Fibre Focus Friday: Lleyn

Ancestors of the Lleyn sheep originally came from Ireland in the 1700s.  Funnily enough, it was this sort of time that the Blue Faced Leicester was being developed as a breed and there are thought to be some similarities between these two breeds that can be traced back to this initial development.

The Lleyn made it to Wales in the 1800s and took their name from the Lleyn Peninsula in the North-West of the country.  Despite being a good, hardy sheep that lambs well and produces a quality fleece the breed declined in the 1950s which resulted in it becoming endangered.  The Lleyn Sheep Society was formed in the 1970's and this helped to increase numbers of the breed.  The breed has grown steadily in number and is no longer endangered, in fact it is a very popular breed for commerical farmers and smallholders alike.  

The fleece of the Lleyn is white and dense with an average 31-33mic and a staple length of 6-12cm.  It has a light crimp to it as lends itself to most crafts; its colour means that it takes dye readily and its natural bounce makes it popular for spinning.  It can be tricky to wet felt but with patience it will produce a study and strong material.

The Lleyn is often overlooked in crafting as it is not one of the soft go-to breeds such as Merino, however we've found it to be excellent to work with and even made one of our 2024 advent blends with it.  You can get your hands on our Lleyn tops here to try it out for yourself.

(If anyone is wondering how to pronounce this breed we've got a few handy tips!  It's a Welsh name so the LL is pronouced 'cl' (as in clean) but you hold the tip of your tongue at the top of your mouth and push air around the edges to make the noise. Once you've got that bit sorted the rest of the word is easy - en.  It takes a bit of practice but onc e you've mastered it you can add it to the list of sheep breeds that are hard to pronounce along with Manx Loaghtan!)