8 Weeks of Sheep Breed Spinning and Dyeing – Corriedale

I am so excited about this roving! This week, in my 8 weeks of sheep breed spinning and dyeing, I will be discussing Corriedale Cross roving. I absolutely love this fiber! The dye took beautifully and spinning this fiber was similar to the Targhee I spun a few weeks ago. If you haven’t checked out the blog about my experience dyeing and spinning Targhee roving. Corriedale is the oldest cross-bred sheep breed and has a wonderfully soft and lofty fiber.

Come to find out, it’s no wonder Targhee and Corriedale are so similar in the feel and behavior, Corriedale is a parent sheep breed of Targhee! The Corriedale breed was developed between 1868 and 1910 as a dual purpose breed. Corriedale wool ranges from 25-30 microns with a staple length of 3.5-6 inches. One fleece can way up to 17 pounds! That’s a big sheep with a lot of wool. This breed’s wool takes dye wonderfully and with that long staple length, it spins like a dream.

Dyeing Corriedale Cross Breed Wool

Dyeing this roving was so much fun and I learned a few tricks along the way. I had originally dyed four ounces of this roving but was on a time crunch so instead of waiting after it got out of the microwave for the dye to set, I washed it after only 20 minutes of setting. The colors came out super muddy and gross. So I tried again when I had time and patience and it totally paid off. The fiber took the dye beautifully and came out exactly the way I wanted. I learned my lesson on patience. I used Country Classics Dyes and Procion MX dyes which I just love. You guys know I love Country Classics Dyes with all my heart, but this Procion MX dye might take the cake. The color is insanely saturated and blends beautifully!

Spinning Corriedale Cross Breed Wool

Spinning the Corriedale Cross roving was delightful. This spun very similar to Targhee, it is lofty and airy with a long staple and practically spins itself. I could not stop spinning this fiber! It just spun so effortlessly, but I did notice that I had a hard time getting the yarn to be as fine as I usually spin. About a fingering to sport weight is my norm, but this wanted to be more of a sport to DK weight yarn, which is fine with me. As long as I am enjoying the process, I don’t care what weight the yarn comes out to be. If you love spinning Targhee, you need this Corriedale in your life!

This roving would be perfect for beginners to advanced spinners. This would be a great one to use on a drop spindle, especially if you are just learning. It’s a super easy to work with wool that has tons of loft and springiness to it. If you try this roving I’m sure you will love it. I definitely recommend giving this a go!