First off, thanks so much for your support of the first breed study post! I really do appreciate it. And secondly, sorry for missing last week’s post — I had a migraine that made my left eye swell shut and I’m just beginning to come out of the post migraine fog. Intentionally slowing down after that brutal headache gave me time to craft and spin, so I’m ready with this week’s installment.
The first post gave you information on the the categories of wool and this week, I spun from the fine wool category. Fibers in this category:
- are great for making next to the skin items (for e.g. sweaters, shawls, cowls)
- are soft and durable
- are typically of staple length 3 – 5 inches
- produce yarn that’s typically bouncy and soft
Some well known breeds are: Merino, Corriedale, Polwarth and Cormo.
The fiber I’m working with in this category is a lesser known fiber named Bond. This breed originated in Australia in the late 1800s, early 1900s and is a resulting breed which came from crossing Lincoln and Merino sheep. Other characteristics of Bond fiber are:
- a longer staple length (4 – 7 inches)
- that it’s a dense fiber
- it’s soft
- it’s very elastic
My findings from this spin are:
- my balanced spin gave me yarn of 5 twists per inch. Meaning in order for me to produce yarn that is not skewed to the extreme left or right, I have to put five twists in each inch of the fiber I feed onto my bobbin.
- the fiber is really dense. I usually draft forward (meaning, I pull the fiber forward before I let the twist enter it) but the density of this fiber hurt my hands drafting that way and it was much easier for me to draft backwards then feed.
- the fiber is incredibly soft although it’s dense and has a type of hairy quality to it that I absolutely love.
- the fiber is very durable. It took some effort to break the fiber after twist was put in.
I’m trying my best to spin this fiber as consistently as I can but the preparation of the fiber is not smooth. The prep resulted in fiber with bits and pieces of fiber “waste” (noils and nepps) that I absolutely love and am not removing. With my use of the short backwards draft (which gives less control regarding thick and thinness) plus the “waste”, I’m getting a spin that’s kinda rustic, thick and thin with enough texture to keep things interesting. I can’t wait to see the resulting swatch. This is not to say that you can’t get a fine spin with this fiber but that’s not what I’m going for here.
I would highly recommend this fiber for a beginning spinner. The long staple length is very accommodating as your hands and brain learn to work together learning this beautiful, meditative craft.
The goal is to finish spinning the rest of this fiber by next Saturday so I can start the second fiber I got from the seller. After spinning the second fiber, next up will be plying the two of them together as an experiment.
With this information, hopefully the next time you see yarn with Bond content you’ll be willing to try it for one of your yarny projects. 😀
Hope you’re each having a wonderfully crafty April! I can’t wait to visit you all to see what you’ve been up to.
D'NALI 
Well done! Great information!
Thank you! I’m really enjoying this! 😀
i’ve never heard of bond either… it looks lovely!
Thanks friend! Before this study, neither had I. This journey is equally eye-opening to me about other fibers we don’t hear about often or at all.
Thank you for sharing! I’ve never heard of Bond fiber before. It looks absolutely beautiful!
Wow, I’m so impressed with your spinning!! It’s beautiful and I love the natural way it’s coming out.
I’m sorry you’ve been under the migraine fog… sending you hugs and hope you’re better soon! xoxo
Thanks so much Kate! You got me blushing over here especially because I know you’re an accomplished spinner yourself. ❤
That migraine was one of the worst I had in a long time, took a week for my eye to feel normal again so thank you for your well wishes.
Great info! I look forward to reading about your next fiber study and the results of plying them together. Yesterday, I did a two-ply with nearing, The micron count is 15.5. I still need to hand dye that, or perhaps I’ll keep its natural color… I don’t know.
A few weeks ago, I purchased the book, The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook, that has been extremely helpful for learning an massive amount of information about numerous breeds. My boyfriends uncle used to raise Corriedale sheep. I talked with him extensively at a family gathering on Easter Sunday. He went on to say that he has a shed full of sheep and I was welcome to what I want. We also talked about honeybees. He was also a beekeeper, harvesting mushrooms and injecting their spores within oak logs.
That should have been, “two-ply with merino…” 😆
LOLOLOL! Don’t you just hate when auto-correct wants to tell you what to say? LOLOL!
That merino sounds divine and I have to check your site to see if you dyed it or not — either way, it’s going to be amazing. I love that book you referenced. I got it a few years ago when it just came out as a guide for yarn but it’s turned into this spinner’s goldmine. Another spinning book that stays by my bedside is “The Spinner’s Book of Fleece” by Beth Smith. Just epic! Check it out from the library and see if you like it; I have a feeling you might. 😀