sheep wool breeds
There are many different types of sheep wool breeds, to choose from, for your fiber arts projects.
There are over 200 breeds of sheep worldwide many have great wool
Different Sheep Breed Categories From Fine Wooled to Dual Purpose Breeds.
The sheep breeds are listed from the finer wooled to the longer and coarser wooled breeds followed by the dual-purpose breeds.
Consider the crossbred sheep as well, as sometimes those have the perfect wool!!
Even though a breed has a higher Micron count that does NOT mean the wool is coarse.
The Romney is a great example!
This is a great publication on wool grades and breeds of sheep from New Mexico State University.
Follow the different links for a broader knowledge of sheep breeds and the people who raise them.
Oklahoma State University is a great source for most known sheep breeds.
The Merino- King of the Fine Wooled Breeds
The Merino breed is the foundation of many fine wooled breeds.
They are distributed throughout the world.
Some of them are the Cormo with “buttery” soft wool, the well-known Rambouillet, the American created Targhee (Created in Dubois Idaho and named after the Targhee National Forest) as well as the Columbia.
All have excellent quality wool!!
Colors- White and Natural Colors
Microns- Less than 18 to 26
Length- 2 to 5 Inches
Grease Fleece Weight- 6 to 15 Pounds
Clean Wool Yield- 60 to 75%
Origins: Spain and France
Merino Fleece
there are many medium wool breeds
Some of the medium wool breeds have Merino ancestry.
The micron count for this category is approximately between 22 and 29 microns.
Some of these breeds are the Corriedale and Columbia as well as the Hampshire.
Grease Fleece Weight- 6 to 10 Pounds
Clean Wool Yield- 50 to 60%
Origins: England- Berkshire Knot/Southdown/Old Hampshire/Wiltshire Horn
Long and Coarse Wool Breeds are used for rugs as well as other projects
Usually, this category is thought of as rug wool but there are breeds that are great for making sweaters and socks.
One of these is the Romney.
At Iron Water Ranch, Kirsten spent many years fine-tuning Romney breeding, to create a soft wool even though it is considered a coarse wool breed.
Other breeds that produce rug wool along with other uses are the Lincoln, Border Leicester and Cotswold.
In addition there is the Karakul which is a breed I have had some great experience with.
Grease Fleece Weight- 8 to 18 plus pounds
Clean Wool Yield- 55 to 70%
Origins: England, Scotland, New Zealand and the Falkland Islands as well as other countries
Dual-Purpose Breeds
Dual-Purpose refers to the fact that not only do these breeds produce a great wool but are also used for meat and some for milk production.
The wool quality spans all categories.
The Targhee, Suffolk, Romney as well as the Finnsheep and East Friesian represent the dual-purpose breeds.
Grease Fleece Weight- 4 to 8 Pounds
Clean Wool Yield- 50 to 60%
Origins: England- Norfolk Horn/Southdown
Colors- White and Natural Colored Blue
Microns- 28 to 33
Length- 3 to 5 Inches
AND
Grease Fleece Weight- 7 to 10 Pounds
Clean Wool Yield- 60 to 70%
Origins: Island of Texel, Netherlands- Original Texel/Lincoln/Leicester Longwool
In conclusion, I hope this information has helped you get an idea of where to start your fiber journey.
Please check out the enormous number of sheep breeds that are used for wool as well as other uses.
For some great photos and information check this out.
In addition to sheep’s wool check out some Exotic Animal Fibers!!
If you find any verifiable errors please let me know and I will correct them.