One ounce scoured Wensleydale (left). One ounce scoured Cormo (right).
European figurines resembling longwool-type sheep and dating from the second century offer some evidence that sheep with long locks and this body type were imported to England during the Roman occupation (about 43 to 430 ce). More evidence comes from a few centuries later in the Luttrell Psalter, an illuminated manuscript written and illustrated in Lincolnshire in the early 1300s. It contains detailed drawings of what could be longwool-type sheep, thought to be old-style Lincolns.
Lincoln and Leicester sheep, whose backgrounds crisscross a bit, are the foundation that many other breeds are built on. Some of the breeds I feature in this category are true longwool sheep, but I’ve also included others not usually termed longwools. The longwool sheep in their backgrounds has added shine and length to their fleeces, as well as the body bulk needed for meat production.
The locks of most longwools are 6 inches or more, with beautiful luster. The crimp structure varies somewhat from breed to breed. Wensleydales and Teeswaters have long locks that hang separately in a sort of spiral curl that is sometimes compared to dreadlocks. The coarse fleeces of the Leicester group have more of a wave, comparable to those pin-curled hairstyles of the 1920s.
Romneys are part of the longwools group because of their genealogy. Their fleece has a crimp similar in pattern to the crimp of the fine wools, although with fewer crimps per inch, more like other longwools, which average 3 to 6 crimps per inch, no matter what shape the crimps are. The lock tips are generally pointed, as with the other longwools.
The longwool category is different from other categories in the range of fiber diameters within it (from 24 microns all the way up to 41 microns). This feature also makes these fleeces very attractive to many spinners. On the fine end, we’ve got Bluefaced Leicester, which is rarely questioned as a fiber suitable for next-to-skin wear. But the category also includes Lincoln, one of the coarsest of wools. It would not generally be used for garments, unless a fleece is handpicked for that purpose. You may happily come upon a ewe who is on the fine end of the wool spectrum, or maybe a lamb fleece is available.
Fleece from the longwools is dense and heavy. When spinning their first longwool, many spinners are surprised at how much less length they get compared to the same amount of a fine wool. Compare the 1-ounce samples of the unspun fine-wool and longwool fleeces in the photo below, and notice how much loftier the fine wool is. This means that the wool is less dense and lighter. The higher weight/lower volume of the longwools will translate into less length per ounce when compared to finer wools. Plan accordingly when making calculations about how much fiber to buy for a project. For example, a fine wool can lose up to half its weight after washing due to dirt and high grease content. Longwools don’t lose as much, usually more like one-quarter to one-third, as they have a bit less grease than the fine wools group. Because of the density of the longwools, however, it’s important for a spinner to estimate more fiber when calculating what’s needed. The finished objects will weigh more than comparable projects made with a fine-wool or Down type. Be sure to sample!
One ounce scoured Wensleydale (left). One ounce scoured Cormo (right).
These wools also have a tendency to halo, similar to what you would expect from mohair. Even with all of the smoothing and compacting that happens when you draft a worsted yarn, the halo will eventually appear with use, another important reason to sample. Carry a swatch in your pocket for a few days to see how the fabric might change over time and to determine whether it will truly work for your intended purpose.
I cringe when I hear any wool automatically classified as a rug wool. While it’s true that some fibers are extremely coarse and perfect for this use, I resist the tendency to hear the name of a certain breed and thoughtlessly judge it as not useful for clothing. Most wools can be used for some sort of clothing, and all wools have benefits for certain uses. I have heard many times, for instance, that Wensleydale is good only for rugs, and while I wouldn’t describe it as a fiber I would use for certain undergarments, I would definitely make a cardigan, a lace shawl, or even a scarf from this wool. The secret is to choose well and then process and spin based on the desired end result.
Longwools lend themselves beautifully to worsted preparations and drafting methods. The worsted prep removes the shorter fibers and aligns the remaining fibers. The worsted drafting method allows every fiber to stay in line and makes a dense yarn that takes advantage of all the light, so the natural luster can do its magic.
On the other hand, a woolen prep and spinning technique can add warmth to these wools, although you do give up some of the luster that they are known for. If you choose to use handcards or a drumcarder to process these wools, it’s important to choose a fleece with locks shorter than 5 or 6 inches. Handcarding long-stapled wools can be very difficult, even ending up in a tangled mess. And long locks can be difficult to remove from a drumcarder, as they are likely to wrap around the drum.
Because of the luster and tendency to halo, as well as the lower number of crimps per inch of the longwools, differences in spinning methods really matter. When placed next to one another, it is very easy to distinguish between a yarn spun with a woolen draw and one spun with a worsted draw, based on the changes in luster and loft in the samples. The differences become even more obvious when the samples are made into knitted or woven fabrics.
Using a lower twist in yarns spun with longwool fleece makes them more comfortable for garments. The lower twist also highlights the luster and drape, and prominently displays the natural silkiness of these fibers. On the other hand, more twist makes an extremely strong yarn, which can be difficult to break with your hands. This can be useful when making carpets, bags, or any other item that needs to stand up to a lot of wear and tear.
Longwool fleeces can be a bit more slippery than those in some of the other categories, so here are some suggestions to help you feel more control.
Observe the distance between your hands. I ask new spinners to hold their hands about one-and-a-half staple lengths apart. This is because beginners have a tendency to hold onto everything with an extremely tight grip. Moving your hands apart allows fibers room to slide past each other. As you become more comfortable and loosen your grip, you can move your hands closer together, have a bit more control, and keep the fibers organized.
Loosen the wheel’s take-up. Because of their slipperiness, longwool fibers seem to want to drift apart quickly if you have too much take-up (aka, too tight a tension). Loosening the tension gives you time to draft without having to tighten your grip on the fiber. A tight grip generally results in a less-consistent yarn . . . and spinners with sore hands.
Draft slowly. As with all fibers, when I spin worsted, I draft no more than half the staple length of the wool I’m working with. For woolen spinning, I do a lot of sampling to make sure that my drafting is slow enough to get enough twist in the wool for the project I’m working on.
Origin: Border Leicester selected for blue faces and fine wool
Fleece weight: 2–5 lbs.
Staple length: 3"–6"
Fiber diameter: 24–28 microns
Lock characteristics: Very thin, fine curly crimp
Color: Usually white
Origin: Dishley Leicester/Teeswater or Cheviot
Fleece weight: 8–12 lbs.
Staple length: 4"–10"
Fiber diameter: 30–40 microns
Lock characteristics: Tight, lustrous curls
Color: White, blacks, grays
Origin: Dishley Leicester
Fleece weight: Up to 18 lbs.
Staple length: 6"–10"
Fiber diameter: 32–40 microns
Lock characteristics: Long, lustrous, wavy
Color: White, black, blue gray
Origin: Border Leicester/Romney
Fleece weight: 8–18 lbs.
Staple length: 5"–8"
Fiber diameter: 30–39 microns
Lock characteristics: Long, lustrous
Color: White, grays
Origin: Native to Cotswold region of England with Leicester Longwool
Fleece weight: 8–20 lbs.
Staple length: 7"–15"
Fiber diameter: 33–42 microns
Lock characteristics: Heavy, lustrous
Color: White, black, gray
Origin: From Gute sheep in Sweden
Fleece weight: 51⁄2–11 lbs.
Staple length: 7"–15"
Fiber diameter: 18–35 microns, depending on region
Lock characteristics: May be wavy or curly
Color: Grays
Origin: Roman longwools
Fleece weight: 11–16 lbs.
Staple length: 7"–15"
Fiber diameter: 33.5–44 microns
Lock characteristics: Distinct with defined crimp
Color: White, silver grays, maybe browns
Origin: Cheviot/Romney
Fleece weight: 71⁄2–11 lbs.
Staple length: 4"–6"
Fiber diameter: 28–37 microns
Lock characteristics: Pointed tips; even, defined crimp
Color: Usually white
Origin: Romney Marsh/Dishley Leicester
Fleece weight: 8–12 lbs.
Staple length: 4"–8"
Fiber diameter: 29–36 microns
Lock characteristics: Distinct, pointed tips; uniform crimp
Color: Wide range
Origin: Northern England
Fleece weight: 71⁄2–18 lbs.
Staple length: 12"–15"
Fiber diameter: 30–36 microns
Lock characteristics: Long, glowing luster
Color: White (sometimes grays in U.S. upgrades)
Origin: Dishley Leicester/Teeswater
Fleece weight: 7–10 lbs.
Staple length: 7"–12"
Fiber diameter: 30–36 microns
Lock characteristics: Long, distinct, lustrous
Color: White, grays, blacks
Wensleydale
The longwools, many of which can have a staple length of 6 or more inches in just six months, seem to attract a lot of dirt. Though these fleeces aren’t generally greasy, some other issues need to be dealt with in washing, unless the original bearer of the fleece was always kept on a clear, grassy meadow or inside on artificial turf. Because this is an open fleece (meaning that the locks move away from each other all the way down to the skin), dirt, vegetable matter, and other undesirable things can get right down to the root of the fleece. This may sound a bit objectionable, but the open fleece that let that stuff in also easily allows it to leave when you pick, wash, and process it. A hot soak and some detergent often wash these right off the fibers.
Longer fleeces that have been shorn only once a year are beautiful, but they take a bit more work, as there may be areas that have matted. Combing also takes more work, since combing longer fibers makes fiber management a bit more complicated.
Wenleydale locks: (top) one year’s growth; (bottom) 6 months’ growth.
Before I begin the washing process, I pick out any large pieces of hay or grass or objectionable areas overlooked in the skirting. If the fleece has irregular length, I sort the parts and keep similar lengths together (for sorting, see Skirting and Sorting Matters). This helps avoid unnecessary waste during combing. Finally, I take the part of the fleece I am about to wash and shake it out over a sheet or a trash container to get out the really loose bits before submerging it in water.
Though I generally comb longwool fleeces, I sometimes wash them in bulk before processing. The locks of a fine-wool fleece can get a bit muddled, but the locks of the longwools can easily be identified and taken from the washed fleece one by one with very little waste.
I wash most of my longwool fleeces in batches of about 8 ounces to 11⁄2 pounds at a time. How much I wash depends on the size of the container I’m using. I don’t generally like to wash more than 11⁄2 pounds at a time because the fiber is harder to handle when it’s wet. What started out as 11⁄2 pounds turns to 3 pounds when water is added, and that can be a bit unwieldy. Some people like to wash a whole fleece in the bathtub, but I don’t like kneeling on the hard floor in a small space, so I came up with a method that works for me.
I use a container small enough to manage when moving it into and out of the sink and dumping out water, but with enough room to completely submerge the fleece in water. The dirt must have space to separate from the fleece and fall out during the soaking. If the fiber is packed too densely into the container, there won’t be enough area for the dirt to move away from the fibers. I like to use a somewhat wide, shallow container so that if I need to take the fleece out with my hands, I’m not in water up to my elbows. A dishpan works well for smaller amounts of fleece (about 8 to 12 ounces).
I make sure to choose a container that’s the right size to fit in my washing area. I use three containers at a time in a kind of assembly line. I wash the fleece in all three, then rinse it in all three, before spreading it out to dry on drying screens. This way I can get a whole fleece washed in just a couple of hours.
I don’t usually put my fleece in a bag for this process, but some people like to use a lingerie bag, which is designed to wash delicate clothing in the washing machine. The benefit of using a bag is that it supports the fleece and keeps it together so that you don’t have to wrestle with it as you move it around during its washes and rinses.
Before you decide to wash an entire fleece this way, make sure you have enough room to spread it out to dry. A fleece needs a lot of room! If you pile it too thickly, it will take forever to dry, especially if it’s humid. Your drying fleece should be spread out into one layer about as thick as one staple length at the most.
Step 1. Set up three containers, assembly-line fashion, and fill them with water that is around 115°F (46°C) if you are using Power Scour, or hotter than 150°F (65.5°C) if you are using any other scouring agent. Add your choice of cleanser to each container, based on the directions for your chosen scouring agent. Use enough water to cover the fleece and make sure there is enough room for the dirt to escape from the fiber.
Step 2. Add your wool, but don’t overpack the basin. Allow the wool to sink, or push it down gently. Soak 15–20 minutes.
Step 3. Lift the wool up and squeeze out the water; don’t twist it.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 using the next two containers; then repeat these steps again in each of the containers with fresh water that is the same temperature as the first washes, but without using detergent.
Worsted spinning is the perfect method for fleece of the longwool breeds. The length and quality of their fibers call for a tool that can handle their characteristics. If you try to use a flicker, it’s sometimes difficult to get to the middle of locks longer than 5 inches. Similarly, cards do not love the length of the fibers, and the process becomes almost unmanageable. Combs, on the other hand, take the entire length of the lock, open it up, and align the fibers beautifully. In addition to being easier to manage on a comb, the worsted prep brings out the natural luster of these fibers and shows it off like a beauty queen. Combing removes all of the short fibers and tangled fibers, as well as the second cuts, to make a perfectly smooth, parallel preparation for spinning. The resulting yarn is not only smooth and lustrous but also strong.
Choosing your combs. I describe the various styles of combs in chapter 1 (Combs), but here are some additional tips for which combs to use and how to use them on the longwools. Single-pitch combs are good for a first pass at the fiber; they help remove any large debris and open the fibers a bit to get ready for finer combing. The more rows of tines, the faster the combing goes, because fewer passes are needed to fully prepare the fibers for spinning. If you plan on processing more than one fleece per year, English combs might be a great investment. I have, however, processed pounds and pounds of fiber on my 2-pitch Viking combs.
Spinning oil or combing milk. Before combing, it’s a good idea to spritz your fibers with a bit of spinning oil, also sometimes referred to as combing milk. This mixture cuts down on static and helps control the fibers, making them easier to comb. It acts a lot like conditioner does for human hair (recipes below).
You can add a few drops of the combing milk to the fiber and work it through with your fingers before you load the combs, or spray it directly on the loaded fiber. You need only a small amount to cut down on static electricity and help the combs run smoothly through the fiber. The fibers should not feel at all wet.
Spinners use a number of different mixtures as spinning oils or combing milks. Here are a few recipes you can experiment with:
Heating your combs. Some spinners like to heat the tines of their combs to make the combing go a bit more smoothly. The warm tines heat the oils in the wool fibers, as well as any water retained by the wool, and the result is a very malleable and yielding fiber mass. To do this, set the tines of the comb on a stove or other heating element, or keep a small pot of hot water nearby.
Take some safety precautions to protect both yourself and your equipment. If you use water, the pot should be shallower than the length of the comb’s tines so that the wooden handle is not sitting in the water. Also, make sure to protect the wood of your combs from the direct heat of the stove. The goal is to heat just the metal tines.
If you are combing during the warmer months, heating may not be necessary, but in winter it can be helpful. I don’t do this every time I comb, usually because an appropriate heat source is not available. Using a good combing milk can give you the same results. Again, experimenting to find what works best for you is key.
Loading technique. Loading combs is also known as lashing-on. To reduce waste, load locks so as little wool as possible sticks out on the handle side of the tines: less than 1⁄4 inch is optimal. Too much fiber on the back side of the combs means more tangles and less fiber transferred to the other comb, and therefore more waste.
Loading wool combs
I generally load the locks with the cut ends on the tines. I like to spin all fibers from the cut end, because I find that the fibers slide past each other more easily when the scales of the wool are facing backward (toward the tip end) as I draw them out and spin. When I load the fibers with the cut ends on the tines, I know that if I make an odd number of combing passes, I will be pulling from the cut end of the fibers when I begin to draw my top off the comb. Some spinners who comb their fleece don’t arrange fibers with tips and butts aligned, and if you aren’t worried about that, then you can load the fibers in whatever way is most convenient for you. After you have practiced lashing-on and combing for some time, the lashing-on will become quicker, but as you practice, it is important to lash-on carefully.
For longer-stapled wools, or for a fleece that may be particularly special, it might be a good idea to flick the locks using the tapping method before lashing on. If the locks are open, it makes the combing much easier and can cut down on waste.
Avoiding waste. It’s difficult to estimate how much loss results from combing, but you can consider a few things to minimize waste. The cleaner the fleece, the less loss. Similarly, more second cuts result in more waste. If the locks are cotted (matted) in any place, then more loss is to be expected. In general, with a good fleece, I expect to lose about 10 to 15 percent to combs that have been loaded well. If you’re a beginner, expect a little more loss at first until you get comfortable with the combing process.
When you use any handcombs, it’s important to think safety first. When you follow the combing steps described on the upcoming pages, keep in mind that combs have the potential to hurt if not handled with care and following the correct method.
Although combing is the best fiber prep choice for the longwools, you don’t have to reserve it only for those fleeces. Any fiber that extends past the front tines of your combs can be combed. I generally like a staple length of at least 3 inches for my 2-pitch handcombs, and a bit longer for my English combs. Staple lengths as short as 2 inches can be successfully combed, however, if you use small, fine-toothed handcombs.
Step 1. When using handheld combs, one comb will do more work than the other as the wool is transferred. Hold the empty comb in your dominant hand. Point the tines of the loaded comb mostly up, but tilted slightly away from your face and body.
Step 2. Make your first combing stroke at the very tips of the fibers, moving the comb perpendicular to the stationary comb and away from your body.
Step 3. Work gradually in toward the base of the tines, transferring the wool from the loaded comb to the empty comb a bit more with each stroke. When it becomes more difficult to transfer the fibers, I like to give the moving comb a bit of a twist at the end of the stroke to help remove more from the stationary comb. When you’ve transferred all the fibers you can to the moving comb, you have completed one pass.
Step 4. Switch hands in a way that is both comfortable and safe. It may take some practice and experimenting to find the best method for you. Another option is to put one of the combs down, then trade places with the comb you are still holding.
For most wools, three passes is sufficient to open the locks, but sometimes it takes four or even five passes. But it’s important to make as few passes as possible, as too many can result in neps in finer wools and more tangling and waste in others. When you are finished combing, the fiber on the comb should be completely open, with no obvious locks remaining.
The advice about handheld combs I’ve just given is for using Viking combs. These are the combs I use most often for small projects and sampling. If I were going to be combing an entire fleece, however, or even just enough of a large fleece to make a project like an adult-size sweater, I would use combs with a bit more capacity, such as English or Dutch combs.
Dutch combs are 2-pitch combs. Instead of both combs having handles, however, one has a handle and one does not and is always clamped to a table. Dutch-style combs may have longer tines than handheld 2-pitch combs, and so they hold more fiber in each load.
Step 1. Load the stationary comb lock by lock.
Step 2. The tines of the stationary Dutch comb are always upright, and so for the first pass, you move the comb from side to side. You can swing it from right to left or left to right, depending on which is most comfortable for you, though you may want to go through the fibers from both sides in order to transfer the most wool onto the moving comb.
Step 3. Once the fiber has been transferred to the moving comb, take it in a north–south direction to transfer it back to the stationary comb. Keep its tines perpendicular to those of the stationary comb. As with handcombs, begin at the tips of the fiber farthest from the comb itself and continue to move closer to the stationary comb until the moving comb’s tines are sliding next to the wood of the stationary comb, and there’s no more wool to transfer.
English combs generally have four or five rows of tines, and both combs have ta handle. Usually these combs are very heavy, and so clamping one of them to a table and using the other as the moving comb will be more comfortable.
Step 1. When you lash onto the English combs, the tines should be facing upward. Load the comb lock by lock, using the last 1⁄2 inch or so of the staple length. Don’t worry about loading it all the way to the last row of the comb. This is different from the way you load a 2-pitch comb, although in both cases you want the staples securely on the comb.
Step 2. Once the locks are lashed onto the comb, you have two choices for your method of combing. You can keep the tines pointing up and take the moving comb in an east-to-west motion (a), or you can turn the tines to the side and swing the comb from north to south (b), being careful not to hit your leg.
In their books, both Peter Teal (Hand Woolcombing and Spinning) and Allen Fannin (Handspinning Art and Technique) describe doing one combing pass and then pulling the fiber from the comb, removing any noils and waste, and lashing-on the fiber again. This is a perfect method for hand combing and gives fantastic results, but I don’t generally do it this way. I usually just make the three passes, moving the fiber from the stationary comb to the working comb, back to the stationary comb, and one more time back to the working comb. I’m then ready to pull the fibers off into top that is ready to spin. This is definitely a simplified version of what Mr. Teal and Mr. Fannin recommend, but I have been extremely happy with my results.
A diz is a tool that helps you remove fiber from a comb and create a nice length of top that is a consistent thickness and ready to spin. Many dizzes have several holes of varying sizes, so that you can choose the size most appropriate for the yarn you intend to spin: a large hole for bulky yarn, a smaller hole for a finer yarn. Although I’ve used flat items (such as buttons or knitting needle gauges) as a diz in the past, I prefer a curved diz, because the curve serves as a funnel to move all of the fiber ends in the right direction. Here’s how to use one.
Step 1. Make a little twist in the end of the fiber before you insert it into the diz. This serves two purposes: It makes it easier to thread the fiber through the hole, and then, when you’re ready to spin, it also identifies the cut end of the fiber, which, for me, is the end I want to spin the top from.
Step 2. Thread the fiber through the hole in the diz, with the curved side facing the fiber.
Step 3. Push the diz back toward the comb to the point where you begin to feel the tiniest bit of resistance. Don’t push it tight into the fiber, as this will make pulling the fiber from the comb almost impossible. Until you get a feel for it, it’s better to push the diz back less than you may think is necessary. As you work through this process, keep in mind that if something is too difficult, then you need to adjust the way you’re using the diz.
Step 4. Pull the fiber out of the comb, through the diz, and toward you (a), then push the diz back toward the comb (b), again just to the point of a little resistance. To avoid thin spots in the top, I try to pull out a little less than one staple length of fiber at a time. Thin spots in your top just beg for drafting troubles during spinning.
Step 5. Stop pulling fiber when you begin to see noils or waste coming off the comb. The purpose of combing is twofold: One is to align all of the fibers, and the second is to remove all of the short, weak fibers and vegetable matter (VM). Since one of your goals is to separate what you want from what you don’t want, you don’t need to feel bad about discarding undesirable fiber at this point.
Step 6. Beginning with the last end of fiber that you drew off the comb, wind the top around your hand, adding a bit of twist with each wrap.
When you get to the end with the point for easy threading you made in step 1, tuck it down in the center of your new little “bird’s nest,” with the twisted end sticking out. You can store all of these pretty bird’s nests in a basket or box until you are ready to spin them.
You can follow a similar process of removing the fiber from a comb without using a diz. The yarn that you spin from top taken from the comb in this way, however, will not be as smooth or lustrous as top made with a diz.
Step 1. Again put a little twist at the beginning as a reminder of which end to start spinning from when it’s time to use the prepared fiber.
Step 2. Pull about one staple length of fiber from the comb. Keep in mind the staple length as you won’t have the diz to remind you of how far back to move your hand for the next pull of fiber.
Step 3. As when you’re using a diz, stop pulling fiber when you begin to see noils or waste coming off the comb.
I love to spin right off of the comb, because it’s one less step. Done this way, the yarn will be fuzzier and fluffier than yarn spun from combed top that has been pulled through a diz, but it is so much fun to spin.
Step 1. Take the comb that has the last pass of combed fiber on it and hold it in the hand in which you usually hold your fiber supply. Join the fiber on the comb to your leader in whatever way you like best, then start spinning. I like to tip the tines of the comb away from the orifice so that the fiber doesn’t work its way up and off the tips of the tines while I’m spinning.
Step 2. I prefer to use a short forward draw when I spin from the comb, because I feel that it gives me a bit more control over the thickness of the yarn. Just as when you’re spinning with the fiber supply in your hand, shorter fibers do better with a woolen-style draft (allowing the twist into the fiber supply) than longer-stapled fibers do. (For more information, see Spinning Worsted-Style with a Short Forward Draw.)
In a nutshell, a worsted draft is one where the twist is pinched off with your forward hand and not allowed to enter the fiber supply. Most often this is done by using a short forward draw. In a short forward draw, your front hand is pinching the twist to keep it from entering the fiber supply at the same time that it (your front hand) is doing the drafting. I prefer using this method for longwools in particular, because the result helps to accentuate the natural luster in these wools. In addition, it can be more difficult to use a woolen drafting method for wools with a staple length longer than 5 or 6 inches.
Step 1. As you spin, keep your hands more than a staple length apart; I like at least one-and-a-half staple lengths between my hands. For instance, if I’m spinning Romney, which might be about 5 inches in length, I spread my hands about 71⁄2 inches apart. Keep your back hand (the one holding the fiber supply) stationary. I like to rest my hand or forearm comfortably on my lap or hip, depending on how long the staple length is. Because it can be fatiguing, I don’t like to hold the fiber without support, especially for long spinning sessions.
Pulling left hand forward
Step 2. With your forward hand about a half staple length toward the orifice, slide your fingers back to the tip of the fiber supply to get another bit, keeping the twist on the orifice side of your hand. There’s kind of a rhythm to it: pull forward, slide back, pull forward, slide back. Each time your fingers slide back to get more fiber, the goal is to grab a similar amount of fiber as the last draft. Your eyes can trick you, so it’s important to trust your touch in this situation. Practice will also help you to improve.
Another way to do a worsted-style draft is called short backward draw, but I find it a little more difficult to achieve a consistent skein when I use this method. The yarn also tends to be a bit fuzzier than yarn spun with a short forward draw. I think the reason for the inconsistency is that you must move your entire arm to draft this way, and this giant movement is difficult to do exactly the same way for each draft. In contrast, a short forward draw requires moving only your hand and wrist. Because you’re using a much smaller movement, it’s much easier to control the drafting length. In spite of the potential for inconsistency, some fibers seem to like this drafting method, so if you’re having difficulty with the short forward draw, you may want to experiment with this type of drafting.
Step 1. Pinch the fiber supply with the fingers of your forward hand; always keep that hand stationary as you spin.
Step 2. Draw back your hand that is holding the fiber supply, then move your hand forward, as you allow the newly drafted fibers through the pinch in your forward hand.
Drawing right hand back
The Wensleydale breed originated in England in 1839. It’s one of the few breeds that can be traced to one single progenitor. His name was Bluecap, and he is described as a magnificent ram with the darkest blue skin and the whitest of white wool. The result of a cross of a Dishley Leicester with a Teeswater, he was considered to be the best ram in northern England at the time.
The breed came into the United States only recently (about 1999) through an upgrading program under which semen from a British ram is used to impregnate a ewe from a longwool breed available in the United States, such as Cotswold, Lincoln, or Leicester Longwool. This results in a lamb that is a 50 percent Wensleydale. This lamb is then crossed with more imported 100 percent Wensleydale semen to get to 75 percent Wensleydale blood. By the fifth generation, the lambs are 96 percent and considered pure U.S. Wensleydale. (A similar upgrading system is also currently being used in the United States for other longwool breeds, such as Teeswater and Gotland.)
Wensleydales have long, curly locks, but they don’t have what is normally described as crimp. The fibers look much like yarn does when it’s been knit and then unraveled. This kind of S-shaped crimp is sometimes referred to as purl, but I like to call it crimp as it is less confusing, and then everyone understands the reference. Wensleydale fibers generally have between 3 and 5 crimps per inch. This is a hint that the fibers are on the strong, or coarse, end of the micron spectrum. (This conclusion is not definitive, however, as some other wools, such as Dorset Horn or Poll, can have a similar micron count but up to twice the number of crimps per inch.) The fibers range from 30 to 36 microns, which puts Wensleydale firmly on the coarse end of medium fibers. In spite of this, there is something about Wensleydale — that silkiness, that luster — that makes it an attractive wool for garments.
Wensleydale wool grows a staple length of up to 6 inches for a twice-a-year shearing, or a total of 12 inches (sometimes even longer) in a year. A Wensleydale sheep in full fleece is indeed a magnificent sight to behold. The locks are separate and easy to see. With gentle washing, using my small-batch washing methods, rather than washing the whole fleece at one time, they manage to stay together pretty well. There is very little need for containment in netting or bags to maintain the lock structure (see The Tulle-Sausage Method).
Processed Wensleydale top is available everywhere now, in both dyed and natural colors. Although processed Wensleydale is almost always white, you can find raw fleece in colors ranging from white to gray to almost pure black. Some wools seem to be affected more than others by chemical processing. This is true for all longwools, but especially for Wensleydale, although you must also take into account the source of the fiber. Many British longwools are coarser overall than those raised in the United States, and most of the combed top that is generally available comes from large mills and is originally from Great Britain. It might not be quite fair, therefore, to compare a longwool fleece you are handcombing to the combed top you purchased at your local fiber shop.
Wensleydale skeins, both worsted-spun: (left) spun from mill-prepped top; (right) spun from hand-combed locks
I’m not going to lie. Wensleydale has been at the top of my list of wools to spin for the last 10 years. Its luster and silkiness always make me smile. It’s not a favorite of some of my spinning friends, and that’s okay, but I will always have a special place in my spinning heart for Wensleydale. I combed the wool for these four samples, but after combing, I handled each in a different way.
1. 3-ply, spun from the fold. For this yarn, I first made top using a diz, and then separated the top into 6- to 8-inch lengths and spun from the fold, allowing twist into the fiber supply. I then plied the singles to make a 3-ply yarn. My goal was to spin a lofty yarn for warmth, which is why I chose to make a 3-ply. It definitely will be warm, but since Wensleydale fleece is already dense and heavy, this yarn is heavier than I’d like. A better choice would be 2-ply, to lessen the overall weight of the finished item, though I usually like a 3-ply for plain knitting. The sample’s luster is lovely, but I think this heavyweight yarn might be better used in a woven fabric, which might be considerably lighter than a knitted item.
1. Wensleydale: combed and dizzed/woolen-spun 6- to 8-inch lengths from the fold/3-ply
Spinning this top from the fold with a woolen-style drafting method also caused the yarn to be a little less consistent than I would like. It has a bit of additional twist to make up for the shortened fiber lengths caused by folding them in half. The durable Wensleydale fiber combined with extra twist and a bit thicker yarn makes it great for a high-wear product, such as a bag or purse for daily use.
2. 3-ply, spun off the comb. This yarn is also a 3-ply, but it’s much less dense. In this case, I also allowed the twist to go into the fiber supply, but because I spun it right off the comb, the result is completely different from the 3-ply that I spun from the fold (see photo above). The yarn is lovely, and the knitted swatch is even better, with great drape, a silky hand, and a slight halo, which I expect will increase over time.
Because of the drape and silkiness of the knitted swatch, I was expecting a little more of the same in my woven sample, but instead I got a bit of a surprise. The luster is beautiful, but the fabric has a lot of body. This would make a great rug or other home-decorating item. I wonder if the hand would change if I changed the sett (ends per inch), or if I didn’t beat the warp so closely, even though I tried to use a light hand in the beat. I wove a fairly balanced weave. This woven swatch makes me want to experiment even more with this yarn.
3. Fine 3-ply. For this yarn, I combed the fleece, pulled it from the comb through a diz, and then spun worsted. The 3-ply yarn is about 20 wraps per inch (the number of thicknesses of yarn that can fit in a 1-inch width). The angle of twist here is the same as in sample 2, but it has less twist than sample 1. Usually we say that a fine yarn needs more twist, and so it would follow that this yarn should have more twist than the other two. The reason it is a strong yarn even with less twist is because of its staple length, which is 6 to 7 inches. The longer length needs fewer twists per inch (tpi) to hold the fibers together. If you needed a stronger yarn, for instance for warp, carpeting, or a very hard-wearing knitting yarn, you might want a higher tpi, but to maximize shine, drape, and silkiness, you need a lower tpi. As I recommended earlier (see Getting Twist Right), using crimps per inch as a starting point for twists per inch is a good rule of thumb to follow. This skein makes that match.
I didn’t make a woven sample from this yarn, though this is the yarn I’d shoot for as a weaving yarn.
4. Laceweight 2-ply. This fine yarn is about 80 wraps per inch in thickness. I spun it worsted from fibers pulled from the comb through a diz. The knitted lace swatch I made with it is delicate with beautiful luster. It has a great halo, which will continue to develop as the swatch is handled. This yarn is gossamer fine and comfortable to wear on my neck. It would also make a beautiful weaving yarn. I can imagine it as a shawl with beautiful drape.
2. Wensleydale: combed/woolen-spun from the comb/3-ply
3. Wensleydale: combed and dizzed/worsted-spun/3-ply
4. Wensleydale: combed and dizzed/worsted-spun/2-ply/laceweight
Romney sheep were originally known as Romney Marsh sheep. In the mid-nineteenth century, Romney Marsh sheep, which had been adapting to a damp, marshy location for centuries, were modified or improved by crossing with Dishley Leicesters. The latter breed is now extinct but is an ancestor of the modern English Leicester, as well as in the background of many other modern breeds. As Romneys became more popular in England, they were known as the Kent sheep. Between 1900 and 1955, Romney sheep were exported from England to 43 countries, and they now are found all around the world, referred to simply as Romneys.
The fleece of this breed is dense, but the locks hang separately from each other, as with the other longwools. The locks have a wavy crimp with pointed tips. On the international market, white fleece is preferred, and therefore most Romney sheep are white. Gray, black, and brown fleeces can be found, however, and the American Romney Breeders’ Association registry includes colored Romneys. Fleeces can weigh from 8 to 12 pounds, with fiber diameter ranging from 29 to 37 microns. The locks average 4 to 8 inches in length, with consistent crimp from butt to tip.
Among the most versatile fleeces I have run into, Romney is one of those breeds with an all-around wool. This fleece is easy to find for spinning in both raw form and processed top. It’s also available in a wide range of fiber diameters, making it useful for next-to-skin items, as well as for hard-wearing items like jackets, bags, and even rugs. The crimp structure may not make you first think of longwools, because rather than having the open crimp of a Wensleydale or Lincoln, Romney’s crimp is more similar to a wool like Corriedale. The longwool heritage is there in the background of the sheep, however, and shines through in the luster of this wool. Lamb fleeces or some of the finer Romneys may be soft enough for next-to-skin wear, many are great for outerwear and lace, and then there are fleeces at the coarser end of the spectrum that would hold up well to hard wear.
These cozy socks were handspun with yarn from Romney top dyed by Hello Yarn; spun and knit by Adrian Bazilla.
Due to the closer crimp in these fleeces compared to that in most of the other longwools, there is a bit more natural elasticity in the fibers and yarns from this breed, which makes it even more desirable in both knitted and woven clothing. The closer crimp also means Romney yarns will be airier, less dense, and less heavy than those of the other longwools. Romney makes the perfect wool for a lovely lightweight lace shawl, shrug, or sweater. It has less tendency to halo, which makes items made with it less warm than with those that halo more. (Those halos may look innocent enough, but they really do trap warm air.)
Because it’s very easy to work with, Romney is a great place to begin when choosing your first fleece to tackle and process yourself. The fleece gives about a 70 percent yield after washing, which indicates that it isn’t generally very greasy. Although here I describe combing the Romneys, the lock length is not so long that it couldn’t be flicked, handcarded, drumcarded, or just spun right from the clean lock with no processing. In spite of this, I prefer to comb Romney fleece in order to showcase its beautiful shine.
I find when that when I spin Romney, my yarns are more consistent than those of some other breeds with a shorter staple length, and using Romney yarns is always a pleasure. Everything about this breed makes it a favorite of those who try spinning it. And the yarns spun from this wool make it attractive to all textile people.
1. 3-ply worsted. As mentioned, Romney fleece tends to have a bit less halo than other longwool breeds, no matter whether it has been spun in a woolen or a worsted style. The knitted fabric swatch made with this 3-ply yarn, which was combed, dizzed, and spun worsted with a short forward draw, has a nice smooth finish. The cable is distinct and stands up against the background, giving a nice show of the stitches’ structure.
1. Romney: combed and dizzed/worsted-spun with a short forward draw/3-ply
2. 3-ply spun from the fold. At the opposite end of the spectrum of the purely worsted-spun sample on the previous page is this yarn that is spun from the fold. For this, I pulled the fiber from the comb without a diz. I then took the long strip of fiber and separated it into shorter lengths (6–7 inches) and then spun those lengths from the fold. Though this 3-ply yarn is from the same fleece as the sample spun in a purely worsted manner, it appears to be much lighter and less yellow in color. This is due to the additional air and loft built into the yarn. This loft also results in a bouncier yarn. Knit up, it would be a fabric you would want to pull around you in a chill, whereas the denser construction of the worsted-spun yarn would make a garment that was harder-wearing but not as warm.
The fabric created with the woolen-spun yarn made this way also has a nice halo, giving the stitches a hazy appearance, while the stitches made with the worsted-spun yarn are very clear and distinct. This is something to keep in mind when choosing a spinning technique for colorwork. The worsted-spun yarn gives crisper color changes, whereas the colors will blend somewhat where they intersect when you knit with a more airy yarn.
2. Romney: combed/no diz/woolen-spun 6- to 7-inch lengths from the fold/3-ply
3. & 4. 2-ply worsted. Romney wool is considered to have a demi-luster, which means it has some shine but not as much as some of the Leicesters or Teeswater. The way to pick up that shine is by prepping and spinning it using worsted methods, and then making a 2-ply yarn. This approach ensures that as many fibers as possible are facing the light and reflecting it back. This yarn is perfect for knitted lace or fine weaving.
The 2-ply yarn (3) was combed, dizzed, and spun with a worsted draft, so it is a completely worsted yarn. The lower twist gives it a soft feel. The lace I knit with this yarn has a beautiful drape, and it is already beginning to develop a bit of a halo. (The halo in Romney yarns tends to develop less than in some other longwool breeds, but it is there nonetheless.)
I made this woven sample with yarn spun directly from the comb (4). Spinning right from the comb offers a bit of a shortcut compared with using the diz, but the yarns are slightly less consistent than those spun from top. The woven sample has both body and shine. It was roughly finished in hot water and wool wash with hand agitation for about a minute. The sample shrank very little, and the spaces between the threads didn’t close as I had hoped. I know that Romney can full and felt, but this varies from fleece to fleece; if this is what you want, it’s best to sample the fleece first. It also may be that I should have agitated it for a much longer time.
3. Romney: combed and dizzed/worsted-spun/2-ply
4. Romney: combed/worsted-spun from the comb/2-ply
One of the very oldest longwool breeds, Old-Style Lincoln can be traced back hundreds and some might even say thousands of years. The British shepherd Robert Bakewell is famous for crossing different sheep breeds to modify or improve his flock. He crossed Old-Style Lincolns with some native sheep to develop an old-style Leicester sheep that no longer exists but is the foundation of the English Leicesters we know and love today.
Then called Dishley Leicesters, these sheep were bred back with the Old-Style Lincolns to improve that breed, resulting in the improved Lincolns that are the dual-purpose sheep we are now familiar with. Old-Style Lincolns were described as having a long, weak frame. Compare that with the modern Lincoln sheep, which are arguably the largest-bodied and heaviest-fleeced of all sheep breeds; adults range from 200 to 350 pounds, with fleeces weighing from 11 to 16 pounds. Because of this successful breeding program, these sheep were valued and exported throughout the world to improve breeds in Australia, the United States, New Zealand, and South America.
Until the late 1800s, Lincoln sheep continued to be one of the most popular breeds, but as people sought out sheep with less fatty meat, as well as finer fleeces, the Lincoln fell out of favor, and it is now listed on both British and American endangered sheep lists. This is unfortunate, as the Lincoln has played such a prominent role in the development of so many other useful and popular breeds.
Lincoln fleece cannot be mistaken for wool in any category other than the longwools. Although it’s a silky fleece, many people think of it as coarse. It is also generally a very strong wool, but as with so many other breeds, fleeces vary from sheep to sheep, so that you might find one that would make a great cardigan, whereas another would be better for a hard-wearing carpet. The fiber of the eighteenth-century Old-Style Lincolns was coarser than that of the modern Lincoln sheep, and British Lincoln fleeces do seem to be stronger than those of their American cousins, so although the shine and halo are lovely, you might not want to consider making a scarf from a British Lincoln fleece.
Lincolns are both white and colored, and these are on different breed registries through the National Lincoln Sheep Breeders Association in the United States. The lustrous fibers take dye well and give vivid colors; overdyeing a gray fleece gives wonderful jewel tones.
Lincoln locks range from 7 to 15 inches for one year’s growth. This length lends itself well to worsted preparation and spinning. With wools of this staple length, the spinner can add less twist and the fibers will still hold together. With fibers of this strength, less twist is key to having the desired drape and hand. Too much twist results in a coarse, ropey yarn; too little twist, in too much pilling. Sampling is key. Follow my suggestions for spinning to the crimp (see Spinning Singles), and you’ll have better luck when trying to preserve the silky feel of this wool.
Fiber diameters average 33.5 to 44 microns, which is definitely on the strong end of the scale and the upper end for most wools. If the fibers are spun with low twist, the resulting yarns can be soft enough for clothing, but most people would not like to wear them directly next to the skin.
Though Lincoln is not on the top of the list for most spinners, I suggest that everyone try it at least twice and from two different sources before making a final decision about this wonderful and useful wool.
For this breed I made four different yarns and four knit swatches. Lincoln also makes a very strong weaving yarn for both warp and weft. In order to reduce the halo, if I were going to use this yarn in weaving, I would add more twist. With these longwool breeds, it would be difficult for you to lose the halo completely, but if you add more twist, you can tone it down.
I spun all of the samples here with 3 twists per inch (tpi) to match the 3 crimps per inch in the lock; this is true of both the 2- and 3-ply yarns.
1. Worsted-spun bulky. I spun my first sample exactly as I would expect of a 3 tpi yarn. It is extremely bulky. I combed the fibers, then dizzed them into top and spun with a short forward draw. This knit swatch reminds me of a bulky boyfriend sweater.
1. Lincoln: combed and dizzed/worsted-spun with a short forward draw/2-ply
2. 2-ply woolen-spun. I spun this 2-ply yarn a bit finer, but still with 3 tpi. Even though I spun this yarn from the comb with a woolen draft, the luster of the wool really shines through in the knitted swatch due to the combination of spinning a finer yarn and spinning a low twist. The swatch has a bit more drape and also feels silkier than the one knit with the bulkier yarn.
3. 3-ply woolen-spun. I combed and dizzed the 3-ply yarn, then spun from the fold with a woolen draft. This yarn is much fuzzier than the first two. The luster is hidden, but because of the folded fibers, the yarn has more bounce than the other two, which are bit more compacted. The fold encourages the fibers to press outward to return to their elongated state, and this in turn affects the bounce and squoosh factor of both the yarn and the knitted fabric. This technique could also be used to produce a loftier woven fabric from wools in the longwools category.
This market bag crocheted with singles yarn made from Lincoln fleece was designed and crocheted by Denny McMillan.
4. Laceweight Lincoln. Lace yarns are not the thing most spinners think of when considering Lincoln. This fine yarn is about 25 wraps per inch, but it still has only 3 tpi. The halo reminds me of the halo from mohair lace, and this swatch hasn’t even had the amount of wear that a lace garment would have. More wear will result in more halo as well as more warmth, because the halo adds to the insulating properties of the piece. The lace is drapey, with a nice weight and a silky hand. Though this yarn does not have the softness of a finer wool, neither does it have a huge prickle factor, because the ends of the fibers are mostly curled under in the halo.
2. Lincoln: combed/woolen-spun from the comb/2-ply
3. Lincoln: combed and dizzed/woolen-spun from the fold/3-ply
4. Lincoln: combed and dizzed/worsted-spun/2-ply/laceweight
Referred to simply as BFL for short, Bluefaced Leicesters (pronounced LESS-ters) are sometimes called Hexham Leicesters, because they originated near Hexham, England. The rams were originally used to create a mule sheep, and they are still used that way today. A mule sheep is a crossbreed particularly good for meat production. For example, a BFL ram crossed with a Scottish Blackface ewe gives a Scotch mule. But the length, shine, and crimp of the Bluefaced ram comes through, making the fleeces of the mule sheep as desirable for handspinning as the pure BFL fleeces.
The Leicesters have a most interesting history, dating all the way back to the Roman occupation of England. As we saw earlier in this chapter, Dishley Leicesters are ancestors of English Leicesters, which in turn were modified by crossings with Teeswater and possibly Cheviot, resulting in Border Leicesters, which have even finer crimp and finer wool than the English or Leicester Longwools. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Border Leicesters were being selected for finer fleeces and black skin, and then they were crossed with Wensleydales, which also have black skin under a white fleece. The resulting “blue-faced” sheep were originally used as a crossing sheep with more-coarse hill breeds, and it was found that using rams with darker skin and finer fleece produced a better crossbred ewe. By the mid-1960s, shepherds who were raising these sheep, which were being called “the Great Improvers,” formed the Bluefaced Leicester Breeders Association.
Bluefaced Leicesters are categorized as a longwool breed, even though their lock length (3 to 6 inches) and fleece weight (21⁄2 to 41⁄2 pounds) are small compared to some of their cousins. The Bluefaced Leicester has the softest wool of all the longwool breeds. The average fiber diameter is between 24 and 28 microns, with no kemp or hair fibers. You get durability and a similar luster typical of longwool sheep, as well as an affinity to dye. Add to that the bonus of next-to-skin softness, and you can see why Bluefaced Leicester fibers and yarns are extremely popular with the fiber crowd.
The majority of these sheep are white, but you can find colored wool, called black, though it is generally a light grayish brown. The finest of the longwools, BFL is also one of the bounciest and most elastic of this category. It’s not as elastic as the high-crimp wools such as Cheviot or Cormo, but due to its tiny ringlets, it has much more bounce than you’ll find in a wool, such as Lincoln, with only 1 to 3 crimps per inch.
Most spinners are familiar with the Bluefaced Leicester sold as processed top. The unprocessed fleece can therefore be a bit surprising, with its tiny ringlets and beautiful shine. This is not a fleece I would recommend for a first combing project. The ringlets and long, thin locks make it a bit challenging both to lash onto the combs and also to actually comb. I find that it helps to widen the cut end of the lock a bit and place each lock individually on the comb. This can take a bit more time than you need to give other fleeces in this category, but time taken at the lashing-on stage makes the combing a lot easier and more pleasurable.
As well as the need to be more particular about the way you lash the lock onto the comb, it is extremely important to begin combing at the very tips and work your way back to the comb slowly. I have found that I need to do extra passes with this wool to get all of the fibers opened up and ready for spinning.
Widening the cut end of the lock to place it on the comb
These skeins were a lot of work but so worth it. Even before I plunged them into the hot water for finishing, I found myself holding them to my face and enjoying the feel of them more than once.
1. 2-ply worsted. This laceweight skein is truly worsted. I handcombed it, pulled it from the comb using a diz, and spun from the cut end using a short forward draw. I plied the yarn with a very light amount of twist, as my goal was a yarn that would halo and drape nicely as a laceweight yarn. When you examine the yarn closely, you can see that the fibers in it are trying to return to their original state of crimp, and the yarn doesn’t lie straight. If I had added enough twist to match the original crimp in the fibers, this would not be happening. Remember to keep your goals in mind when planning a yarn. If I had wanted to enter this skein in competition, it would have been important to have added more twist in the plying step. In addition, if I had wanted less halo, more twist would have helped with that. I used this 2-ply yarn to knit a lace swatch that is quite soft with a lot of drape. It would also make a lovely yarn for weaving.
1. Bluefaced Leicester: combed and dizzed/worsted-spun from cut end with short forward draw/2-ply
2. 3-ply worsted. I prepared and spun this yarn exactly like the 2-ply version. The 3-ply yarn also has a similar number of twists per inch as the 2-ply (4 tpi), but adding another ply made a big difference in how the yarn behaves. It has a higher luster than the 2-ply and a lot less halo. As you can see by looking at the stockinette swatch, this yarn would make a beautiful lightweight sweater, and because it is next-to-skin soft, it could also be used for an everyday item of clothing.
Striped scarf knit with handspun Bluefaced Leicester yarn. I spun the singles on two pairs of bobbins, two for the handpainted top and two for the undyed top. I then alternated the colors when I plied them to create a continuous yarn with spaced color changes. This gave me stripes with no ends to weave in at each color change.
3. 2-ply spun from the fold. As with the yarns just described, I combed this fiber and removed it from the comb using a diz. The difference is that I pulled the resulting top into pieces slightly longer than a staple length and spun these pieces from the fold. You can see that this yarn has a great woolen look to it, with its fuzz factor and the luster hiding behind all of those fibers pointing in every direction. The consistency of the skein is very good, however, and the yarn was very easy and quick to spin. I spun the singles a bit thicker than the singles I used for the other two skeins, because my goal for this yarn was warmth. This stockinette-stitch swatch makes me think it would make a good fabric for a mid-January-type sweater for indoors or something to use as outerwear in autumn.
2. Bluefaced Leicester: combed and dizzed/worsted-spun from cut end with short forward draw/3-ply
3. Bluefaced Leicester: combed and dizzed/worsted-spun short lengths from the fold/2-ply
The socks were knit with yarn handspun by Adrian Bizilia with Bluefaced Leicester fiber dyed by Hello Yarn.
The Into the Wind shawl was designed by Amy King, and knit with a Bluefaced Leicester/silk blend yarn handspun by Sheril McManaman.