Icelandic Fleece - The original Wolly Backs

Using the fleece

Coloured Sheep The coats can be carded and softly spun together to make Lopi-style wool, or finer two-ply wool of various weights. Or you can separate the two coats by hand, or with a hackle or Viking combs, to use alone or blend with other fibres. You can spin the tog into warp or rug yarn, or use it for embroidery. And you can spin the soft thel into a baby-soft wool or combine it with other fibres.

Felting

The fleece felts easily and quickly. Boots, mittens and garments are often felted in Iceland to produce beautiful, durable products. When you wash Icelandic fleece you should take care to handle it very gently. Never agitate or wring it because of the ease of felting. Unless the fleece is very dirty, a gentle wash / rinse / and rinse again is adequate.

A unique breed

Icelandic sheep are a pure, unique breed, protected by isolation for centuries. The fleece is unlike any other, anywhere.

About the fleece - Icelandic Sheep

Coloured Fleece Icelandic sheep produce an unusual double-coated fleece from which you can spin lopi style wool. A long, lustrous outer coat which is called tog, and a fine soft inner coat, similar to mohair, called thel. This two-layered coat is a key factor in the survival of these sheep in the harsh weather conditions of Iceland.

These characteristics make the wool spun from these two coats wonderfully warm and resistant to wind and rain. Yet the wool is surprisingly lightweight, as air is trapped within the fibres.

The fleece weighs 2kg upwards. A full season’s growth of wool will give a staple length of around 23 cm for the outer coat and 6 cm for the under coat.

The colours and patterns - Icelandic Sheep