This page is designed to be a quick reference of breeds that Gnomespun carries or has carried (and possibly a few I’m considering carrying). It is by no means exhaustive and neither is it unbiased. It is colored by my personal experiences with the fibers, and the purposes that I find these wools well suited for.

Mostly I classify breeds similarly to the way they are classed in “In Sheep’s Clothing” by Jane and Nola Fournier. When classified otherwise, I’ll try to note it. For now, they’ll be listed alphabetically. At another point I may group them by class.

Alpaca: A short stapled, sleek and soft fiber. Alpaca comes in two varieties, suri and huacaya. Huacaya is shorter, loftier, and has less luster. Suri is longer, sleeker, with more shine and is often compared to hair in appearance. Both are very soft.

Angora: Fiber from soft fuzzy bunnies. Short stapled and luxuriously soft. Pure angora isn’t very durable and has effectively no memory.

Bamboo (Rayon): Bamboo rayon/bamboo viscose is a regenerated cellulose fiber made by breaking down bamboo and repolymerizing the cellulose into polymeric fibers. It’s very soft with a good drape.

Black Welsh Mountain: This is a soft and lofty downs wool. Soft, short stapled, with a great loft, elasticity and memory. Similar in feel to a mid dorset or clun forest. Soft enough for hard wearing socks or gloves, but not for house socks.

Bluefaced Leicester: Often referred to simply as “BFL,” the finest of the longwools, with a delicate lustre and beautiful drape. Almost as soft as Merino and easily soft enough for any next-to-skin wear. Not as durable as some fibers, but a luxury to wear.

Border Leicester: A lustrous longwool with a nice handle and soft rich sheen. This breed varies in softness from as soft as Corriedale or a good Shetland suitable for next-to-skin to much coarser suitable outerwear.

Cashmere: A super duper soft luxury fiber from goats. Short stapled, and not very durable when pure. One of the most luxurious of the luxury fibers.

Cheviot: A downs wool, and thus almost unfeltable. Very similar to Dorset, with a spiral crimp and incredible bounce. Cheviot is a very old breed originally from Spain, and long established in the English Downs. Like many of the downs breeds, Cheviot can be variable. Soft Cheviot is soft enough for good socks and next-to-skin wear, while coarser Cheviot is better suited for hard wearing outerwear. My main source is largely on the softer, sock, end.

Corriedale: A soft yet durable fine wool. Still soft enough for next to the skin wear, but more resistant to wear than Merino. A good compromise between softness and durability if your skin is more sensitive.

Cotswold: A gorgeous longwool with amazing luster that makes the wool almost glow with warmth. Cotswold varies from next-to-skin soft to sweater soft, not Merino soft, but far more durable and lustrous, with a long staple and excellent drape.

Clun Forest: A downs wool, resistant to felting with good loft and memory. Lends itself to a yarn with good stitch definition. Not Merino soft, but more durable than the finewools, with less luster than Dorset, and a little sturdier drape.

Dorset: A downs breed, very difficult to felt, with great memory (it doesn’t crease or compress easily) with high loft and good stitch definition. Not merino soft, and can be variable, soft Dorset is comparable to a mid Corriedale, coarse Dorset to a heavy Border Leicester. Very durable. Not scratchy, low lustre. I consider a soft Dorset to be an excellent fiber for long wearing socks.

Finn: Soft and lofty, finn is finewool and a luxury to spin with, it drafts easily and spins well at any weight. Great for next to skin wear, with a little more durability and luster than Merino.

Gotland: A longwool, similar in many respects to Wensleydale. Slightly shorter stapled, with a good luster, good wear, and gorgeous dark heathering. Good for laceweight.

Grey Norwegian: A truly an ancient breed, thought to be the origin of the famous Icelandic breed. Possibly the second most primitive sheep. With long medium coarse high luster fiber, similar in structure to Gotland and Wensleydale, a little coarser than some other breeds, but a good sturdy fiber with good handle.

Jacob: One of the most ancient breeds around, often still retaining a double coat. With spots of color in the fleece, this breed makes a beautiful heathered fiber. Good mid durability, elasticity, and mid-high loft. Great for sweaters, some will find it soft enough for next-to-skin, others not.

Merino: The standard of finewool. The softest generally available wool, but not very durable. Short stapled, can be more difficult to draft smoothly when unblended.

Old English Southdown: (also called Babydoll Southdown) Probably the softest downs breed, while still maintaining the incredible loft of other downs breeds. Great loft, good memory, and soft enough for next-to-skin wear.

Polwarth: A super soft fine wool, as fine as Merino, more luster, with a longer staple and more loft. One of my favorite fibers. Excellent for next-to-skin functions, with a little better wear than Merino. Not ideal for high wear purposes.

Ramboulliet: Also known as French Merino is a soft, lofty finewool. This is one of the foundation breeds for many of the soft curly breeds you’re familiar with. Springy, easy drafting, will make a puffy, warm, airfilled yarn.

Romney: A longwool with good wear and a soft luster, great for things which need a mid level of softness and wear, like mittens, sweaters, and the like. More loft than the Border Leicester. Romney varies in softness but is almost always soft enough for hats/mittens and softer Romneys for next-to-skin for most wearers.

Shetland: This is an ancient sheep breed of much debated origins. They’re renowned for living in the Scottish Highlands on the steep hills. It’s a middle luster fiber, on the softer end of the spectrum (soft enough for next to skin wear). It has a good loft and respectable bounce and memory. A good all around fiber for just about any purpose. This is one of my favorite breeds. “In Sheeps Clothing” classifies this as a downs wool because of the lock structure, while I usually classify it as an ancient breed because some shetlands are still double (or even triple) coated and it felts more easily than most downs wools.

Targhee: An American finewool, almost as soft as Merino, with lots of loft from its Ramboulliet ancestors, and an almost downswool type elasticity. Excellent for fabric where you need softness, elasticity, and crease resistance.

Tencel: A regenerated cellulose fiber, also called Lyocell. Tencel is a fine, soft fiber made from wood pulp similar to bamboo viscose. The breakdown and polymerization process of tencel is considered more sustainable than that used for bamboo.

Tunis: A mid soft downswool breed, with slighly less loft than some of the other down breeds like Clun or Dorset, but with a finer handle and drape. Little to no notable luster. Tunis still retains the good memory of other downs breeds.

Tussah Silk: What more needs to be said? Very long stapled, sleek, shining, strong, with an amazing delicate handle. Tussah silk is from the tussah moth, as opposed to mulberry silk which comes from bombyx moths. Note: tussah silk (often referred to as “wild silk”) is not “wild crafted” by default, despite popular belief, and is usually cultivated and processed similar to mulberry silk.

Wensleydale: A lovely longwool with an amazing luster. Wensleydale is not the finest of the longwools, but it is the longest stapled with the highest shine. Excellent for laceweight yarn.

That’s all for now, feel free to email or PM with more questions.

~The Gnome