Breed Sampler - Teeswater - Status: Critical

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Just look at those long Teeswater locks!!

Here is an introduction from The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook (Robson, Ekarius, 2011)

"It is named for the River Tees, the river meanders about 85 miles from Cross Fell (the highest summit in the Pennines) to the North Sea.

"Long, lustrous, shiny wool: That's what its all about with the Teeswater. The locks hang individually and don't clump together. There is no Kemp or dark fibres, and the wool is uniform throughout the fleece. Because of the length (6-15 inches) yarns with a low twist work out well. It is a reluctant felting wool, at best."  Page 116.

The wool has a micron count of 30-35. I keep mentioning micron count but I don't think I ever explained it. (Not that anyone interested couldn't have just Googled it.)  Microns are a measure of fiber diameter. The smaller the micron count a particular wool has, the softer it is to the touch. The larger the micron count, the more hairy or wiry the wool feels.  Micron counts typically range from around 18 to 35, but can be as low as 10 (the record for an entire fleece) and higher than 40.

 I managed to spin this wool thinner I think because of the long staple. I used a size 6 needle to knit this swatch. I probably should have gone down in size to make a better looking fabric but I wanted to use the same size needles on all the samples. 

The Teeswater sheep breed was developed in the Teeswater region of England. In the 1920's the breed was faced with near extinction. Grazed in the dales of the countryside, this large sheep was also used as  sires in the crosses with smaller hill sheep to produce Mashams for market production (meat).  This white (with distinctive facial markings), polled breed (hornless) is very hardy and used for both meat and wool production. The lustrous, low-lanolin, kemp-free fleece of the Teeswater is appreciated by hand spinners for its long staple length and fine, long curly locks. Fiber growth is up to one inch per month with little to no cross fibering. For meat purposes, the Teeswater is lean, with well-fleshed, square hindquarters.