| BREED |
STAPLE |
MICRON |
BRADFORD |
NOTES |
|
| Merino |
62-100mm |
17-23 |
64-80s |
Finest of the wool breeds. Excellent for next-to the skin wear and baby wear. |
| Cormo |
|
17-23 |
|
The breed is the result of crossing Corriedales and Superfine Merinos. |
| Rambouillet |
50-100mm |
18-25 |
60-80 |
French descendant of the merino, seems harder to break the grease when cleaning. Can be used for felting. |
| California Variegated Mutant |
100-150 mm |
|
60-62 |
Bred from mutations in the Romeldale breed, which were bred from Romneys and Rambouillets |
| Bluefaced Leicester |
80-150 mm |
|
56-60s |
Bred from the Leicester, but has finer fleece. Good multi-purpose fiber. |
| Shetland |
50-120 |
20-25 |
55-65 |
Largest range of colors and markings of any breed, extremely good for shawls and lace. Felts easily. It is a very primitive breed and is 2 coated. It has a natural break in the fleece and the sheep normally shed their fleece in the summer. This allows the fleece to be rooed or plucked instead of sheared. |
| Targhee |
75-125mm |
21-25 |
58-64 |
A breed developed in the USA in the 20th century, primarily from crossing rambouillet, corriedale, and lincoln. |
| Polwarth |
|
22-25 |
|
The breed is the result of breeding Merinos and Lincolns. |
| Tunis |
100-150mm |
24030 |
56-58 |
|
| Corriedale |
90-150mm |
24-32 |
|
Great for next to the skin wear and baby clothes, felts easily. |
| Gulf Coast |
50-100 |
26-32 |
48-58 |
|
| Cheviot |
75-125mm |
27-33 |
50-56 |
Very resilient with a helical crimp. Particularly good for blending for the resilience and strength. Very springy. Although it has a lot of the chariacteristics of a down breed, it is a hill breed |
| Finn |
75-150mm |
|
50's-60's |
Also called Finnish Landrace and Finnsheep. The fleece felts easily, and comes in colored and white. |
| Orkney or North Ronaldsay |
40-80mm |
|
50-56s |
Seawead-eating sheep, only found on a few islands in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. |
| British Milk Sheep |
120-180mm |
|
50-54s |
Primarily a dairy sheep. |
| Suffolk |
50-90mm |
25-33 |
48-58 |
Better known as a meat breed, down breed. Resists felting and creasing, springy. |
| Hampshire |
50-90mm |
25-33 |
46-58 |
Not primarily a fleece breed. |
| Black Welsh Mountain |
80-100mm |
|
48-56 |
|
| Dorset |
60-100mm |
27-33 |
46-58 |
Better known as a meat breed, down breed. Similar to Suffolk, but seems I personally have found more Suffolk fleeces in the finer range. |
| Texel |
|
|
46-56s |
Breed originated in the Netherlands. |
| Jacob |
75-175mm |
|
44-56 |
A primitive breed with both white and colored wool on the same fleece, named for the spotted sheep of Jacob in the Bible. Varies greatly in fineness and quality. |
| Soay |
50-150mm |
|
44-50s |
It is a very primitive breed and is 2 coated. It has a natural break in the fleece and the sheep normally shed their fleece in the summer. This allows the fleece to be rooed or plucked instead of sheared. |
| Perendale |
125mm |
28-32 |
40-48 |
A good all-purpose wool, strong but light in weight for knitting and weaving. The breed was developed from crossing Cheviots with Ronmeys. |
| Border Leicester |
125-250mm |
30-38 |
36-48 |
|
| Coopworth |
125-200mm |
30-39 |
|
A high luster wool. |
| Romanov |
100-125mm |
31-38 |
46-54 |
Usually black to silver, stong fiber. Wears well. Russian breed known for having lambs by the litter. |
| Romney |
145mm |
31-38 |
40-48 |
A very versatile fleece with even crimp and good luster for all purposes. Finest of the longwool breeds. Strong fiber and spins easily. |
| Lincoln |
300-380mm |
33-41 |
~36 |
Coarse, but has good luster. |
| Cotswold |
200-300mm |
|
|
Long shiny ringlets. |
| Leicester |
175mm |
38-40 |
|
Coarse wool usually spun into a medium-thick yarn for outdoor garments, wall-hangings, furnishing fabrics, and rugs. |
| Drysdale |
310mm |
38-41 |
|
Hairy wool usually spun into a coarse, thick yarn for floor rugs and upholstery. Hardly any crimp to crimpless. |