Thursday, December 10, 2009

Down Breeds, They're not just for dinner anymore!


It has become very common for certain sheep breeds which fall into the Down category to be referred to as meat sheep. Now I will agree that, for those of us who are omnivores, well prepared lamb is very good…especially with a nice cucumber sauce on a pita. That’s where I’ll end my agreement. These sheep deserve a little more respect for the delightful work they do while walking around and munching grass. That work is growing their lovely wool. At the very least these should be considered dual purpose sheep. And we, as spinners, can help to start making the change.

Speaking from experience, it is pretty easy to find a good fleece in the longwools or the fine wools category but mention Dorset, Welsh Mountain, Oxford or Shropshire and there will generally be blank stares. The farmers of sheep in these categories are not raising their sheep for wool production so, many fleeces will have lots of VM and other undesirable contents. If you can get beyond that you will find a very lovely wool. It is a pleasure to spin.

The true down breeds are called “Down” because they originated in southeastern England and not because they have a downy undercoat. Most times the British Hill Breeds are also included in the down category because of fleece similarities. Let’s talk a little about these characteristics.

The wool from this class is generally lacking luster and the locks are not well defined. The crimp is not as obvious as with of wool in other categories. Though there is plenty of crimp in each fiber it is spiral in nature. Though the look of the crimp in the lock may not appear as a beautiful thing like the waviness of Cormo or the lovely curl of Wensleydale, this wool has a springiness and resilience unmatched in other types.

Another spectacular thing about this category is the resistance to felting. Though it can be needle felted it is generally a natural superwash requiring no more than reasonable care in washing.. This combined with the spring and resilience makes it a perfect option for socks and other items which may need frequent washings.

As far as fineness of the fibers there is a pretty broad range here. Most fall into the middle range of softness and so will be great for outerwear and blankets, but there are several which will produce very fine soft fleeces. As with all sheep this is just an average and can vary from sheep to sheep so sampling is highly important to make sure you will get the end product you were first envisioning.

Preparation of these fibers for spinning will depend on the fiber length. Most times the best method will be hand carding or drum carding because of short staple length. If you find a fleece with a staple length greater than 3 inches then combing would be a great option.

That brings me to my next point. Spinning these breeds in a worsted style will give all of the benefits of worsted spun wool but the yarn will not look much different than if the wool had been carded and spun long draw. Do not despair! This is due to the spiral type crimp and resilience of the resulting yarn. The wear factor will still be greatly increased in the worsted spun yarn.

Something else to think about when using a worsted spinning technique with wool from these breeds is a bit of shrinkage will surely happen when the freshly spun skein is washed and dried. As the fibers are spun they are stretched and smoothed as twist is added. When the skein is washed the and fibers try to spring back to their pre yarn state there will be shrinkage so sampling all the way through to the washing is very important to make sure you will have enough yardage for your project.

Now the pet topics of worsted spinning, longwools, SAMPLING and the joy of spinning any wool type have been covered. Keep your eyes peeled for those down type fleeces and try them. You won’t be sorry. And don’t ever let anyone call them meat sheep again.



Originally published in Spindlicity


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http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com

11 comments:

BammerKT said...

I love me a good batch of Suffolk for socks really. Thanks for the tips on shrinkage and preps/spinning styles.

Lynn said...

Fascinating! (also: now I'm hungry)

Melissa said...

Mmm gyros. I honestly feel a little bad saying that while looking at the adorable picture. Very interesting article.

Michelle said...

Hey-Great article! I've wondered why Down breeds had that particular name.

Dutch Hollow Acres said...

Great post! Makes me want talk to the lamb farm near us and give some of their fleece a try.

Melissa Barton said...

I had no idea about any of this. Fascinating. Spinning is changing the way sheep are raised, isn't it?

Deborah Robson said...

BRAVO. Down wools are wonderful. And much overlooked. By happenstance, I began to spin with Down-breed wools: this was before so many fibers were available, and that was what I could get. I was lucky. I knew from the start how nifty they are.

FIBER FOLLIES said...

Don't forget Babydoll Southdowns. They have become quite popular and a delight to raise as a heritage sheep now considered a miniature. But like other Down breeds their fleece has been overlooked as a source of a natural superwash. It is a short staple and often gets thrown away because of this. But the crimp makes it seem shorter than it is and if you spin from the locks it is quite easy to spin. Just hold the lock at each end and give it a snap and the lock will open up for easy spinning and release of any vm . It should actually be about 4 - 5 inches once it is opened but will often appear like 2 -3 inches. Because it is a short staple it should not be carded unless sent out to process and can be aligned with the drafting machine. Otherwise home carders just make a lot of neps and noils. So spinning it from the locks or using wool combs is the best way to prepare this fleece. It has very little vm because it is such a dense fleece. Most of it collects around the neck from eating hay in winter. But if it is skirted well it won't have much at all. Babydoll fleece fineness can be all over the board but it has become known as cashmere grade meaning it can be as fine as 18 microns for that first clip especially. The upper range is about 24 microns and it is one of the finest of the Down breed fleece. It should be spun with a very light hand and slightly underspun but it makes a great wool for socks and children's things because it can go in the washing machine. But do set the twist and preshrink (it loses about 1/3 ) before making it up. These are an easy wonderful sheep to raise if you are thinking about an easy care breed. And the wonderful thing about the rams is they rule the barnyard and keep order. So if you also have other animals like alpacas or llamas for guards or even angora goats, and any head rearing and vying for dominance that is about to happen, a BD ram will stop it before it starts. They are an all purpose sheep and great for wool, milk and meat. Purportedly they have the most flavorful meat of any breed and the are easily milked and used to make wonderful cheese. But I do wish I had known about their non felting wool properties before I imported them . So great to now have a site like this that explains the Down breeds. I hope there will be posts sharing experiences with raising other Down breeds. I also hope someday this breed of wool will be as readily available as merino and marketed to the circular sock knitting community.

Anonymous said...

I have acquired a black Downs sheep fleece. It is very black. I will comb it then spin. It is a little coarser than the merino and Corriedale I usuallu have. Do you make garments from the yarn? I am concerned that it is a bit coarse to wear near the skin.

FIBER FOLLIES said...

It depends what you want to make and what Don breed it is . If it is Babydoll or Southdale, they are the finest of the Down breeds not as fine as Merino but it is finer than Corriedale, but has more loft and crimp. Corriedale is not a fine wool breed. Corriedales are a medium wool breed but with a wide variation in micron count. So first thing you need to know is what Down breed it is and then look up the micron count. It neds to be 21 microns or less to be comfortable without irrition to be worn next to the skin. The Southdowns are the only Down breed that could be worn next to the skin but the others are good for outerwear. Best to spin it with a light hand. Try a sample and test it after ashing -- put it next to your skininside the wrists or under the chinto determine if it wil have a reaction.

FIBER FOLLIES said...

Blogger FIBER FOLLIES said...
It depends what you want to make and what Down breed it is . If it is Babydoll or Southdale, they are the finest of the Down breeds not as fine as Merino but it is finer than Corriedale, but has more loft and crimp. Corriedale is not a fine wool breed. Corriedales are a medium wool breed but with a wide variation in micron count. So first thing you need to know is what Down breed it is and then look up the micron count. It needs to be 21 microns or less to be comfortable without irritation to be worn next to the skin. The Southdowns are the only Down breed that could be worn next to the skin but the others are good for outerwear. Best to spin it with a light hand. Try a sample and test it after washing -- put it next to your skin inside the wrists or under the chin to determine if it wil have a reaction.