WOOLLY WONDERS
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O
riginatingin theearlypartof the
19thcentury,theHampshire
Downis a crossbreedbetweena
Wiltshire,HampshireandBerkshiresheep.
Itsfinewhitefleececanbeblendedto
enhancedurabilityandcanalsobeused
to producequalityclothandtweeds.The
HampshireDownbreedis famedforgood
quality,mediumlengthwoolthatis fine,
yetstrongenoughto befrequentlyusedfor
hand-knittingas it is firmin textureandnot
toofrailthatit breakseasily– hencewhyits
fleeceis popularforusein handspinning
andweaving.Aninterestingfactis thatthe
yarnis alsousedfora particularlyspecial
purpose:makingJapanesefutons!
Discovermoreaboutthewonderful
worldof Britishsheepandwool at
http://www.britishwool.org.uk.Meetthe historiccrossbreed whosestrong,fine
yarn is sought after for special blends...
ESTABLISHEDINUK 19th century
CATEGORYFine
LOCATIONSpecialistflocksin the UK
HANDLESoftandsquidgy
COLOURWhite
FLEECEWEIGHT2.25–3kg
DIDYOUKNOW? 1 ThefirstHampshire
Downsocietywasformedin1889.
2 Hampshirebreedsarebred polled, and
arenaturallyhornless.
3 Therichbrowncolouringonboththe
earsandnoseoftheHampshireDown
arecharacteristicofthebreed,asisits
robustness to a range of climates.SHEEP STATS
SHEEP
MONTH
o
th
hampshirehampshire downdown
k
Discovermore!
Findoutmoreaboutthebreedatwww.hampshire
down.org.ukoryoucanfollow@Hampshire-Down
-Sheep-Breeders-Association on Facebook. C
PHOTOGRAPHY: BRITISH WOOL MARKETING BOARD