So, who's up for another 3 part blog to help you learn and get more from your projects? 

(of course we all are!)

So is Woolbert, who is, incidentally, made from Wool. And that's where we're going to start today!

Tip: This is quite a long blog post, so best to grab a cuppa (and a biscuit) before you start!

It'll run like this:

Part 1 - Animal Fibres

Part 2 - Plant Fibres

Part 3 - Unusual Fibres and blends. 

I will say at the beginning that we aren't going to cover man-made fibres. This is because our stance is that although they do have a place, there are always much better natural alternatives that have fewer environmental impacts (microfibres for one), and in our experience, you don't get as good a result from these yarns and fibres anyway. We will do some on blends in Week 3, because as I say, they do have their place, but not necessarily at 100%. 

Wool

Yep, and the first thing I'm going to say is that when I talk about Wool, or any fibre, I'm talking about it as the fibre which can then be spun into yarn. Yarn can be made from pretty much any fibre, so we're talking about the fibres themselves. 

Wool is generally when the fibre comes from a sheep. The definition between wool and hair can be a little tricky. Generally speaking, a wool is more crimped, has overlapping scales, and is usually light and airy, trapping in heat or cold. Hair, although made of the same substance, tends to be straighter and smoother, it can be thicker and denser as well, so it doesn't trap as much air and so isn't as insulating. Although most sheep have wool, a few breeds do have hair instead,

Something else that comes up a lot in the shop during conversations, is that very few people realise just how many different breeds of sheep there are. It turns out that there are over 60 pure breeds of sheep in the UK alone, and that this increases to around 90 if you include crossbreeds where the sheep have been mixed to provide different characteristics. Worldwide, this goes up astronomically to over 1000 distinct breeds of sheep! The National Sheep Association  has a very comprehensive list and loads of information on UK breeds if you'd like to dig into it more. 

The most important thing is that no two sheep breeds are the same. Each has different characteristics, and that includes their fleece. We aren't just talking colours, we're talking thickness, texture, whether they have a second coat that has lots of kemp or guard hairs in it, how long the fleece is, how curly the fleece is, and a lot more. 

This is really important when it comes to explaining to people why we have so little Welsh Wool in the shop despite there being so many on the hills around us. The reason is, that they are 'mountain' sheep. They are hardy animals that are bred to survive on the mountains in harsh and unpredictable weather. Their fleece reflects that. It has thick (and scratchy!) guard hairs in it that help to protect the sheep. They are called guard hairs for a reason - they are a physical defence against thorns and anything else that might rub against and hurt the sheep or get stuck in it's wool. They are also much better at weather protection. Although sheep do produce lanolin which acts as a waterproofing for their wool, these guard hairs are also much smoother and straighter than the rest of the coat, which means that they help rain, snow, hail etc to roll off the sheep rather than building up on it's back. Very important if you're grazing on a mountain! 

However the upshot of this is that a mountain sheep is not really what you'd want to make a nice soft shawl or sweater with. They do, however, make excellent rugs and carpets where you need more strength and durability and a soft fleece would be more likely to fray or break. 

So would I use Welsh Mountain sheep for a yarn? Yes, absolutely, but it would be a dedicated chunky rug yarn for weaving, it would not be a thin and delicate yarn for garments and accessories! 

This is also the reason why many people think that they have a wool allergy. It does happen, but is less common than you think. The reason being that if a product just says 'wool' on it, it means that they haven't been careful about which breeds of sheep the fleece has come from. We've all felt those sweaters that say '100% wool' on them and felt how scratchy they are. This is usually because the fleece has been taken to a large depot and has been 'graded' to separate it into how thick/thin/smooth/scratchy the wool is, and a lot of it is lumped together. This is fine for items such as socks, where you want a bit more durability and have less sensitive skin, but when choosing a sweater in the shop, something that says '100% wool' might not be as soft as you think and you're likely better having a look at things that are more breed specific. 

Merino

Merino is probably the best known sheep breed in the world at the moment. It is admired for it's soft silky coat which can be worn next to the skin. It is a fabulous fleece which is used for garments, accessories, and pretty much anything that you want to be nice and soft. You'll also find it blended in with things like silk to create something really luxurious! 

Originally developed in Spain in the middle ages and not exported until the 1700s, before which it was punishable by death(!), it took centuries for the merino to be refined enough to have it's current status as the soft and luxurious fleece that it is. They have been carefully selectively bred since the 1200s and took until the 1600s to be a 'contender'. Until that point, and for a long time since, British wool was considered the industry high standard. 

Merino is also a really interesting breed and worth taking the time to understand where the fleeces are sourced from, because not all merino fleeces are created equal!

We are very lucky to be stocking yarn from the UK's first merino flock, at Romney Marsh Wools. This is super soft and really bouncy! Much bouncier than a lot of the merino wools that I have had from all over the world. 

There are four main areas that merino sheep are kept: Australia, New Zealand, South America and The Falkland Islands, as well as smaller amounts in it's native Spain and France, where they have developed their own breed from shared heritage, the Rambouillet. It is important to know this because animal care and the treatment of the sheep varies significantly across these places, as well as creating slight differences in the fleece. 

I'm not going to go into things in too much depth here, because it isn't a very pleasant one. Lets just say that there is a controversial practice called Mulesing that takes place in Australia. It is there to prevent flystrike, which is awful, but there are alternatives in place. As such, Ewe Felty Thing will not stock any yarn from a mulesed flock, or other yarns from a company that  uses mulesed flocks. (i.e. we won't stock their cotton or alpaca if they use mulesed merino in another product). 

Merino is definitely a brilliant fibre to work with and is absolutely one of my 'go-to' fibres, as it is for a lot of people! If you want soft, silky and skin-wearable yarn, then this is the one to go for! 

Bluefaced Leicester (BFL)

Bluefaced Leicester is the softest UK sheep breed, and by the standards set by Merinos, is very much the new kid on the block, only coming into being around the turn of the 20th century. Sadly, they don't grow blue fleece, but their tongues and skin do look a blue/grey colour which is what gives rise to the name. 

Although not quite as soft as a Merino, it is our closest native equivalent. The fleece has a beautiful sheen (we love the West Yorkshire Spinners BFL Fleece yarn for this in particular!) and it's more of a crimp than a curl to the fleece (having washed some myself, i know!) It's a slightly heavier fleece, which means that it is lovely for creating drape, and weirdly isn't as good for felting as some other breeds. 

These sheep are beautiful and tall with quite long pointed ears which make them quite easily recognisable. Almost all of them have a creamy white fleece, but there are black/dark brown ones as well.

Because they are a soft-fleeced sheep, they do need to be kept in gentler climbs than some UK breeds, so if you're thinking of keeping them you need to make sure you have shelter, or are in the lowlands! 

Alpaca

Now, Alpaca is the first of our 'hair' animals. Their fleece is much straighter than that of a sheep, and despite what I said in the opening paragraph about warmth, is considered a lot warmer than sheep's wool. This is because alpaca's hair is actually hollow, which traps air and therefore works as an excellent insulator! 

Alpaca is also less likely to irritate allergies as the animal does not create lanolin. Where as sheep fleece is called 'in the grease' when it is unwashed, you could call alpaca fleece 'in the dust' as they do rather enjoy a bit of rolling around on the ground, and their fleeces tend to be more dusty than dirty as there are no oils to trap grime. 

Other Camelid species we use for fibre

You will also see Llama and Camel fibres being used in yarns.

Llamas have a rougher fleece than alpacas and are more likely to be used for outerwear than direct skin contact, but the other properties remain the same. 

Camel fibre - although Llamas and Alpacas can be sheared in the same way as sheep, camels are very different. Instead, their coats are brushed during shedding and the fibre collected. It is a truly luxurious fibre (I've dyed and used camel blends!) and has a gorgeous drape and smoothness. Of the three, Camel is the most luxurious of the three to craft with. 

Goats

I'm using Goats as the heading to talk about the two main types of fibre that come from them. Both are luxury fibres, but have very different characteristics!

Cashmere

Cashmere is a very ancient product, having been manufactured in Mongolia, Nepal and Kashmir (from where it gets it's name) for hundreds or even thousands of years. 

In the same way as Camel fibre is collected, Cashmere is a soft fluffy undercoat on specific goats (Capra hircus) which is carefully brushed out during moulting and collected. This down-like hair is super-fine and soft, but as the process is very labour intensive and can only be done during moulting, it means that Cashmere is always going to be a limited and highly priced resource. This is why we don't currently stock cashmere yarns in the shop - we simply can't afford to! (But we do absolutely love it!)

Mohair 

Ok, so mohair is very divisive. It's known for being very itchy-scratchy against the skin, but when blended with silk and used as a lace-weight yarn, it very much comes into it's own! 

The confusion that comes in with goats is that Mohair actually comes from Angora Goats. This has led to people mistakenly calling it Angora, when it isn't (and we'll get to that in a minute!). Angora goats grow a long curly coat, which is sheared twice a year.

Angora

Angora comes from Angora Rabbits and it is lovely and soft and fluffy, as you would expect from a rabbit! They also originate in Turkey, which is why the name confusion has taken place. 

The fibre is sooo super soft that it rivals Cashmere, and lets face it, rabbits are a little bit easier to control and groom than a goat! Rabbits are sheared with clippers or small scissors every 3-4 months, but can also have their hair hand plucked by carefully and gently pulling the hairs that are detaching from the skin (don't worry, nobody just pulls their hair!). 

I've even seen videos of people spinning yarn directly from the rabbit, which looked so relaxed and happy to be having fusses, that it makes me wish I had one!

Because of the size of Angora Rabbits, even the Giant Angora only wields around 300-500g per grooming session. This means that any products made from Angora are worth a lot, due to the time and dedication it takes to create. 

Yak

Here's another fabulous unusual animal fibre that you might find in high-end blends. Yak is another super-soft fibre, but this one is also coloured and is a dark-grey colour which gives an amazing depth to the dye process. 

Like some of the other animals we've discussed, Yaks have two coats - a guard coat with coarse hair, and a soft downy undercoat, which is what is used for yarns. Yaks despite being huge animals, only produce a small amount of this downy fibre per year, and it is harvested by brushing the animals, as it is in some of the others above. 

Yak fibre comes in a range of deep tones, and if you see a yarn or roving that has yak in there, you'll find that it can range from oatmealy light greys all the way through to quite a deep dark browny grey, depending on the animal and also the amount in the blend. 

It is perfect for that luxury project you've been eyeing up!

Silk

 Last but not least, we need to have a chat about silk. This is still an animal fibre, despite it being from a very different beast entirely! 

Silk was first used as a fibre in China around 6000 years ago. There are 5 main types of silk used in textiles, all originating from the cocoons of different silk moths. 

Mulberry Silk

This is the one most people have heard of. It is the most commercially available silk and comes from the pupae of the Mulberry Silk Moth. Unfortunately most of the cocoons used in the production of mulberry silk are cultivated and the moths do not survive to adulthood. The strands are from one long strand, up to 1500m long!

Eri Silk

A slightly thicker silk with shorter strands which is also cultivated, but unlike Mulberry Silk Moths, their cocoons are open ended, which means that the inner pupae where the larvae is metamorphosing can be removed without harming it, and the silk then spun. 

Tussah silk

Tussah silk is a wild silk. This means that it is not cultivated but instead the moth grows outside naturally. The cocoons are harvested once the moth has emerged, and the silk is then processed. It has a much deeper colour and a rougher feel than the other silks. 

Muga Silk

A rare silk only really found in the Assam region of India. It's a very deeply coloured silk which again is wild and harvested once the moths have emerged. Apparently the colour of the silk darkens with use. 

Penduncle Silk 

This silk is not produced from the cocoon itself, but actually from the tip of the cocoon of the Tussah Silk Moth where it anchors onto a tree branch or similar. This is called the Penduncle. It is only tiny and there is only one per cocoon. so it takes a long time to harvest. However it is even stronger than other forms of silk, and comes in a stunning deep grey colour. 

So there we go!

I realise that this has been a VERY long blog post, but I hope you've stayed with me all the way through to the end! I really do love natural fibres and I'm excited to be sharing all of this with you. I very much hope that you're finding it interesting. Please do drop me a message and let me know!!

Much of understanding fibres helps in choosing the correct one to use for a project and how it will affect the finished item. I do find it endlessly fascinating that there is so much variation out there, and we've barely even scratched the surface. Each of the fibres I've mentioned could easily have had their very own blog post... but maybe that's something for 2027 Nikki to think about! 

As for now, next week we're moving onto plant fibres, and believe me there are a lot more than just cotton and bamboo available nowadays! See you then!

P.S. If you think you might have missed one of the blog posts, don't worry! They are all available on our Blog page on the website, and we've covered a lot so far! 3 top tips for knitters and crocheters which included gauge, blocking and yarn substitution, my design journey, understanding a ball band and more. 

P.P.S. If there's something you'd like me to cover in a future Sunday Skein, please just drop me a message and I'll add it to my list!