FINENESS

THE FINENESS OF SHETLAND WOOL – A Brief Survey of Information©

Shetland sheep have long been described as having the finest wool of the British breeds of sheep. This attribute is fixed in the Shetland Breed Standard with the words "extra fine and soft texture" and with 20 points out of possible 100 points for total animal assessment given to the quality of wool. The Breed Standard goes further in safeguarding the quality of wool by providing disqualifications for "bad wool, coarse and open" and for "very coarse wool on breeches".

A review of a number of books and articles that mention Shetland wool provide some numbers to help delineate "extra fine and soft". Wool production material and handspinners' literature shows a range for Shetland wool from approx. 20 to 31 microns (roughly equal to a range of 50 to 66 in Bradford Count/Numbers, according to the concordance in the American Wool Council publications).

Mabel Ross was an internationally noted master spinner from Scotland. She authored the Encyclopedia of Handspinning in 1988. In Appendix IX, page 219, she lists Shetland wool with Bradford Numbers of 54 – 58s. This range is approximately 29 microns to 24 microns. She cites the same range in her book "The Essentials of Yarn Design for Handspinners" published in 1983. The information is located in Table 1, Page 105 and includes references to The British Wool Marketing Board group numbers.

The British Wool Marketing Board periodically publishes its "British Sheep Breeds, Their Wool and Its Uses" book, providing basic information about the British breeds, their wool classification and their geographic distribution in the UK. In the 1978 revised edition, Shetlands are listed in the Shortwool and Down category. Average staple length is given as 10 cm (approx. 4 inches) and Bradford numbers are 56's - 60's or approx. 23.5 to 28 microns.

In 1995, Nola and Jane Fournier of New Zealand published their well researched book "In Sheep’s Clothing, A Handspinner's Guide to Wool". It covers in some detail the history and characteristics of most of the wool breeds found in the United States, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. Their discussion of Shetland wool is found at page 114. They cite a range of 23 to 30 microns.

Bobbie Irwin, an American, authored the Spinner’s Companion, published in 2001 in conjunction with Spin-Off Magazine. On page 25 of her book, she lists Shetland wool as having a Bradford Count of 50s to 60s, or approx. 24 to30 microns using her conversion chart.

The British Coloured Sheep Breeders Association maintains a website that contains a wealth of information on wool characteristics: www.digitalburn.net/clients/bcsba/info.php?name=Fleece%20specifications&type=fleece .They also describe Shetland wool as having a range in Bradford Numbers of 50 – 60s (so approx. 23.5 to 30 microns).

The Shetland Sheep Society in the United Kingdom maintains a web site at:
http://www.shetland-sheep.org.uk/ This group lists Shetland wool as averaging 23 microns.

Oklahoma State University maintains a website that catalogues a great number of breeds of livestock. It contains the following description of Shetland sheep and wool in the sheep section: "Shetland wool has a Bradford count usually in the upper 50's to lower 60's and a fiber diameter range of 20 - 25 microns." http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/shetland/

Paula Simmons, well known in both spinning and sheep production circles, is the author of the 1989 edition of "Raising Sheep the Modern Way", published by Storey Communications Inc. On page 36, she describes Shetland wool as follows: "Their (Shetland) wool is fine (64s/66s) but more durable than Merino and less likely to pill." The Bradford Numbers of 64s/66s correspond to a range of 20 to 22 microns.

R. H. Lindsay is a wool merchant company located in the U.S. They have a fascinating history in the wool trade and have gathered expertise from all over the world. They maintain a web site at: http://www.rhlindsaywool.com . They note the following in their Glossary: "The 25-32 micron range describes medium wool used in blankets and knitwear apparel as represented by the "Shetland" description. The sheep breed most identified with 25-32 micron wool would be Corriedale; however, most crossbred-style sheep breeds produce wool in this micron range." While this doesn’t actually deal with Shetland wool per se, it gives insight into was traditionally considered the range of diameter for Shetland wool.

Finally, S.H.U. Bowie has published a number of articles on Shetland sheep. In his 1989 article that has received wide distribution; he notes that the most important attribute of the breed is its wool which has a Bradford Count of 56 – 60. That corresponds to approx. 28 to 23 microns.

In summary, while there is some variation in the range found in the literature describing the fineness of Shetland wool, the references all agree that the wool should be fine and most put the upper limit at under 31 microns. This is consistent with word usage in the broader wool industry. In The American Wool Council Glossary, published in "Wool Grades and The Sheep That Grow the Wool", 1992, wool over 31 microns is considered to be coarse. While this Glossary doesn’t mention Shetland wool by name, it is clear from the definitions that if Shetland wool is supposed to be extra fine, it has to be less than 31 microns in diameter. The Breed Standard disqualification for coarse wool would probably be applicable to wool over 31 microns.

In North America, many Shetland shepherds have embraced the diversity that can be found in Shetland wool, without always considering what is appropriate Shetland wool type. Given the wording of the Breed Standard and the solid information about the usual and historical fineness classification of Shetland wool, breeding Shetlands for wool that is less than 31 microns would be in keeping with their traditional place in the wool world and would be a good step toward getting our flocks back to "extra fine and soft".