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Viking Wool and Sails 

2/24/2016

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I saw a wonderful article yesterday from Hakai Magazine on Viking woolen sails that is definitely worth sharing.   http://www.hakaimagazine.com/article-long/no-wool-no-vikings
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Sheep BReeds:   Kainuu Grey  (Kainuun Harmas)

8/21/2015

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These Finnish sheep are a separate breed from the Finnsheep and are primarily bred for meat.

All lambs are born black, but they often fade to gray as they get older while maintaining black legs and faces.  Their  coats range from more wooly to more hairy.

They are prolific and can mature in only three months and lamb twice a year
.  (Aholan Farm)

Fiber Information*:

  • Staple length:  The samples I had were all 2.5-4 inches 
  • Fiber description:  Locks were smooth with gentle waves and curled at the tips.  Shorter locks (presumably from the neck area) were comprised of tiny curls.
  • Notes:  I had samples from three different animals (white, gray and black), all had a bit of lustre and were smooth and delightful to spin.


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Sheep Breeds: Castlemilk Moorit

8/19/2015

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This breed of sheep was developed in the early 20th century using the Manx Loughtan, moorit Shetland, Soay and wild Mouflon stock.  Coloration is light or dark brown and both males and females are horned.

Fiber Information*:

  • Staple length:  1.5-3 inches (the sample I had was less than the 1.5)
  • Fiber description:  29-35 microns (can often be more fine).  Locks are short and do not taper.  Fleece and Fiber source book mentions that they can have tips bleached in the sun and this held true for the sample I purchased.
  • Fleece size:  2-3lbs
    Animal size:  Rams are 120lbs with ewes weighing 85lbs.
  • Notes:  The fleece I had was very short and springy and reminded me more of the Soay that I have than any Shetland I have spun.  The exceptionally short staple made it hard to spin, but I would love to get another sample at some point to test it out again.
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Two ewes (left) and a ram of the Castlemilk Moorit breed at a sheep show. Photo credit: Evelyn Simak
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A Castlemilk Moorit ewe and her pair of lambs (at 2 days old). Photo credit: Sheepishly
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Sheep Breeds:  Åsenfår (Swedish Forest Sheep)

8/17/2015

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The Åsenfår is a small sheep from Sweden that is a member of the forest sheep classification of animals (also included are the Gestrikefår, Helsingefår, Svärdsjöfår and Värmlandsfår sheep).  These are hardy animals bred to live on less pasture in the summer and poor feed during the winter. (Skansen.se)

Rams are typically horned and ewes are usually polled but might have scurrs.  They come in a range of colors including white, brown, gray and black. 

Fiber Information*:
  • Staple length:  Two of the samples I got were approximately 4 inches and one was 4.5
  • Fiber description:  Smooth wool with nice curl and waves.  Double coated fleece but not too much difference between outer and inner coats on one of the samples.
  • Animal size:  Rams 100lbs, ewes 70lns 
  • Lanolin:  These fleeces were fairly greasy.
  • Notes:  The grey fleece I had that had coats of similar size and grist was very pleasant to spin (I liked all three, but that one was my favorite of the lot).  The above right image is of the sheep from flock from which my samples came.

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Åsenfår sheep. Photo credit: Ingegerd Staberg (This is the woman who kindly sent me wool samples. Thank you!)
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Åsenfår sheep. Photo credit: allmogefar.se
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Sheep Breeds:  Boreray

5/5/2015

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PictureAbove – Location of the St. Kilda archipelago. Image credit to the National Trust for Scotland. Right – Boreray ewes and Boreray ram. Photos by Jason Gibbs of Hampshire, England.
Like the Soay, the Boreray sheep today live on the St. Kilda archipelago west of Scotland. (Ekarius and Robson, 154)  This very rare breed exists today as a feral on four of the population is completely feral and despite having been bred with Scottish Blackface sheep at one time, the current group exhibits predominantly the traits of the more primitive Northern European sheep.

These animals are horned in both sexes (with the possibility of multiple sets of horns), moult their fleece and come in an array of colors such as creamy white, tan, gray and dark brown.


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Fiber Information:
  • Staple length:  2-6 inches
  • Fiber description:  Very fine with an average of 23-32 microns (and can be more fine than that) Fleece size:  2-3.5 lbs
  • Animal size:  Small
  • Notes:  The sample I had was dual coated, but it appeared to have more undercoat than outer.  The undercoat itself was nice, spun well and was fairly soft.

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Upcoming Classes

3/23/2015

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I will be teaching my Viking wool class at AEthelmearc War Practice and twice as Pennsic University.  The Pennsic classes will run 3 hours with the first two hours being discussion and demo, and the last hour will allow time for people to experiment with the tools if they would like to try things out.  More information on this class can be found under the CLASSES button at the top of this page.  Additionally, I am hoping to set up a gathering for the members of the Viking Era Textiles & Fiber Arts group from Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/360623034123093/).  If that ends up being scheduled, I will be posting information both on the group and here. 

5/16/2015
AEthelmearc War Practice
10am-12pm, A&S Tent #1
Viking Era Wool: Its Production and Use

7/30/2015
 
Pennsic University

9am-12pm, A&S4
Viking Era Wool: Its Production and Use

8/4/2015
Pennsic University
9am-12pm, A&S4
Viking Era Wool: Its Production and Use
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Sheep Breeds - Gotland

11/25/2014

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The Gotland breed developed from the Gute sheep, a primitive breed descended from those brought to Sweden by the Vikings.  (Oklahoma State University, Breeds of Livestock Project)  The wool is typically gray but ranges from silver to near black, though white and brown do rarely occur. The wool from these animals can be spun quite fine, but resembles mohair more than any other of the short-tailed breeds. (Ekarius and Robson, 162)

While the older Gute (or Goth) sheep breed still exists on the island of Gotland today, the modern breed, which was started a hundred years ago by selecting for specific color and curl among Gute sheep, has had some additional improvements from Leicester, Texel and other stock.  The Gotland breed in the US is being built by artificial insemination to acceptable outcrosses to establish American Gotlands (acceptable outcrosses are Icelandic, Finn, Shetland and seven of the English longwool breeds).


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Gotland Sheep by Malene Thyseen.
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Gotland sheep by Berit from Redhill Surrey, UK
Fiber Information:
  • Staple length:  3-7 inches, but can be much longer
  • Fiber description:  18-mid-20s in lambs and 27-34 in adults
  • Lanolin:  Fairly low lanolin
  • Fleece size:  5.5-11lbs
  • Animal size:  Medium – ewes weigh 120-155 and rams are 165-190
  • Notes:  This wool type is a longwool, with lovely wavy locks that curl at the tips.  It spins exceptionally well for me in to smooth, fine yarns.
  • Fleece type:  Ryder classifies them as Medium, Generalized Medium and Hairy Medium.  The more primitive Gute sheep is classified as true Hairy or Hairy Medium. (Ryder, Sheep & Man, 527)


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Gotland Sheep at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, 2014.
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Gotland Sheep at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, 2014.
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Resources:

Dýrmundsson, Ólafur and Niznikowski, Roman.  “North European short-tailed breeds of sheep : a review,” 59th Annual Meeting of the European Association for Animal Production.  2008

Ekarius, Carol and Robson, Deborah. The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook: More Than 200 Fibers, from Animal to Spun Yarn (Storey Publishing, LLC), 2011.


Oklahoma State University. “Breeds of Livestock Project”. www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/‎

Ryder, M. L. Sheep & Man (Gerald Duckworth & Co.), 1983.

Ryder, M. L. "A Survey of European Primitive Breeds of Sheep," Annales de Génétique et de Sélection Animale. 13, no. 4: 381−418, 1981.
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In the News - More on Lendbreen

11/24/2014

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The Lendbreen was an exceptionally exciting find a few years ago, and I am very looking forward to seeing the reconstructions mentioned in this article.  (This new piece has some nice info on the wool itself!)

http://www.medievalists.net/2014/11/24/early-medieval-tunic-recreated-norway/
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Sheep Breeds: Finnsheep

11/19/2014

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PictureFinnsheep at 2014 Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.
This breed is thought to be several hundred years old and, as its name suggests, has its origins in Finland. (OSU)  Though they are descendants of the Wild Mouflon and the Scandinavian Short-tail group, these sheep have been highly crossbred with other breeds of sheep.  Those crosses include sheep outside of the Northern European Short-Tailed breeds. (Dýrmundsson and Niznikowski, Table 2) 

Finnsheep are one of the most prolific breeds in the world and an ewe can have up to nine lambs in a litter. (Hatton)  This tendency, as well as the animal’s adaptability to rugged climates, has made the sheep a very desirable addition to other bloodlines to increase numbers in herds by multiple births. 

The wool can come in many colors (blacks, grays, browns, fawns, spotted), but is most commonly white.  These sheep typically have a single coat, but double coated individuals still occur on occasion.  (Ekarius and Robson, 159)  The coat is usually fine and can have a soft curl and works well with combing.


Fiber Information:

  • Staple length:  3-6 inches
  • Fiber description:  24-32 microns in single coated sheep.
  • Lanolin: 50-70%, but I found the samples I had to be quite unctuous.
  • Fleece size:  4-8lbs
  • Animal size:  Rams are 150-200lbs with ewes weighing 120-190lbs.
  • Notes:  This wool has a nice crimp, combs and spins easily.
  • Fleece type:  Ryder has classified this fleece as ranging from Fine to Generalized Medium.



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Right Finnsheep ewes and lambs in Finland. Photo credit - David Smith from Elimäki, Finland.
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A Finnsheep ram in Finland. Photo credit - Andrei Niemimäki from Turku, Finland
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Resources:

Dýrmundsson, Ólafur and Niznikowski, Roman.  “North European short-tailed breeds of sheep : a review,” 59th Annual Meeting of the European Association for Animal Production.  2008

Ekarius, Carol and Robson, Deborah. The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook: More Than 200 Fibers, from Animal to Spun Yarn (Storey Publishing, LLC), 2011.

Hatton, Grace. 
"FIBER BASICS: FINNSHEEP", Spin-Off Magazine, Summer 2005.

Oklahoma State University. “Breeds of Livestock Project”. www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/‎

Ryder, M. L. Sheep & Man (Gerald Duckworth & Co.), 1983.

Ryder, M. L. "A Survey of European Primitive Breeds of Sheep," Annales de Génétique et de Sélection Animale. 13, no. 4: 381−418, 1981.
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Sheep Breeds:  Soay

11/18/2014

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This breed has its origins on the St. Kilda archipelago off the west coast of Scotland.  The name of this small breed comes from the Norse words for “sheep” and “island”. (Ekarius and Robson, 194) Soay bones and fleece show that the soay is likely a direct ancestor of prehistoric sheep in Europe.  (Ryder, Changes,501)  They are the oldest sheep from the British Isles and are, in part, descended from those who were there before the coming of both the Romans and the Vikings. (Oklahoma State University, Breeds of Livestock Project)

Their wool can be shades of light or dark brown (or, very rarely, white), and like the Icelandic and some other breeds, they can shed their wool in the summer.  Ryder suggests that the darker Soay are more primitive that the lighter, wooly ones. (Ryder, Changes, 501)

Soay, like the other older members of the Northern European Short-tail group, have two coats, but the coats are so similar in many cases, that it is difficult to to tell the two apart.  (Oklahoma State University, Breeds of Livestock Project) As of 2012 there were less than 1200 of these animals in Britain.  There is a small population of them in the United States and Canada as well, some of which are pure British Soay, while others have had Shetland outcrosses.  These small sheep may be as close to “period” animals as we can find. 


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Soay Ram. Photo credit - Stephen Jones
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Two Soay ewes at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, 2014.
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Samples of a Soay fleece, and also samples from a more hairy soay (this fleece contains both dark, coarse hairs and an excess of kemp).

Facts
  • Staple length:  1.5-4 inches according to the Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook.  I have handled samples from 4 different fleeces and none of them were much longer than 2.25 inches.
  • Fiber description:  The inner coat is very well developed and hard to distinguish from the outer coat in wooly fleeces (both in terms of length and diameter).  The wool from these sheep typically ranges from 29-36 microns.    
  • Lanolin:  Neither of my sources list typical yield, but I can say that the samples I have handled seemed exceptionally greasy (prompting me to wash one sample three times before spinning).
  • Fleece size: .75-2lbs according to the Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook, but OSU lists it is 3-5lbs.
  • Animal size:  55-75lbs for rams and 48-52lbs for ewes.  These are small sheep with goat-like builds.

Picture
A pair of Soay lambs on Hirta. Photo credit: David Smith from Elimäki, Finland
Resources

Ekarius, Carol and Robson, Deborah. The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook: More Than 200 Fibers, from Animal to Spun Yarn.  Storey Publishing, LLC, 2011.

Oklahoma State University. “Breeds of Livestock Project”. www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/‎

Ryder, M. L. Sheep & Man.  Gerald Duckworth & Co., 1983.

Ryder, M. L. “Changes in the fleece of sheep following domestication (with a note on the coat of cattle”.

Ryder, M. L. "A Survey of European Primitive Breeds of Sheep," Annales de Génétique et de Sélection Animale. 13, no. 4: 381−418, 1981.

Ryder, Michael L.. "The History of Sheep Breeds in Britain."
The Agricultural History Review, 12, no. 1: 1−12, 65-82. 1964.

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