Breed Studies and Breed Bits

Why breed study?

Examining different breeds gives the opportunity to find out what works best for a project. It helps you learn how different fibers behave. Most importantly, breed study makes us all better spinners.

For example, when I look at our 75% BFL and 25% silk and compare it to 100% BFL what differences do I see? Color, spinnability, strength, and many other attributes. Or how about the short fibers of Cheviot compared to crazy long fibers of Wensleydale?

Questions to ask yourself while spinning:

• Pull out a staple and examine it, notice the sheen and softness.
• Give it tug, how well does it snap back?
• What does the color look like? Is one color deeper than the other?
• How does it feel to spin? Does the added silk make it easier to spin?
• Does that fiber want to be thicker or thinner? Comparing the resulting yarns: which one would make a good sock yarn? Sweater yarn?