Our Fleece

Our Fleece Types and Their Background
The Cross Village Rug Works is fortunate to have a variety of fleece types available from local sources. Just as different materials are used in clothing, a variety of fleece types are necessary for textile production. Some of our rugs contain a combination of Lincoln, a long, sturdy, lustrous fleece that has been treasured for its silky sheen, great staple (fiber) length and tensile strength for centuries, blended with the fleece of various Down breeds as ingredients for many of our rug yarns. This combination gives Cross Village Rug Works yarn its cushioning comfort under foot, long life and lustrous beauty. Other CVRW rugs are woven with a combination of locks from rare Wensleydale, Cotswold and English Leicester Longwool sheep, plus valuable mohair from Angora goats.

The following information details a few of our primary fleece types. Some of the photos are sheep from other states and are good examples of breeds whose fleece we are incorporating into our products.
Please refer to: www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep for more information and breed research.

Isaac Matchett Shears Wensleydale Cross Ewe "Pearl" at Beckon Hill Farm, Emmet County, MI Isaac Matchett Shears Wensleydale Cross Ram “Andy” at Lark’s Lake Farm, Emmet County, MI Isaac Matchett Shears Bluefaced Leicester Ram “Wark” at Beckon Hill Farm, Emmet County, MI Isaac Matchett Shears Wensleydale Cross Ewe “Pearl" at Beckon Hill Farm These photos illustrate the skill of shearing and the beauty of the fleece as it rolls off the animals. Charlevoix, Michigan’s Isaac Matchett, a highly skilled shearer, uses a carefully patterned series of shearing “cuts” that removes each animal’s fleece in an established order. (This does not harm the animal.) Most sheep are sheared once per year, usually in the spring. However, many extremely long wool sheep breeds such as those whose fleeces are utilized by Cross Village Rug Works to make their rugs, are shorn twice per year.
Freshly Shorn Wensleydale Cross Fleece, Emmet County, MI
	The Cotswold is an ancient breed of sheep descended from sheep that grazed the Cotswold Hills at the time of Caesar's conquest of Britain. In the Middle Ages, Cotswold wool was a major export of England, contributing greatly to the wealth of the country as a whole and particularly to the Cotswold region, where the wool churches and large houses remain as evidence of its importance at that time. Cotswolds are a large breed, noted for their long, coarse fleece of naturally wavy curls and the tuft of wool on their foreheads. The earliest record of Cotswolds in the United States is 1832. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy classified the Cotswold as a "rare" breed.
Cotswold Breed category: long wool, rare
	The Bluefaced Leicester evolved near Hexham in the county of Northumberland, England during the early 1900's. They are descendants of Robert Bakewell’s improved Dishley Leicester. The breed originated from Border Leicester individuals selected for the blue face (white hairs on black skin) and finer fleeces. It was developed as a sire of high quality crossbred ewes. The crossbred progeny of the Bluefaced Leicester is the Mule, the ewe famous throughout the U.K. as the best commercial breeding ewe on the market. Bluefaced Leicesters were imported to Canada in the 1970's where they eventually made their way to the United States.
Bluefaced Leicester Breed category: long wool, dual-purpose
	Probably the most famous of British sheep, being directly descended from the Dishley Leicester which was created by Robert Bakewell towards the end of the 18th century. The Leicester Longwool is able to survive and thrive in a wide range of environments. It is a large Longwood breed with a white face and grey nose. There is also a colored variety that has black or brown markings on the face, legs and in the fleece. The Leicester Longwool was important to the development of other long wool breeds and has made a large contribution to the sheep industries in Australia and New Zealand. The breed originated in the Leicester region of England and although it is a very old breed, Robert Bakewell, a pioneer in the field of animal genetics, is given credit for improving it during the 18th century. Leicesters are a big sheep with a heavy fleece of curly, lustrous wool that is even in length and fiber diameter. The breed was first imported into the United States during the time of the American Revolution, and it is believed that George Washington used Leicester sheep to improve his flock at Mt. Vernon. They were also imported by Thomas Jefferson for Monticello. The Leicester Longwool is classified as a "rare" breed by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.
Leicester Longwool Breed category: long wool, rare
	The Wensleydale, a large Longwood sheep, originated in North Yorkshire, UK in the early 19th century. The breed is polled with a distinctive deep blue head, face and legs. The ears and head are clean except for a well-developed forelock. Wensleydale fleece is famous for its unique purl and superb luster and is acknowledged to be "the finest and most valuable luster Longwood in the world". It grades about 50 on the Bradford Count and can easily produce two shearings per year. A yearling ewe fleece may weigh 13 to 19 lbs. The Wensleydale with its unique "central checking" gene has the ability to vastly improve the fleece and remove coarse kempy fibers. This remarkable attribute is passed on in a high degree to its offspring. Colored Wensleydales are predominantly black or dark grey, but blue-grey or silver lambs are born occasionally. Frequently, as the result of weather, the tips may be bleached to a golden-brown or honey-beige adding to the interest. Its distinctive blue skin allows the Wensleydale to prosper in hot climates. It is a large breed producing top quality wool that attracts a premium. Developed in 19th century from mating a Leicester ram onto a Teeswater, the Wensleydale is always polled. Distribution: UK, Europe, North America North American Wensleydale Sheep Association • Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Breeders' Association
Wensleydale Breed category: long wool, dual-purpose
	The Scottish Blackface is an attractive, hardy, old breed whose origins are lost to us. It is likely that the breed developed in the border area of Scotland and England. Monastery records show that monks in the Twelfth Century raised sheep that are the progenitors of the modern Scottish Blackface breed. The monks used the wool of the dun-faced sheep, as they were often called, for their own clothing and exported large amounts to Europe. Later records show, in 1503, James the IV of Scotland established a flock of 5,000 Scottish Blackface in Ettrick Forest. Today the Blackface is numerically, and probably economically, one of the most important in the United Kingdom. In 1989 their wool accounted for nearly 40% of the total wool production of Scotland and one-twelfth the wool production of the United Kingdom. The fleece that the Scottish Blackface has today is the result of selective breeding since medieval times from a short coarse wooled ancestor. The fleece of the modern Scottish Blackface weighs from 1.75 to 3 kg with a staple length of 15 to 30 cm.
Scottish Blackface Breed category: long wool, dual-purpose
Overseas Scottish Blackface wool is used in the production of fine carpets. It has exceptionally hardwearing qualities combined with a natural springiness, which enables it the pile of the carpet to resist tread marks and to regain its upright position even after the prolonged pressure of heavy furniture. Many of the best Axminster and Wilton Carpets are made from this wool. Some grades of Scottish Blackface wool are used in the manufacture of Scottish and Irish tweeds. Other grades are exported in considerable quantities to Italy where the wool is greatly prized for filling mattresses. Artisans have long treasured the horns of the Blackface for the carving of shepherds crooks and walking sticks. In the US the fleeces are becoming of interest to fiber artists and hand spinners for use in tapestry and the making of rugs and saddle blankets.
	The Polypay was born out of frustration and a dream in the late 1960's. The frustration was in needing more productive sheep to make a profit. The dream was to develop sheep, which would produce two lamb crops and one wool crop per year. Led by Dr. C.V. Hulet, the scientists at the U.S. Sheep Experimentation Station in Dubois, Idaho developed five primary goals for the dream breed; 1. High lifetime prolificacy 2. Large lamb crop at one year of age 3. Ability to lamb more frequently than once per year 4. Rapid growth rate of lambs 5. Desirable carcass quality The gene pool was developed from four existing breeds: Finnsheep with their high prolificacy, early puberty and short gestation; Rambouillet with their adaptability, hardiness, productivity and quality fleeces; Targhee with their large body size, long breeding season and quality fleeces and Dorset with their superior mothering ability, carcass quality, early puberty and long breeding season.
Polypay Breed category:
The first crosses were made in 1968 and the first 4-breed composites were made in 1970. The name Polypay was coined in 1975 from poly, meaning multiple, and pay, meaning return on labor and investment. The American Polypay Sheep Association was organized in 1980. Polypay sheep have shown themselves to be adaptable to diverse operations from range flocks to farm flocks. There are now Polypay breeders throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Recently Polypay breeding stock has been exported to South America. Polypay sheep and their breeders continue to work hard to live up to their motto: "Tomorrow's Sheep Today".
	The exact history of the Dorset sheep is found wanting for some positive record of origin. History does tell us that centuries ago, Spain wished to conquer England, and possibly during this time, the Merino sheep were brought into Southwest England and were crossed with the Horned Sheep of Wales, which produced a desirable all-purpose sheep, which met the needs of that time. Thus began a breed of sheep that spread over Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and most of Wales and were called Horned Dorsets. In the USA they are called Dorset. Both horned and polled Dorsets are an all white sheep of medium size having good body length and muscle conformation to produce a desirable carcass. The fleece is very white, strong, close and free from dark fiber. Dorset fleeces average five to nine pounds (2.25-4 kg) in the ewes with a yield of between 50% and 70%. The staple length ranges from 2.5 to 4 inches (6-10 cm) with a numeric count of 46's-58's. The fiber diameter will range from 33.0 to 27.0 microns. Dorsets have grown in popularity to become the number-one white-faced breed in the United States. Their numbers also make them the second largest breed in total numbers in the USA, ranking below only the Suffolk breed.
Dorset Breed category:
	Its colored fleece distinguishes the Karakul, which is due to a dominant black gene. Most lambs are born coal black with lustrous wavy curls, with the face, ears, and legs usually showing smooth, sleek hair. As the lamb grows, the curls open and lose its pattern and the color generally begins to turn brownish or bluish gray, getting grayer with age. Other colors include a wide range of shades; silver blues grays, golden tans, reddish browns, white with flecks of other colors include a wide range of shades; silver blues, grays, golden tans, reddish browns, white with flecks of other colors and occasionally pure white. Many adults have a double coat, a fine down undercoat, covered by a coat of guard hair. The best have a fleece as glossy as their lamb coat. But there is a great variability in the fleece type of both coats, from "horse tail" coarse to silky soft. The Karakul produces a lightweight, high-volume, strong fiber fleece that, at its best is long and lustrous, usually with no crimp. Considered long-stapled (average 6" to 12" per year), the fleece lacks a high grease content. It is easily spun, with little preparation. It produces a superior carpet yam, is often used for rugs and saddle blankets, outer garments and wall hangings, and has an excellent felting ability. It is the wool from which the art of felting evolved.
Karakul Breed category:
Karakuls were introduced to the U.S. between 1908 and 1929 for pelt production. Very few animals were obtained. U.S. breeders, in their eagerness to produce a large quantity of pelts, introduced other breeds into the bloodlines. This produced pelts of inferior quality and eventually the industry and the flocks were dispersed. Even in their native regions, the demand for furs resulted in a crossing and intermingling of native fat-tailed sheep so that the native flocks exhibit wide variations in type and color. This lack of uniformity is apparent. Body and fleece types vary even in those Karakuls capable of producing lambs of high quality fur. With a growing interest in the fiber arts in the United States, there has been an increased interest in the Karakul sheep. It is a specialty breed that is finding its niche as part of the cottage industry. Today there are small farm flocks scattered throughout the U.S.
	The Lincoln is one of the world's largest breeds of sheep. Its fleece is the heaviest, longest-stapled and most lustrous of any breed in the world. Lincolns originated in a fertile area on the East Coast of England, bordering the North Sea and the county of Lincolnshire. They were first brought to the United States in 1825, where they contributed to the development of several commercially-important American breeds.
Lincoln Breed category: long wool, rare Distribution: Worldwide
Photo courtesy of EAAP-Animal Genetic Bank © Copyright Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Please note, that all pages were generated automatically, but if you have problems or useful suggestions, then please contact Prof. Dr. O. Distl or the database administrator.	Last updated 15-May-2009 - Copyright© 2009. Sheep 101 - Reprint permission. The pages on the Sheep 101 web site may be copied, downloaded, and printed for educational purposes, provided the material is not altered in any way and credit is given to Sheep 101. Information may be reprinted in newsletters with permission from the author and/or photographer. Users may link to Sheep 101 web pages. Images are the property of the photographer and cannot be used without permission from the same. The author of Sheep 101 is Susan Schoenian, Sheep & Goat Specialist at the University of Maryland's Western Maryland Research & Education Center. sschoen@umd.edu
Information on Scottish Blackface, Polypay, Dorset, and Karakul from: www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep

Interesting Wool Facts

• Black Sheep
  Sheep come in a full range of natural colors from white to black. Traditionally, black sheep were considered undesirable in a commercial flock because the black fibers were a potential contaminant to the white fiber harvest. However, in very large flocks, often one black sheep was sometimes kept for every 100 white sheep to facilitate the ease of keeping track of individual flock numbers. Today, natural colored sheep are highly prized by hand-spinners and weavers for their lovely range of fleece colors.


• One Sheep
  One sheep produces anywhere from 2 to 30 pounds of wool annually. The wool from one sheep is called a fleece, from many sheep, a clip. The amount of wool that a sheep produces depends upon its breed, genetics, nutrition, and shearing interval. Lambs produce less wool than mature animals. Due to their larger size, rams usually produce more wool than ewes of the same breed or type.


• Medium Wool Sheep
  Medium wool sheep, raised more for meat than fiber, produce the lightest weight, least valuable fleeces. Medium wool is usually made into blankets, sweaters, or socks or it is felted.


• Long Wool Sheep
  Long wool sheep usually produce the heaviest fleeces because their fibers, though coarser, grow the longest. Hand spinners tend to prefer wool from the long wool breeds because it is easier to spin.


• Value of Wool
  The value of wool is based on its suitability for specific end uses, as well as the fundamentals of the world wool market.
  
  
• In the United States
  In 2008, the average price paid for all wool grades combined sold in the United States was 99 cents per pound for a total value of $32.5 million. 443 million head of sheep were shorn in 2008. The average fleece weight was 7.5 pounds.