{"id":4121,"date":"2020-03-20T19:18:53","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T18:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=4121"},"modified":"2021-03-01T18:58:49","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T17:58:49","slug":"jamtland-wool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/jamtland-wool\/","title":{"rendered":"J\u00e4mtland wool"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The newest sheep breed in Sweden is J\u00e4mtland sheep. The purpose of the breed is to have a meat sheep with wool that can be a Swedish alternative to the tons of merino wool we import from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. This is the fifth part of my breed study of Swedish sheep breeds from the spinner’s perspective. Previous posts have been about Gotland wool<\/a>, Gute wool<\/a>, Dalap\u00e4ls wool<\/a> and V\u00e4rmland wool<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Sunday, March 22nd at 5 pm CET<\/strong> I will host a free<\/strong> live breed study webinar on J\u00e4mtland wool!<\/strong> I will share my experiences with the wool from a spinner’s perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am aware that this is very short notice. However, considering the situation in the world, I think we need a live webinar now more than ever.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Whole year’ staple of J\u00e4mtland wool.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

About J\u00e4mtland sheep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stop the waste<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A lot of Swedish wool is being wasted. At the same time we import tons of merino wool from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. The owner of a Swedish wool manufacturer in J\u00e4mtland in Sweden questioned this system and wondered if there was a way to use Swedish wool for his products. The problem, though, was that Swedish wool was coarser and would be scratchy in the next-to-skin garments that his company made. The idea of a Swedish alternative to wool import was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new breed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a result of this, a project started in 2004 where merino ewes were imported and crossed with fine fibered Svea<\/strong> ewes. Svea sheep is a Swedish meat breed which is a cross between the meat breed Texel<\/strong> and the Swedish landrace finewool<\/strong> sheep. Swedish finewool <\/strong>does have some merino<\/strong> in them from crossing with the merino sheep that we had in Sweden in the 18th century<\/strong>. In 2010 the J\u00e4mtland sheep<\/strong> was presented as a new breed at the world merino conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Unwashed J\u00e4mtland wool.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

J\u00e4mtland sheep has increased in popularity as both a meat bread and a wool breed. Statistics say that there were 382 breeding ewes in 20 flocks in 2019. Rams weigh 90\u2013120 kg and ewes 80\u2013110 kg. This is a lot heavier than the landraces and conservation breeds I have presented in earlier breed studies. The micron count lies between 17 and 23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Long
J\u00e4mtland wool has the crimpiest crimp.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fashion industry<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

J\u00e4mtland wool has become very sought after in the fashion industry. Several companies have produced clothes made in J\u00e4mtland wool. One problem is that the demand is bigger than the supply. A clothes manufacturer may want larger quantities than the sheep farmers can provide. The garments that have been sold have been produced in small quantities with social, environmental and ethical aspects considered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knitters and spinners<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many of the Swedish spinning mills today produce yarn with J\u00e4mtland wool and the products are popular among knitters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

J\u00e4mtland fleece is also very popular among handspinners in Sweden. In the past few Fleece Championships J\u00e4mtland wool has been placed in its own category. The shepherdess I usually buy my J\u00e4mtland fleeces from probably has more championship medals than she can count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

J\u00e4mtland wool characteristics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Two
J\u00e4mtland wool at the 2019 Swedish fleece championships. Whole year’s fleece to the left, autumn shearing to the right. The white fleece got a silver medal in the J\u00e4mtland category.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

J\u00e4mtland wool is very fine fibered and has high crimp. In contrast to most merino, J\u00e4mtland wool also has a beautiful shine. The staples are uniform over the length of the staple and over the body of the sheep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
J\u00e4mtland fibers enlarged.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since J\u00e4mtland sheep has a lot of merino in them the fleece is generally very high in lanolin, at least compared to the Swedish landraces I’m used to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have bought all my J\u00e4mtland wool from Birgitta Ericsson<\/a>, a shepherdess who covers her sheep and shears them once a year. The cover is probably necessary to be able to manage a whole year’s fleece, especially considering the high degree of lanolin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Unwashed staples of grey whole year’s J\u00e4mtland wool. Photo by Dan Waltin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The superpowers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When I see a fleece I want to get to know it and find its superpowers. I look at the different characteristics and choose three that I feel represent the fleece and that I want to let shine in a yarn and garment. The main characteristics I see in J\u00e4mtland wool are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n