Breed Book- Polwarth

Polwarth 

Photo credit :http://bib.ge/sheep/open.php?id=553

The staple length average is 4-6” with a micron count that averages from 23-25 microns. 

The Polwarth fleece is very dense and usually weights 9-13 lbs. 

The fleece also looses about 25% of it’s weight when washed, which is high for a fine wool.

Woolen

Prep- Dip washed, rinsed twice. Teased then carded 3x into rolags. Spun woolen using a long draw.

I felt the fiber was a little too sticky which made it difficult to draft, however, it did help the rolags to hold together nicely. I think next time I would scour the fiber so that there would be less lanolin making it easier to draft. The difficulty of the long draw was also due to the length of the fiber. There were are lot of lumpy, bumpy parts. I also found that there were a lot of 2nd cuts and breaks that I tried to pick out with my hands as I was spinning. Next time, I would apply less ply twist in hopes that the fiber would bloom more. I did prefer the worsted yarn over the woolen.

Suggested end use: The fiber is very soft which leads me to recommend something knitted and close to the skin. For example, a hat, cowl or even a sweater.

Worsted

Prep- Dip washed, rinsed twice. Teased then combed. Spun worsted using a  forward draw. 

I really enjoyed working with this fiber. During the combing process the tips did break off. I felt the fiber was a little too sticky which made it difficult to pull off into a sliver. However, the end resulting yarn look amazing. The stickiness also made it difficult to draft. I spun the fiber butt to tip. I wound up having to pick out some missed broken tips and slubs during the spinning process. My drafting zone was larger then usual; 4-5”.

Suggested end use: I love the end yarn. I think it would make great socks or a sweater this is because the yarn is soft with great bounce.