Oh The Fiber – Magical Manx Loaghtan

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alpaca, llama, alpaca by wonder al on flickr

Some llamas are dual coated meaning they have a soft undercoat and a coarser outer coat. Some times these are separated for making different goods such garments and rope. These animals come in a cornucopia of  natural colors  ranging fro white to grey,red-brown to black Llamas have a fine undercoat which can be used for handicrafts and garments. The coarser outer guard hair is used for rugs, wall-hangings and lead ropes. The fiber comes in many different colors ranging from white to grey, to reddish-brown,  to dark brown and black.

I’ve found 4 types of llamas that have differing coats:

wooly llama courtesy of music4mark

The Wooly Llama  (reminds me of  huycaya alpaca) has wool over the whole body, including the head a down the legs. They body size on this particular type is usually smaller than other types. down the legs to the fetlock. The fiber has minimal guard hair and is considered to be single coated. The quality is can sometimes come close to the average alpaca.

Meduim Llama from Lamas of Switzerland

The  Medium Llama  seems to be a crossing of the Wooly above and the Classic below.  This type has a longer fiber but less fiber on the head and legs. It possesses a double coated fleece.

classic llama by cookinghamus on flickr

The Classic Llama has much less fiber on it’s head neck and legs. The fiber on it’s body is longer and often flants a saddle-look. They may even have guard hairs that look like a mane. Classic Llamas have double coated fleece with rough guard hairs and a fine undercoat. They are often taller and have a larger body than the Medium and Wooly varieties.

suri llama by trrpngirl on flickr

Suri Llamas are pretty rare. The amount of wool is similar to a Wooly, but the fibers are a bit more coarse and hang off the body in locks.

http://www.lama1.ch/en/lamas-of-switzerland/llama-types.html

I admit to being a bit prejudiced to llama fiber it was the first fiber I ever had spun. It spun so beautifully that people were amazed it was my first spinning.

My first handspun

I’ve had llama as soft as cashmere , I’ve also had llama as course and strong as navaho churro. Here are some examples of both types.

Baby llama ….soft as cashmere

Adult llama fiber…….coarser stuff 🙂

Llama top……. a bit coarse

Information from wikipedia, and lamas of switzerland.

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llama by ..jac on flickr

I realized after looking thru my posts that I had never written about llamas and their fiber. Although they animals themselves are similar to their camelid cousins, camels and alpacas. They do have some characteristics that make them different than either one of these animals. According to wikipedia “Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago. They migrated to South America about 3 million years ago. By the end of the last ice age (10,000–12,000 years ago), camelids were extinct in North America.” This has been shown by the fossil record.

llama courtesy of victorandcarrie on flickr

Now llamas come from South America. They are thought to be descended from wild  Guanacos. They were originally used for meat and as pack animals. Early writers thought they were more similar to sheep, but soon people realized the resemblances to camels.  The classification for camels and llamas goes something like this:

camel: kingdom- Animalia, phylum- chordata, class- mammalia, order- artiodactyla, family- camelidae, genus- camelus

llama: kingdom- Animalia , phylum- chordata, class- mammalia, order- artiodactyla, family- camelidae, genus- lama

alpaca: kingdom- Animalia, phylum- chordata, class- mammalia, order- artiodactyla, family- camelidae, genus- vicuna

As you can see they are very closely related.  I find that people often mix up llamas and alpacas. Here are a few pictures to show the differences.

guanaco courtesty of BillGraf on flickr

4 alpacas and a llama from Seldom Scene Farm

Notice the llama is much larger( around 240-450 pds) than the alpaca and the ear shape is significantly different. Alpacas’s have spear shaped ears while llamas have banana shaped ears.  The two species can interbreed  they become either Huarizos a cross between a male alpaca and  a female llama or Mistis a cross of a female alpaca and a male llama.

huarzo by maviefrancaise on flickr

Llama and cria by rusty on flickr

Information from wikipedia, and lamas of switzerland.

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 Here is what you can get!

Ile de France sheep sprout a dense, refined fleece that has a high grease content. An average fleece weighs 8-13 pds.  The wool itself, has a well defined crimp. The staple length is about 2-4 inches. My Sample is actually longer than that between 4-5 inches.

Because of the merino bloodline this breed has a most notable fleece that I feel is being overlooked. I did the”bra test”with this fiber and found it to have a slight prickle , I wouldn’t make racy, unmentionables out of it, but I would make scarves, mitts , socks etc. The micron count is said to be from 24-29 which puts it in the medium range. Here is my Ile de France Fleece:

unwashed ile de france

closer 🙂

washed ile de france wool

close-up:)

I am going to dye this gorgeous stuff. You will see it in color at the end of the week.

I couldn’t resist this last pic of this gorgeous ewe with her triplets!

Information  from http://www.ile-de-france-sheep.com/presentation-en.html  , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Ele-de-France_(sheep), and http://showcase.netins.net/web/sam/ccidf.htm#TOC.

All pictures from http://www.ile-de-france-sheep.com/presentation-en.html  (unless stated otherwise)  with picture credits going to the the following: D.Chenot, CIV L.Rouvrais, P.Del Porto, J.Diependaele, Giraud, C.Pignot, Sopexa, Upra Ile de France, E.Wagner, D.R ,X.

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flock of Ile de France sheep

Ile de France, it sounds very regal almost majestic.  A breed established in the Ile de France region around Paris.  A French Veterinary College developed the breed in the 1830’s by  crossing Dishley and Merino lines. The breed was originally titled the “dishely merino.”

Although this sheep is considered a meat sheep, it is occasionally found as a dairy breed.  From what I’ve seen of the fleece ….I’m surprised there isn’t more people wanting the gorgeous wool from this animal.

The Ile de France is a polled sheep, with  no wool on the legs or face.  These sheep are a well muscled sheep rams are about 30 inches in height and weigh about 242 – 330 pds.    Ewes come in at 26 inches and weigh in at 154 – 198 pds. Their faces are white with pink lips and noses.

There was so little information on this breed that I checked the Rare Breed Survival Trust , thankfully they are not a listed breed.

Information  from http://www.ile-de-france-sheep.com/presentation-en.html  , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Ele-de-France_(sheep), and http://showcase.netins.net/web/sam/ccidf.htm#TOC.

All pictures from http://www.ile-de-france-sheep.com/presentation-en.html with picture credits going to the the following: D.Chenot,  CIV L.Rouvrais,  P.Del Porto,  J.Diependaele, Giraud,  C.Pignot,  Sopexa,  Upra Ile de France,  E.Wagner,  D.R,  X.

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ewe and lamb by wolmuts

Clun forest fleeces weigh in at 4-9 pds and usually have a 2 -5 inch staple. The wool is creamy white in color and has no black or kempy fibers.  The micron count is usually between 24-33 .

Great shearing picture by 4buttongnome on flickr

My experience with clun forest was a soft, springy, slightly crisply one. The fiber has crimp as you can see but it also has another dimension that I usually see with down types that makes the fiber super bouncy and springy, and  it gives a ton of elasticity to resulting yarn.

clun forest sheep by ellenspn on flickr

Here is my clun forest fiber.

You see that nice wavy crimp.

Washed Clun forest wool

clun forest cloud

See how the that other dimension of crimp came out after washing it almost turned into a cloud while keeping the original crimp we saw in the unwashed picture.

All information from Wikipedia, The North American Clun Forest Association, and The Clun Forest Sheep Breeders Society .

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clun forest flock by vildishknits

Clun forest sheep are a multi-talented breed. Their creamy white fleece, milk and meat make this a universal breed.  The Clun Forest Sheep hail from the town of Clun and the surround forests in Shropshire, England. These sheep are first mentioned in 1803 by Rev. Joseph Plymley who had dealings with these forest sheep. The breed originally had white faces and was polled. He noticed  that the breed was shifting. The crossing of other local breeds  resulting in the darker colouring of the head.

ewe and twins by MDSheep

In 1925 the  the Clun Forest Sheep Breeders Society was created to help sustain and preserve the breed. They became extremely popular after WW2 being the 3rd most popular sheep in Britain. Their effortless husbandry, hardiness and low cost of care made them favorite for commercial and pedigreed uses. After flocks being established in Scotland and Ireland the Clun Forest came to the U.S. in the 1970’s. By 1974 the North American Clun Forest Association was established.  Although the breed is declining in  Britain, it’s numbers are gaining in North America and The Netherlands.

Great picture courtesy of rcadd on flickr

Clun Forest are a medium size sheep with black faces and legs. There is no wool on the face, they do have a topknot on the head. They are polled. I noticed the ears sit right on top of the head. This gives them a vigilant, attentive look. They are revered for the high fat content in their milk and lambs can reach 100 pds in 7-8 months on grass-fed diet alone.

Lambs by Benny’s Grrrl

All information from Wikipedia, The North American Clun Forest Association, and The Clun Forest Sheep Breeders Society .

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