With this compact portable reference in hand, crafters can quickly and easily look up any of 100 different sheep breeds, the characteristics of their fleece, and the kinds of projects for which their fleece is best suited. Each breed profile includes a photograph of the animal and information about its origin and conservation status, as well as the weight, staple length, fiber diameter, and natural colors of its fleece. This is a great primer for beginners, and a handy guide for anyone who loves working with fleece. An indispensable, easy-to-read guide for knitters, spinners, and weavers eager to learn about the qualities of fleece and make the most of their projects. Carol Ekarius is the coauthor of The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook, The Field Guide to Fleece, and Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep, and the author of several books including Small-Scale Livestock Farming, Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds, and Storey's Illustrated Breed Guide to Sheep, Goats, Cattle, and Pigs. She lives in the mountains of Colorado. Deborah Robson is co-author of The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook and Knitting in the Old Way. She is a former editor of both Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot and Spin-Off magazine, and she is currently the editor and publisher of Nomad Press, which publishes books on traditional and ethnic knitting and spinning. Robson is also an artist, working in textiles, printmaking, and oils. She lives in Colorado with her daughter. Which wool is right for your project, and what might you do with that big bag of luscious fleece that catches your eye at the fiber festival? The answers to your questions are always at your fingertips in this portable reference to the fleece characteristics of 100 sheep breeds. For each breed, you'll find: The best way to prepare the fleece for spinning The natural colors of the fleece and how well it takes dyes Best uses for the wool Fleece weights, staple lengths, and fiber diameters A Love Affair with Wool American Miniature Cheviot Arcotts: Canadian, Outaouais, and Rideau Badger Face Welsh Mountain Balwen Welsh Mountain Beulah Speckled Face Black Welsh Mountain Bleu du Maine Bluefaced Leicester Bond Border Leicester Boreray Brecknock Hill Cheviot British Milk Sheep California Red Cambridge Castlemilk Moorit Charollais Cheviot Clun Forest Colbred Columbia Coopworth Cormo Corriedale Cotswold Dalesbred Dartmoor Greyface Dartmoor Whiteface Debouillet DeLaine Merino Derbyshire Gritstone Devon and Cornwall Longwool Devon Closewool Dorset Down Dorset Horn Dorset Poll (Polled Dorset) East Friesian Est a Laine Merino Exmoor Horn Faroese Finnsheep Galway Gotland Gromark Gulf Coast Native Gute or Gutefar Hampshire Down Hebridean Herdwick Hill Radnor Hog Island Icelandic Ile-de-France Jacob Karakul, American Kerry Hill Leicester Longwool Lincoln Longwool Llanwenog Lleyn Lonk Manx Loaghtan Merino Montadale Navajo Churro Norfolk Horn North Country Cheviot North Ronaldsay Ouessant Oxford Down Pelssau Perendale Polwarth Polypay Portland Rambouillet Romanov Romeldale and CVM Romney Rouge de l'Ouest Rough Fell Rya Ryeland Santa Cruz Scottish Blackface Shetland Shropshire Soay Southdown Spaelsau (New) Spaelsau (Old) Stansborough Grey Suffolk Swaledale Targhee Teeswater Texel Tunis, American Warhill Welsh Hill Speckled Face Welsh Mountain and South Wales Mountain Wensleydale Whitefaced Woodland Zwartbles In Case You're Curious Glossary Credits Index