Jacob Sheep Wool - Raw Fleece! 1st Shearing for Cletus!

LiaryAcres Jacobs

*Located in Southwest WI*

The wool from Jacobs is demi-lustre with a nice crimp suitable for weaving or knitting. The Jacob also allows for creative yarns from one fleece because it is the only pure bred sheep that carries two grades of wool. The white is finer and the black, brown or ginger spots are somewhat coarser. The Bradford Count range is approximately 44-56. (The Bradford Count is a system for measuring the relative fineness and coarseness of worsted yarn, developed in Bradford, England).

      Although the origins of these sheep is in question, their existence in the British Isles is well documented with the earliest reference to them dated January 13, 1756. The breed can be traced back unchanged to at least 1760. Where did Jacobs come from? One story is that they are descendants of the sheep that Jacob received from his father-in-law, Laben, as payment for being his shepherd. (new English Bible, Genesis 30-40). Another is that they came from the Middle East traveling westward across North Africa and came to Spain with the Moors. This theory grows from the fact that the modern Jacob bears close resemblance to the sheep one sees in the Middle East today. Another possibility is that Jacobs are descended from an extinct Hebridian Breed. They have some resemblance to the head and horns of the St. Kilda sheep of which there are few today.

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