February 2011 Newsletter - Rowan

The A to Z of Fibres
B is for BLUEFACED LEICESTER
The Bluefaced Leicester is a native British breed of
sheep and is part of the “Longwool” family of
breeds which grow long locks of curly fibre that
often look like ringlets on the sheep. Bluefaced
Leicester (or “BFL” for short) is the most luxurious
of UK sheep breeds, and is very close to the
ubiquitous Merino wool when measured for its
fineness.
The fineness of wool is measured in “microns”,
based on the diameter of a fibre. The smaller the
fibre diameter, the smaller micron count and finer
the fibre. If a fibre has a high micron count it will
be rougher. A study has suggested that wool with a
micron count of less than 21 can easily be worn
right next to the skin. Merino wool ranges from 17
to 22 microns, and Bluefaced Leicester has a range
of 24 to 28 microns.
As well as a good measure of fineness, BFL has an
excellent staple (fibre length) and a good small
‘crimp’ or curl. This makes it an incredibly versatile
wool you can use for just about anything, from socks
and garments to lace work. And as well as being
great to knit with, it dyes beautifully and felts
brilliantly. What more could you want?!
Bluefaced Leicester is also described as a
‘demilustre’ wool. This refers to how silky and shiny
a wool is, determined by the length and smoothness
of the scales that make up its fibre. A really silky
and shiny wool would have a high lustre, and a
more matt, pearl-like wool would have a low lustre.
BFL sits in the middle!
technique called ‘line breeding’ to obtain and then
‘fix’ the characteristics he wanted in a breed. These
methods were unheard of at the time but
revolutionised breeding methods practised by
farmers of the day. Bakewell selected individual
‘Border Leicester’ sheep for their ‘blue’ faces and
finer fleeces and developed these in to a separate
breed. The Bluefaced Leicester was also known at
the time as the Hexham Leicester due to its
concentration around the Hexham area in
Northumberland. They get their ‘blue faced’ name
because of the short white hairs which grow over
their dark skinned heads, giving their faces a silveryblue
appearance.
Unfortunately, like most fine-wool sheep, the BFL
is not a terribly hardy breed and struggles to survive
in its native northern hills. However, the breed is
heavily used by farmers around the UK to cross
with hill breeds like the Swaledale for meat
purposes and you’ll often see them in fields across
Britain: look for their distinctive coloured heads,
‘roman’ noses and thin, ringlet-like fleeces. The
breed was also imported in to Canada in the 1970’s
and can still be found there and in the United
States, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
The fleece is predominately white wool, but this
breed does carry a recessive black gene and natural
coloured lambs do appear- have a look at Rowan’s
Purelife British Sheep Breeds DK to see what
beautiful natural blends can be created!
Next issue: C is for Cotton
Find Bluefaced Leiecester in: Rowan Purelife
British Sheep Breeds DK, Chunky and new Bouclé.
The breed was developed by a man called Robert
Bakewell. Bakewell was born in 1726 and was the
third generation farmer on the family farm in
Dishley, Leicestershire. Bakewell developed a
For more information about baa ram ewe and its
yarns, go to www.baaramewe.co.uk.