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Wednesday 13 October 2010

Fibres: Black Welsh Mountain Sheep

[caption id="attachment_2608" align="alignright" width="262" caption="Black Welsh Mountain fibres, spun and knitted"][/caption]

In Medieval times, black wool, known as 'Cochddu' (reddish brown) was much sought-after by merchants. In the 19th century Welsh flockmasters recognised the commercial potential of the black lambs and began to select and breed them carefully to produce a pure and separate strain of Black Welsh Mountain Sheep.
Black Welsh Mountain sheep are small, the ewes are polled and the rams are horned.

Working with Black Welsh Mountain Fibres
The fleece is fairly coarse and is sought after for it's natural black colour. I just bought a bag with a friend this Sunday and I can't wait to have a go at spinning it.

Organisations:
Black Welsh Mountain Sheep Breeders' Association - UK

The images in this post are copyright of Eddie Roued-Cunliffe. You are hereby granted permission to use them for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit Eddie and link back to this page. If you are using them and talking about this post I would love to hear from you in the comments.

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