{"id":5601,"date":"2020-12-05T09:46:53","date_gmt":"2020-12-05T08:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=5601"},"modified":"2021-03-01T18:58:15","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T17:58:15","slug":"rya-wool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/rya-wool\/","title":{"rendered":"Rya wool"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are three wool breeds in Sweden \u2013 breeds where wool is an important part of the breed standards. I have covered two of these (finull sheep and J\u00e4mtland sheep) in previous posts and today I present the third: Rya sheep<\/strong>. In this seventh part of my breed study of Swedish sheep breeds from the spinner’s perspective I will share my experience with Rya wool. Previous posts have been about Gotland wool<\/a>, Gute wool<\/a>, Dalap\u00e4ls wool<\/a>, V\u00e4rmland wool<\/a>, J\u00e4mtland wool<\/a> and finull wool<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Saturday, December 12th at 5 pm CET<\/strong> I will host a free<\/strong> live breed study webinar on Swedish rya wool!<\/strong> I will share my experiences with the wool from a spinner’s perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The word rya refers to three different things \u2013 a textile<\/strong>, a wool type<\/strong> and a sheep breed<\/strong>. These are all connected. The word rya<\/em> is believed to be connected to ragg<\/em> (coarse hair, compare to raggsocka<\/em>, a sock with added goat’s hair for extra strength) and related to the English word Rug. The word rya thus refers to a textile with a fur-like side, the pile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rya breed as we know it today was bred during the 20th century while the textile has been made since at least the 14th century. To be able to tell you about the rya breed I need to start at the textile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rya as a texile<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many of you may have come across rya rugs \u2013 woven rugs with looped knots making up a pile. These were very popular to make during the 1970’s. They have a far longer history than that, though, and used mainly for other purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the oldest sources known today it is evident that the rya has been used in the bed for warmth. Because of its lightness compared to animal skins it has been used as a more lightweight alternative to these. The first mention of a rya is in a regulation from 1420 for bed equipment for nuns in the Vadstena convent: They shall wear a kirtle of white wadmal. In addition to that a rya. And a sheep skin for the winter” (my translation).<\/em> These regulations may very well have been used already in the 14th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n