BREED SPECIFIC WOOL ROMNEY MARSH KENT - LONG, LUSTROUS, WAVY

31/07/2022

Romney fleece can be one of the nicest things in the world of wool for several reasons:

1. It is soft and compact, without guard hair

2. It reaches a length of 15-20 cm, which supports its smoothness and durability in the yarn

3. It has a silky smooth surface and lustre

4. It felts perfectly!

    As it combines softness, length, strength and smoothness, it is one of the best universally usable breed specific wool. You can make anything with it: sweaters, hats, gloves, socks or scarves, shawls, cowls, home textiles or bags, or anything felted.

    Although it does not reach exactly merino softness (approx. 26-36mic), and it often varies according to the age of the sheep or the quality of breeding, it is softer than our other breed specific wool, it is pleasant to wear on the body and is often tolerated even by sensitive skin types :-)

    Thanks to the staple length and smooth surface, it spins well and does not need a lot of twist. Thanks to its lustre, it takes dye beautifully and enriches it. It is wonderful for knitting, crochet or weaving, and it stays without pilling for a long time, as typical for longwools.

    It can be easily and smoothly felted (unlike some other longwools).

    Romney fleece is mainly white, but you can also find shades of gray or brown. It has well-defined, separated locks - the fleece therefore washes well and combs well, especially on the wool combs (our offer HERE). If you come across a particularly nice fleece, it may happen that you do not need to comb it at all, you just need to "open up" the tips a bit with a flick carder.

      Romney marsh kent sheep (sometimes referred to as "kents") were bred in England. They were bred in wetlands - marshes, to be resilient to (especially hoof) diseases from the moist ground. The breed was introduced to the breeding bookr in the 19th century. Now it is spread widely around the world, but their characteristics predetermine that they do well (even) in humid climates.

      Romney is a meat breed with larger body frame, so there is also a decent amount of wool after shearing, 3-5 kg and the yield of the fleece is approx. 70%.

      The breeding process also unified the wool, so instead of undercoat and guard hair (which usually need to be separated), Romney has beautiful consistent fleece.

      Breeding Romney sheep was therefore especially successful: it belongs at the same time to fine-wool, meat and long-wool breeds. Its wool is one of the prettiest and most versatile fibers, that lasts beautiful for a long time.

      • We write more about wool maintenance HERE.
      • We write more about the properties of sheep wool HERE.