WOOL, THE RENEWABLE NATURAL RECOURCE

Special qualities
• lustre
• resilience
• evenness
• softness
• lightness
• vivid surface
• semi fine
• good felting qualities

Colours
• wide natural colour spectrum
• pure white
• deep black
• different shades of brown
• blending possibilities of the natural colours are limitless

Finnsheep wool traits

In the picture: Places for taking the wool samples and grading of the wool: 1, 2 and 3.

Grading quality (With scale 46 – 60)
• 53-54
• Wool is finer from the shoulder area and coarser from the thighs.

Crimp frequency ( / 3 cm)
Embodies the fineness of the wool.
• White and brown wooled animals have in average 6 – 7 staples. Black wooled have in average 5 – 6 staples.
• The degree of hereditary (h2) for the wool crimp is 0,49.

Staple length (The average of three measuring points)
• The average staple length 7 cm, the shortest staple being 2 cm and the longest 18 cm.
• The hereditary degree (h2) for the staple length is 0,66.

Diameter of the wool fibre
This is the most determinative factor of the wool quality.
• The minimum requirement of fine wool fibre is 21 µm. When 22-23 micron wools are mixed into the fine wool, it is said to better the resilience of the final product.
• 25,9 microns (the range being from 21,4 microns to 37,0 microns).
• The degree of hereditary (h2) for fibre diameter is 0,47.

Fleece weight
• An adult sheep produces about 3,0 kg wool / shearing.
• Lamb’s wool clip is about 1,0 kg. Age of the lamb being 154 d, about 5,5 months.
• Wool clip of the white sheep is a bit larger that the wool clip of the coloured sheep.
• Finnsheep wool is light in grease. The scouring loss is only about 30 % - 35 %.
• A Finnsheep ewe produces carded fleece about 1,2 kg - 2,5 kg.

Hereditary of the wool quality

The wool quality traits are inherited rather well, except for the lustre and uniformity of the wool. The strongest hereditary connection is between the wool crimp and the grading quality of the wool. Also the wool crimp, the grading quality and the staple length are closely connected. The curlier the wool, the shorter and denser it is. As the crimp frequency / 3 cm increases, the diameter of the wool fibre decreases. The staple formation and the lustre are also nicely hereditarily connected to each other.

The breeding objectivities of Finnsheep wool

Finnsheep’s wool quality evaluation and breeding objectives are joint Nordic.

Use

Lamb’s wool is well suitable on products which are used straight next to your skin, like knitted garments, soft blankets, shawls and children’s clothing. Yarn made out of lamb’s wool can be used on baby’s garments and instead of rheumatism or alpacayarn on scarves and warmers. Yarn spun from adult Finnsheep wool is suitable for interior decorations, garment fabrics and knitted products.

One of the specialties of Finnsheep wool is its’ excellent felting qualities. It felts well and with ease.