The Field Guide to Fleece: 100 Sheep Breeds & How to Use Their Fibers

by Carol Ekarius, Deborah Robson

Overview

With this compact portable reference in hand, crafters can quickly and easily look up any of 100 different sheep breeds, the characteristics of their fleece, and the kinds of projects for which their fleece is best suited. Each breed profile includes a photograph of the animal and information about its origin and conservation status, as well as the weight, staple length, fiber diameter, and natural colors of its fleece. This is a great primer for beginners, and a handy guide for anyone who loves working with fleece.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612121789
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	08/27/2013
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Carol Ekarius is the coauthor of The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook, The Field Guide to Fleece, and Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep, and the author of several books including Small-Scale Livestock Farming, Storey’s Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds, and Storey’s Illustrated Breed Guide to Sheep, Goats, Cattle, and Pigs. She lives in the mountains of Colorado.
 

Deborah Robson is co-author of The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook and Knitting in the Old Way. She is a former editor of both Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot and Spin-Off magazine, and she is currently the editor and publisher of Nomad Press, which publishes books on traditional and ethnic knitting and spinning. Robson is also an artist, working in textiles, printmaking, and oils. She lives in Colorado with her daughter.

Table of Contents

A Love Affair with Wool

 

American Miniature Cheviot

Arcotts: Canadian, Outaouais, and Rideau

Badger Face Welsh Mountain

Balwen Welsh Mountain

Beulah Speckled Face

Black Welsh Mountain

Bleu du Maine

Bluefaced Leicester

Bond

Border Leicester

Boreray

Brecknock Hill Cheviot

British Milk Sheep

California Red

Cambridge

Castlemilk Moorit

Charollais

Cheviot

Clun Forest

Colbred

Columbia

Coopworth

Cormo

Corriedale

Cotswold

Dalesbred

Dartmoor Greyface

Dartmoor Whiteface

Debouillet

DeLaine Merino

Derbyshire Gritstone

Devon and Cornwall Longwool

Devon Closewool

Dorset Down

Dorset Horn

Dorset Poll (Polled Dorset)

East Friesian

Est a Laine Merino

Exmoor Horn

Faroese

Finnsheep

Galway

Gotland

Gromark

Gulf Coast Native

Gute or Gutefar

Hampshire Down

Hebridean

Herdwick

Hill Radnor

Hog Island

Icelandic

Ile-de-France

Jacob

Karakul, American

Kerry Hill

Leicester Longwool

Lincoln Longwool

Llanwenog

Lleyn

Lonk

Manx Loaghtan

Merino

Montadale

Navajo Churro

Norfolk Horn

North Country Cheviot

North Ronaldsay

Ouessant

Oxford Down

Pelssau

Perendale

Polwarth

Polypay

Portland

Rambouillet

Romanov

Romeldale and CVM

Romney

Rouge de l'Ouest

Rough Fell

Rya

Ryeland

Santa Cruz

Scottish Blackface

Shetland

Shropshire

Soay

Southdown

Spaelsau (New)

Spaelsau (Old)

Stansborough Grey

Suffolk

Swaledale

Targhee

Teeswater

Texel

Tunis, American

Warhill

Welsh Hill Speckled Face

Welsh Mountain and South Wales Mountain

Wensleydale

Whitefaced Woodland

Zwartbles

 

In Case You're Curious

Glossary

Credits

Index

Editorial Reviews

09/15/2013
Robson and Ekarius (coauthors, The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook: More Than 200 Fibers, from Animal to Spun) pack a wealth of content about sheep and wool into this guide. Along with each sheep breed listed, from the well known (Merino, Corriedale) to the rare (Santa Cruz, Castlemilk Moorit), the authors supply color photographs of the sheep and of a lock of its wool. Specifications helpful for spinners, such as staple length, fiber diameter, fleece weight, and effects of dyes, are also provided. Knitters and weavers will find the suggested uses for each breed's wool valuable, as some wools lend themselves to specific types of garments or accessories. VERDICT This pocket-size guide is perfect for spinners and other fiber enthusiasts who want quick information on the characteristics of a wide variety of fleeces and would be a worthwhile book to have on hand at a fiber festival.

Library Journal