I think I mentioned awhile ago that I had purchased some wool from a local rancher and sent it to The Shepherd’s Mill here in Kansas. Well, I just got it back and I love it!
It’s Tunis wool. It’s been minimally processed so it has a great sproingy hand along with a little bit of vegetable manner and just a hint of lanolin smell. mmmmmmmm Sheepy.
A little bit about Tunis:
Tunis is a medium wool sheep with modest crimp. (my Tunis has more crimp than usual and has been bred for fineness). There is some faint lustre, but Tunis is known for it’s peachy overtones. Fine grade Tunis (like what you see pictured) is good for next to skin wear and for midrange garments as well. Tunis does not felt easy. Overall, it’s a pretty durable wool. It would make a really great fisherman’s sweater. And I currently have four pounds of it undyed and available to for sale up on the etsy site so you can do just that.
The stable length is about 4.5 inches, and I did my best to capture the crimp definition in this photo. (Before I sent this to the mill, it looked more like Corriedale lock than the pictures of Tunis I’ve seen in books.)
I am going to go spin some right now!