Wool Fiber Photos

Below are some photos of different wool fibers. I've taken these photos as I've been spinning the fiber, or if I'm thinking of buying a larger quantity of the fiber. I'll be adding pictures here as I have them. (Please excuse the stains in my old wooden bowl - this bowl holds enough fiber for me to work with at one time. It's an antique salad bowl, about 15 inches across, that was no longer useful for food products.) Please check back as I add photos here.

Breed name and photo of raw wool prior to washing
Border Leicester Sheep		This wool fiber was sent to me as a sample, and it's a very nice wool. Very soft, very much like soft mohair. A long staple length.
Bluefaced Leicester Sheep		Bluefaced Leicester may now be my favorite fiber. This fiber is from a premium-quality fleece that I purchased and that is from a champion herdsire ram. The description by the seller was "dark silver with blonde tips", but as you can see there are wonderful color variations from charcoal to brown to blonde. The staple length is about 4 inches before carding removes some of the crimp., There is a low grease content, and the fiber is very easy to spin.
Corriedale Sheep		This Corriedale was also sent to me as a sample, although I have spun dyed Corriedale prior to this. Undyed, the Corriedale is softer than the dyed. I found the dyed fiber very stiff. I still prefer Dorset over Corriedale as Dorset is softer still.
Dorset Sheep Horned Dorset		My interest in Dorset sheep is that they are a dominant breed in Wales, and I am part Welsh. This is a wonderful soft, strong wool with a medium to long staple length.
Gotland Sheep		Gotland sheep are fairly rare and their fleece is very long-stapled. Some of the fiber here was seven inches long. It's very curly and varies from grey to silver
Icelandic	I decided not to card out this sample, as the crimp was such a nice example.	This Icelandic is a third fiber sample I received. It is a type of Icelandic wool that has more of a straight crimp.
Llama Red-brown color		This is fiber from my brother's llama. Llama is a wonderful fiber, very soft, and very easy to spin. I had thought it would be more coarse, but it is a downy-type of fiber that also has guard hairs. This factor, as well as a slight variation in the hues of the fiber, from reddish to dark brown, make it a very nice, slightly variegated yarn.
Merino Sheep		Merino wool is very soft. It is a short-staple fiber that is easy to spin. It has a high lanolin content. Natural color Merino sheep have fleeces in colors ranging from the more common cream or beige color to dark brown.
Merino Sheep- Natural colors		Merino Sheep have the beige or cream color wool as shown above, but they also have other shades of brown that occur naturally. This sample of different colors was purchased as "second cuts", meaning the wool is the lesser quality shearing from a fleece. These can contain more soil prior to washing, but it is an inexpensive way to purchase the higher-priced natural color Merino raw wool.
Rambouillet Sheep no raw wool photo available		Rambouillet are related to the Merino sheep. They are what is described as "the backbone" of the American sheep industry. The wool is short-fibered and very soft. I don't find it is quite as nice as Merino, but that is probably a personal preference.
Romney Sheep		This fiber sample was sent to me with some other wool. I will wash it and card it to see what the wool spins like. Note- it seems similar to Tunis in texture.
Scottish Blackface Sheep no raw wool photo available		This breed of sheep is listed as having "carpet wool". To me, that description is a little harsh. The fiber is more like a cross between Corriedale and Texel. It is about the texture of Corriedale, but with an overall "feel" to the touch of Texel.
Texel Sheep		I wanted to try Texel wool because they are the predominant breed in Ireland and I am partly of Irish descent. It is a very nice, lofty wool that spins easily. It is more coarse than Merino.
Tunis Sheep no raw wool photo available		Tunis sheep have a wool that is coarse and slightly stiff. This breed of sheep were the dominant Colonial breed of sheep until the Civil War when the flocks were greatly reduced. Today they are considered rare.
Angora Goat (Mohair fiber)		The fiber from Angora goats is called Mohair. The hair from Angora rabbits is called Angora. Rabbit hair is softer, but Mohair is silky and luxurious. It is a long-staple fiber, often over 7 inches long. The hair from young goats is shorter, but softer. The fiber on the left is about 5 inches long and from a young goat with both golden and white hair. The photo on the far left is from a young white goat. You can't see much difference in these photos, but the golden hue adds a beautiful luster.

You know you've received a "poor quality" fleece when it looks like the photos below. This particular fiber is Rambouillet, but this can happen to any wool fiber. I'm not sure if in this case it was the shearing or the care afterward, or perhaps even the feeding and care of the animal, but the fibers of the wool are damaged, lumpy, and very difficult to spin.

When spun, the fiber has more than the usual number of potential clumps. These clumps of fiber can be removed when spinning, but the linear differences in the strength of the yarn make it an undesirable finished yarn. In the middle of the photo is the damaged Rambouillet on the blue spindle. The lesser quality of the spun yarn can be easily seen. Below it, on the green spindle, is Merino yarn, a similar fiber, that was not damaged before spinning.

When purchasing a fleece, I now look for photo examples of the actual fleece I am purchasing, as well as assessing the animal's environment, and if possible, the shearing information of the farm or seller. That may seem like a lot of work, given the fact that any of us can go to a store and buy commercially produced yarn, but so many of our basic skills are lost to industrialization, it really isn't too much work for me personally, and it enriches my life in the process.

The inferiority of the yarn is also shown in this sample of it after it has been plyed.