Customer Reviews

In Sheep's Clothing: A Handspinner's Guide to Wool

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a wonderful reference book for handspinners. It covers many sheep breeds, giving descriptions of the fleece (staple length, quality rating, typical uses, and even a photo of a lock for about 90% of the breeds). As a beginning handspinner, I found this to be indispensible information, since most of the stuff I've managed to find about sheep breeds has been directed at livestock types. I appreciated the technique sections, since they scratched the surface of matching your spinning style to the fleece. If you are trying to get a good idea of how to consciously select appropriate wool and technique for your projects, this is the place to start. The only thing I would change would be to have color photos, and more of them - particularly in the colored fleece section.

This book is a guide to the wool of common and uncommon breeds of sheep: 94 breeds in all. It is divided into four main sections (fine wools, long wools, down wools and other wools). Each section begins with a few pages on general characteristics of wools in that category, typical uses for them, suggestions for washing and processing, and a handy chart comparing the main characteristics of each breed covered. Then each breed is presented seperately, with a photograph of a lock, information on fiber diameter in microns, spinning counts, staple length, fleece weight, etc., followed by a textual description of the wool and its uses. There are also a couple of chapters with good basic information on handspinning, though since anyone who buys this book probably already owns several spinning texts, I wish they would have used the space for photos of sheep or perhaps swatches. Still, anyone tempted to mail order a fleece will find this book useful; it can also help you realize that the sheep common to your area may have interesting wool. No information is given on locating fleeces, but that is understandable. Recommended.

When I bought this I was a beginner, and to put it mildly, I was underwhelmed. I thought this book would describe the fleeces in such a way as to help me select fleeces to spin. The problem was, my own knowledge at the time was so meager, the book was not helpful. Now that I know more, it is a lot more helpful.

The book is divided into sections, such as "fine wools" like Merino, and "longwools" like Lincoln. Each breed is alloted a picture of a lock of wool, a brief description of the history of the breed, and where that breed tends to be found on the planet. Some of the breeds show a picture of an individual sheep, but most of them just show a lock of fleece.

This is a great reference if you are considering buying fleeces or animals from a breed with which you have no familiarity. It's also a good book if you want to know a little about the history of diverse breeds. However, there is not much detail on any of it.

I've had this book for a number of years and I've returned to it for information concerning different types of wool. I believe that this book is supposed to help a spinner choose a fleece when purchasing either whole or partial fleeces for spinning. However, I've been disappointed that the information is too incomplete to be really helpful in that respect and the format isn't conducive to quick cross referencing or making comparisons.

At the beginning of the book there is a short primer on wools, in general. There is also a short explanation of woolen vs. worsted yarn and the different types of fleece, whether fine wools, long wools, or down wools. I'm not sure why this information is being given in a book that appears to be directed at a spinner who has sufficient experience to consider purchasing an entire fleece.

The authors give a very nice summary, or reference guide at the beginning of each chapter that rates the softness, elasticity, staple length luster and felting properties. I liked the chart format here. If the information for each fiber type had been summarized in this format throughout the book, it would have made it more of an "at-a-glance" type of reference and the spinner could have made comparisons between fibers.

The photos show a lock of each type of fleece against a contrasting background, several sample projects from each division of fiber and now and then, a photo of an animal. The information is short and covers only the basics. There are suggestions for possible uses for each type of fiber. I appreciate that, especially considering that the authors are attempting to describe something that only a hands-on experience can confirm. To only see pictures of single locks isn't nearly enough to get a good idea of what a type of fiber is like. It's kind of like trying to describe what an orange tastes like without actually getting to taste one. To actually make this book more user friendly, I've put all of the Louet wool sample cards that I could get my hands on in with the appropriate pages. It makes the book easier to use if I can actually touch a sample of what is being described.

If this book had a photo of each type of animal, both before shearing and in full fleece, along with the fiber photos, I would place a higher value on it. As it is, I use this book as a starting point and go to the internet or library to find out more information on a breed type or a fleece type. To be honest, finding detailed information about all breeds of fiber producing sheep in one single volume is impossible, so I know I'm asking a lot. To find samples of each type of fiber is an heroic task as well, so I understand how difficult it is to produce what I'm asking. However, it seems that the authors went to a lot of work to research and photograph all of these types of fiber, only to leave out about half of what they had to have learned during their research.

Throughout the book, there are suggestions for specialized spinning techniques and possible uses for each type of fiber. The book ends with a short primer on hand carding, hand combing and spinning. Again, I'm confused as to why beginner information is being included in a volume that appears to target the more experienced spinner.

Overall, I think this is a noble effort, but it falls short of being the spectacular volume it could have been. Including animal photos and extending the information to cover more than the bare bones would have been a wonderful addition. It would have also raised the price astronomically. Condensing the information into chart form for a spinner to use for the purposes of comparison and contrast would have been a practical addition. I use this book and I will always have it as part of my library, but it's just not the reference I was hoping for.

this book is a fabulous guide for any handspinner looking for specific qualities of wool. as a shepherd it also has given me the ability of compare breeds for future lamb purchases. It has a very professional approach to understanding wool from a knitter, weaver and handspinners point of view.

After you have "gotten your feet wet" in the spinning world, you'll be looking for a book with a good explanation of the different types of wool that are available. (Looking even at ebay for wool fleece to buy and spin, will even make you totally confused! This book is a wonderful reference I look to all of the time for explanations of different types of wool, complete with pictures. After all, you wouldn't want to buy wool that was good only for a rug, when you want to spin wool for a sweater!
This book gives you good info about the different types of breeds, etc. This book lives on my computer desk!

I'm a knitter who is getting interested in the nature of the fiber I'm working with. Consequently I'm increasingly interested in knowing more about the qualities of the wool that different breeds of sheep yield. I'm also beginning to be interested in handspinning. I bought this book because it looked like helping me in all three areas.

In Sheep's Clothing is a marvel. The first section covers the nature of sheep's wool, and some of the terminology to describe it. The book has one of the best explanations I personally have found of major systems for rating the fineness of the fibers. It also discusses the relationship of the wool's fineness to the length of the locks of wool, and how that relationship affects the feel and appearance of the yarn, and how it takes color. I found this very helpful. Also helpful are the diagrams of the structure of the "hairs" and how that structure matters both to spinning the fiber, and to how the spun yarn performs. This introductory section was very helpful: detailed enough to inform, but not excessively technical.

Next there is an extensive section on individual breeds. These are categorized by the fineness of the wool, with both comparative charts of the breeds in each section, then a page or so devoted to each breed. I especially like the fact that each breed entry offers a photo of the staple, which I find very helpful in getting a sense of the feel of each one. Obviously pictures aren't a substitute for the actual tactile experience, but the photos help me quite a lot, and I expect that when some day I get an opportunity to handle some of the unspun fibers, the education I'm getting from this book will go a long way to helping me make the most of that opportunity.

Amazing book that details the different types of sheep and the types and quality of wool that they produce. Now when I go to Maryland Sheep and Wool festival, I'll better understand what I'm looking at, and understand better what wools will satisfy my requirements.

This book is full of wonderful information about sheep and their fleece. It will help felters, spinners, weavers, knitters and etc make educated choices about the fleece, fibers, and yarns for making the finished product that you want. The tips for washing fine fleece has saved me time and back breaking labor. Excellent book!

Excellent book with a lot of good information, but the black and white pictures aren't of great quality. However, this one stays on the reference shelf!