About the Herdwick Fleece

Herdwicks are often described as having a "coarse grey fleece" which is slightly true but not the whole story.  They actually have very dense coat of wool which has two distinct components:

• an insulating undercoat of fine, soft wool - very necessary on the wintry fell tops
• a layer of wiry guard hairs, designed to protect the soft inner coat from abrasion - and keep the rain and snow off the inner sheep as long as possible

When shorn, this coat produce a very dense fleece with long fibres, which nature originally intended to be both warm and waterproof.  Sadly attempts to breed the fleece pure white for commercial purposes helped to reduce its waterproof qualities, but left the underlying wool an interesting mixture of soft and luxurious fibres interspersed with crinkly, hairy, wiry threads which create a fascinating 'spangled' yarn with a rugged look which belies its underlying softness.

The rug wool we are using at the moment is a very special product and feels very natural.  The finished wool is fairly even, but the mixed nature of the fleece creates some ultra-fine areas and other thicker 'slubby' stretches, with all combinations in between.  The guard-hairs (the wiry ones, providing protection to the softer fleece on the animal - and in the yarn) add enormous interest to the finished knitted fabric.  (They may also drop out occasionally, being not so firmly spun into the yarn, but there are so many the finished fabric can spare a few...)

When knitting it up, the yarn needs careful handling to avoid breakage but once knitted in our favourite moss stitch (seed stitch in America), it has immense staying power.

Be aware: the yarn is supplied as DRY CLEAN ONLY.  So whilst it might survive an occasional spillage and careful sponging, it will not be happy going through a washing machine or tumbler dryer.