Tour de Fleece Day 13: Polwarth

One of my favorite wools. Soft as merino, good luster and longish staple. Which makes sense, as they were developed by adding 1/4 Lincoln with 3/4 Merino.

This sample spun like butter. I tried to spin thicker, but I only managed to get to sport. My two ply made a nice string of pearls.

I can find undyed white Polwarth top at all the expected stores. World of Wool also carries a grey undyed top, and a number of luxury fibers blended with Polwarth. Most hand dyers use Polwarth for hand dyed braids. One of my favorite sweaters (pictured) is a raglan I knit from yarn from three colors of Polwarth dyed by Frabjous Fibers. I have another sweater quantity spun up from various braids of Polwarth and Falkland (not a breed, but many Falkland sheep are Polwarth) that I need to pick a pattern for.

References:

Ekarius, C., & Robson, D. (2013). The Field Guide to Fleece: 100 Sheep Breeds & How to Use Their Fibers. North Adams: Storey Publishing, LLC.

Robson, D., & Ekarius, C. (2011). The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook: More Than 200 Fibers, from Animal to Spun Yarn. North Adams: Storey Publishing, LLC.

Smith, B. (2014). The Spinner's Book of Fleece: A Breed-by-Breed Guide to Choosing and Spinning the Perfect Fiber for Every Purpose. North Adams: Storey Publishing, LLC.

Sheep pic (https://nzsheep.co.nz/polwarth/), the rest by me.

Its my first day of summer and I have a plan. The plan is to sit in a nice shady spot with my wheel and finish up the polwarth handspinning project. Her plan is to interfere with my plan. Of course. (more…)

My polwarth spinning project is progressing. I have a few finished skeins to show off and, while I’m not done with the spinning, I’m far enough along that I’m thinking about patterns. Any pattern I use for a handspun yarn has to be flexible, workable in any weight of yarn, and easy to modify to suit the amount of yarn I actually have. Here are some patterns that have what I’m looking for. Four…