BellaOnline Forums Hobbies and Crafts Spinning Jacob's sheep wool

I was given very pretty Jacob's sheep roving, a mix of grays. It spins so easily, but it makes a fuzzy yarn. Would it be too fuzzy to make clothing? What ideas do you have for it's use? There's plenty of it. Anyone have experience with Jacob's sheep?

Well, there is Jacob and then there is Jacob. Unfortunately, many breeders past and present were far more concerned with colors, patterns and horns than they were the wool. As a result, Jacob is one of the most inconsistant wool breeds I've ever run across. I've spun some that was positively a joy to work with and other that... well... wasn't. It can range from soft and crimpy to crisp and kempy. With lots of fuzz, yours is probably somewhere in the middle. Fuzz yarns usually make the best hats and mittens and can be good for outerwear garments like jackets too. Let us know what you do with it!

Oh, just what I needed to know. I think I will do a hat! I'm having trouble matching my wool to the best project. I've read "my favorite fibers" here and printed that off to keep, but if you have any tips about what fibers work best for what, I'd appreciate it.

Oh... that sounds like a good suggestion for an article to write... I think I'll go work on that!

My husband has a sweater that I made several years ago from a whole Jacob's fleece that I bought - do you remember this one, Pegg? We went together to her farm to look at wool and animals. I can't remember her name... but the fleece was a beautiful silver brown with no spots at all, and I had it processed into roving by a local mill. I spun it and plied it Navaho, and made a big sweater at almost 3 stitches to the inch. My husband loves this sweater! He uses it all winter underneath his overalls when he has to work outdoors, and it still looks almost new. The yarn was a bit on the fuzzy side and I thought it would pill terribly but it never has. I wish I had tons more of this fleece, it is so nice. I remember what attracted me to the wool originally was that it looked healthy, had a nice shine and long staple, probably about 3 to 4 inches.

I definitely need more experience in picking out good wool, but I'm learning more each time I make something.

You are right, I think it could be used as a sweater if you didn't wear it right next to your skin. I didn't have the nerve to try it though and am making a rug, accenting it with some llama that I have that has those guard hairs. It looks really nice and a good way to use that llama too. I'm very new at this so didn't realize it would take so much fiber to make something, or so long to spin it. I can croquet a lot faster, but then I've done that many years. I love learning about fibers! Next time---a sweater!!!!

I do remember that fleece! That was one of the nicest Jacob fleeces I've ever seen. That breeder (unfortunately no longer raising sheep) was very fiber oriented and knew what she was doing. She had the best Jacobs for fiber that I've ever seen.

I was wondering, has anyone used Jacob's fleece to weave a rug? Was wondering how durable it would be. When combing the wool I separated the colors first. So I have white, grey and black/brown. And yes, it does seem fuzzy.
Thanks,
Teri

How well it wears will depend on how sturdy the fibers are. As I posted above, Jacob fleeces are terribly inconsistant. If it is soft enough to pass the "bra test", then it probably won't take heavy traffic as a rug. (Not all rugs get heavy traffic either, some are decorative and out-of-the-way.) But sometimes fuzziness is a good sign that the wool will felt up well. Felted rugs last just that much longer. (But remember to make them bigger than you want the final rug to be.)