in older days the wool was most important.  It's a big polled sheep with dark ears and a white face. Lincoln is one of the breeds used for developing Polwarth, Columbia, Corriedale, Targhee and Montadale sheep. The breed is on both the British and American lists for rare breeds.

The Wool

The lustrous wool is creamy to white or grey. The staple length is 15-30 cm.

Lincoln wool is used in carpets and upholstery. Handspinners can use the wool in a large range of products.

My Experience

Preparation: hand combing Louet one row mini combs
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:8.5
WPI in singles on my wpi-tool: about 32

I had a lovely sample of Lincoln from The Spinning Loft. My mini combs are far too small for this sturdy wool, so I combed only two small tops and left the rest of the beautiful wool sample for a time when I have combs suited for it. I first thought I'd spindle the wool, but I changed my mind. Anyway, this is what the top looked like:

I didn't try to mix the colors because I wanted them to show in the yarn. I got a strong, variegated yarn I would gladly use for weaving, maybe a bag or a sturdy cushion. For a carpet I would spin a much thicker yarn, or make a multiply yarn.

Read more
Internet
Lincoln Longwool Sheep
National Lincoln Sheep Breeders Association
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
Rare Breeds Survival Trust

Literature
M. L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth, 2007
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010.
Clara Parkes, The Knitters Book of Wool. Potter Craft, 2009
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, to be released in May 2011
Nola & Jane Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995.

Gotland Sheep. My Fiber Studies 13

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30th 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.
The Sheep

Gotland sheep belong to the North European short tailed group of sheep. It is a multi purposed breed: pelt, meat and wool. It's a polled, big sheep, born black and lightens to gray with black heads and legs when grown up. There are many color variations including white, but the silvery gray is most appreciated. The Gotland sheep has been bred from an old sheep breed called "utegångsfår" with primarily good pelt and meat as the goal. From Gotland it has spread to the rest of Sweden and to other countries. It is closely related to the Gute sheep. The Swedish name for the breed is "Gotlandsfår".

The Wool

Even if the Gotland is a fur sheep, the wool can be used for knitting and weaving yarns. It's much appreciated by handspinners. The wool is wavy and lustrous and can be spun into a large range of yarns.

My Experience

I got a very nice raw wool sample from Ingrid in Sweden. There was at least three clearly different types of fiber in three gray shades and of different lengths. For simplicity I sorted the wool in three heaps, ignoring the different staple lengths and concentrating on color. Photo above.

Preparation:
scouring
hand carding the two lightest gray into rolags
hand combing the darkest gray into tops
hand carding the combing waste into rolags
Spinning Wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratios: 1:6, 1:8.5
WPI in singles on my WPI tool: 14-18

The rolags were easy to spin with a woolen draw, only I found that open, lofty rolags were easier than tightly rolled puni types. I spun a 2-ply from this prep, and just to see how it would look I also spun a thick singles.

The light gray fibers were the coarsest. This surprised me, because usually darker fibers are coarser. I thought these fibers came from a part of the sheep's body where the fibers are coarser no matter what color they are.

The darker gray was coarse also, but not as much as the lighter gray. I spun a 2-ply yarn with woolen draw. I could use this in a hat if I use a softer yarn in the brim.

The darkest gray were very lustrous and silky fibers, so I hand combed them on my single pitch mini Louet combs. These combs were not the best ones for this fiber, but they are the only combs I have for the moment. I spun a worsted 2-ply sample. This yarn would be a good upholstery yarn.

          Locks, combed tops and carded combing waste

I got enough quite good combing waste. I carded it and spun a woolen 2-ply. This yarn would be good in heavy outdoor sweaters, hats and mittens. It could also be used for weaving rugs and blankets.

The few meters of left overs on the bobbins I used for:

a 4-strand cabled yarn that can be used as a cord
a ply-back 3-ply yarn

Conclusions

Again a sheep breed with many possibilities. From a small sample of fleece I got 7 yarn samples. All of these can be used in different ways in weaving and spinning, and techniques such as nalbinding, braiding and more.

Read more:
Internet
Rasbeskrivning Gotlandsfåret
British Gotland Sheep Society
American Gotland Sheep Society

Literature
M.L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth, 2007

Värmlandsfår. My Fiber Studies 11

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30th 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.


The Sheep

There are quite a few sheep that belong to the North European short tailed group of sheep. The Swedish Värmlandsfår is one of them. The sheep all came from the region of Värmland. It was a local farmer, Bengt Sonesson, who started gathering sheep of the same type as those in his flock in the 1950s. Today there are Värmlandsfår in smallholders in many places in Sweden, but it is still an endangered breed. There are only about 2000 left.

In the awesome blog Fale Artut you can see both the sheep and wonderful batts, yarns and garments made from this wool. The blog is in Swedish, but there are great photos. My wool samples are from those lucky sheep, thanks to Ingrid in Sweden.

The Wool

The wool is grey/black, brown or white, or piebald. The wool is fine to harsh. It's an interesting wool for handspinners. Depending on what type the fleece is there is a wide range of textiles you can make from it, starting with mittens, socks, sweaters and ending with upholstery.

My Experience

I got two wool samples from Ingrid. The wool was very clean with no vegetable matter. I scoured it before carding.

Sample one, black

Preparation: hand carding

Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Spinning ratio: 1:13
WPI in singles: about 28 on my WPI tool
Plying ratio: 1:13

The wool was very silky and felt soft, but when I handcarded and spun it I found that the silkyness hid steel under it. Not that it was harsh, but it's a very strong fiber. It would be a good sock yarn. I spun it woolen into a 2-ply yarn. It sheds small black bits of wool, but that would stop when using it.

Sample two, light brown

Preparation: drumcarding

Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Spinning ratio: 1:6
WPI in singles: about 22 on my WPI tool.
Plying ratio: 1:8.5

This wool felt coarser than the black.

I spun a woolen draw, not quite a long draw but about half the length of my arm. I found that the best way was to slightly stretch out the batt and roll it lengthwise and start spinning from one end. The machine carded batt has a direction, so it's good to try the other end if the first one feels awkward. I spun a 2-ply I thought would be good in a hat.

Sample three, light brown


The same prep and ratio as the second yarn. I spun a singles a bit thicker. This yarn could be used in weaving for cloth or a thin blanket. As a 2-ply it would make a thicker blanket.

Sample four, light brown


I plied a few meters of what was left on the bobbin into an overtwisted 2-ply. I folded the yarn in two and let it twist into a 4-strand cable yarn. This would make a strong, thick weaving yarn for a rug.

                        Scoured locks, sample two, three and four

So, what do I think? A fiber with lots of possibilities, an interesting fiber, a fiber that needs to be worked with from fleece in my opinion. Every time I work with fibers like these I think I should have a loom...


Read more

Internet

Värmlandsfår
Allmogefår
Fale Artut