Browse the vendor’s booths at spinning shows or shops catering to hand spinners and you will find wool from many breeds of sheep available. Merino, Romney, Blue Faced Leicester, Icelandic, etc. abound. But ask for some Suffolk or Dorset or Hampshire fleece and you’ll get sort of a funny look and perhaps a question about why you would want wool from a meat breed of sheep.

Down breeds of sheep had their origins in the lowlands of the UK. Lambs mature rapidly which making them excellent market animals and they are commonly referred to as “meat breeds” today. Since Down sheep are raised for market, little care is given to keeping the fleece clean and free of vegetable matter (VM) which makes the wool unattractive and unappealing to hand spinners. A pity, as the Down breeds have so much to offer to spinners.

The main characteristics that set Down breed fleeces apart from the fine wool breeds or the luster long wools are the crimp and the handle. In general, fine wool breeds have a strong, tight crimping pattern while the luster long wools have looser, wavy crimping pattern. In both types, staples are usually well defined. Down breeds have a spiral crimp that is evident in each and every individual fiber even though the staples themselves may not be well defined. This crimping structure gives the fleece a crisp, springy handle.

Yarns spun from Down breed fleeces will be springy, bouncy, lofty, and elastic but will have little or no luster. Fleeces may be prepared and spun worsted as the yarns will still bulk up in the finishing process due to the spiral crimp. For the loftiest knitting yarns, card the fleece and spin woolen.

Down breeds have another interesting characteristic: while they will needle felt, they will not wet felt well if they felt at all. This makes them excellent fleece choices for outerwear, socks, and any garments that will be machine-washed. Because this type of wool is so highly resilient, it also makes nice warm blankets, afghans and quilt batting.

Some of the commonly found Down breeds are:
Black Welsh Mountain: 48s-56s; 33-26 microns.
Cheviot: 48s-56s; 33-28 microns.
Clun Forest: 56s-58s; 28-25 microns.
Dorset: 50s-56s; 32-27 microns.
Hampshire: 54s-58s; 30-26 microns.
Montadale: 54s-58s; 30-25 microns.
Shetland: 50s-60s; 30-23 microns. Note: Some Shetlands may be double coated.
Southdown: 56s-60s; 28-23 microns.
Suffolk: 56s-58s; 28-26 microns.
Tunis: 50s-58s; 30-25 microns.