British Wool - Blue Faced Leicester

Blue Faced Leicester's (BFL) are the descendants of a breeding program established in the 1700's to create a tasty meat, long wool sheep which resulted in the Dishley Longwool, commonly known as the English/Leicester Longwool today. The Leicester Longwool was created by Robert Bakewell who used modern agricultural practices of selective breeding to create a sheep that provided more meat, grew faster, longer wool, etc to make a great all-rounder sheep.  Bakewell's innovative agricultural practices actually influenced Charles Darwin regarding natural selection and evolution.Over the next 200 years the breed was developed into what it is today - the Blue Faced Leicester. While the BFL breed has been improved and gaining popularity, its ancestor the Leicester Longwool is now endangered. According to the Oklahoma State University, there is an estimated 2000 Leicester Longwools globally which is sad considering the breed was the foundation for the BFL.

Pic from www.diamondyarn.com

Now that I've depressed anyone who is reading this.. onto my experience of spinning and knitting with it!

BFL is becoming more popular due to its similarity to merino, which is good for the demand of the breed, thus increasing its sustainability. It isnt as soft as merino but is very close, it also drafts somewhat like merino but definitely easier than merino (thank god!).I've never been able to draft merino enjoyably as I find that the fibre clings to itself a fair bit and runs a higher chance of creating slubs that I then have to try and correct. Some people seem to find it easy to draft but I can find it a challenge. Anyway, the BFL is a bit similar to that as it is a fairly fine fibre.

The micron count of BFL is 24-28 and its staple reaches 6 inches.

For my samples I had 2 x Oatmeal BFL and 1 x Brown BFL;

Oatmeal BFL roving and 2 plied yarn on spindle.
Brown BFL mini skein at front.

 The yarn that the BFL made was really nice. Unfortunately this photo is the best I could do and doesn't show the sheen on the yarn.

Knitting it up was really easy and the fabric is makes is really soft and lovely. Something you could definitely wear next to the skin. Even though I only have small squares to go by, I think it would make a nice drapey knitted fabric.

I'm not sure what it is about this wool exactly, but I did like working with this more than merino (aside from the contentious relationship merino and I have when it comes to drafting) and I think that I would even pick BFL as a preference over merino. It spins easier, feels nearly as soft (if not as soft as some merino) and knits up nicely.


Stay spun!

- Mokosh