Black Sheep Yarn

Hebridean sheep grow naturally black wool and it's lovely to use but I can't suggest where you'd get it if you don't know a sheep farmer with them.

So-called Welsh Black are actually brown.

Mary

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There are plenty of natural wool colors, but little of it is truly "black". In a shepherd's world anything that isn't white is "black" but it could really be anything from champagne to dark brown to steel gray. Shearing season is coming soon in the Northern hemisphere, by the end of the summer you ought to have more selection than you'll find right now.

Following are but of the few websites I have bookmarked from which you can order (or track down) natural colored yarn.

Gotland and British Breeds wool yarns here

Breeds

Icelandic and Sheepsdown

's has a line of natural colored yarns do Jamieson and Smith's and J&S both have US distributors (Schoolhouse presscarries the full like of J&S jumper, they may have to order theShetland 2000)

You might also consider commissioning a handspinner to make the yarn for you, though it won't be cheap.

Well, that promotes the question: what IS truly 'black'?

Not in UK!

Mary

There's a physics definition that has to do with reflection of light waves and whatnot. IIRC "white" reflects all wavelengths (colors) equally, black absorbs them (hence why pundits tell us to wear white/light colors during hot sunny weather). Manufactured blacks are typically based on blue, green or red and will, in the right light, appear to be slightly tinted toward the base color.

My "black" cats aren't technically black, if you look past the sleek surfaces of their coats. One is actually a tabby - but only when the light strikes him just right. The other is a solid gray. I think my perception of them as "black" cats is due to the masses of hairs engaged in organized refraction and non-reflection of light.

Quite true, especially for Shetland sheep that come with their own color and marking vocabularies. Most people neither know nor care about that though.

FTR, a friend keeps Black Welsh Mountain sheep. She covers them against our average 330 days of sunlight so their fleeces are black from tip to base. I've spun a lot of it - the stuff is BLACK, and depending on which fleece I manage to snag is also quite nice. I do not, however, think of it as wool to make a sweater with, unless one will be wearing at least two stout layers under it.

You might go to

and see if she has any. Detta has been a friend of mine for over 25 years and taught me to spin. She often has some hard to get fiber. Tell her Bev sent you. Bev

Thanks all!!

He realizes the wool will not be "black". We'll be in Scotland in about seven months, including the Hebrides and Shetland so I'll be taking a look around for it.

Caroline

Well, if you'll be in the Shetlands you can go to the mill stores. Lucky knitter!

Quite.

I have a black cockerel and a black pullet. they're as pure a black as can be but if any kind of light shines on them they look beautiful green or blue or purple ...

I do. It's like Icelandic horse colouration.

Our daughter has primitive sheep of many colours (including Shetland) so that she can spin in natural colours but only the Hebs are called black.

LOL! No - but it's still better than Herdwick, which is like barbed wire. And grey :-) Very good for carpets!

Welsh blacks do bleach to brown quickly, I can't imagine any keeping a protective covering on unless they're indoors.

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I didn't say nobody cares, just most of them. I've got a Shetland sheep color chart on my wall, very nice watercolor illustrations. Can I pronounce most of the terms? Not a chance, but I can spell 'em! hehehe

Oh, Herdwick is nastynastynasty. A friend in UK sent me a ball of it "as a curiosity". She said she found it at a boot sale. I can't figure out what to do with just one little 50g ball of the stuff. I thought I might make a potholder and full it, but the stuff is so wiry I don't even want to handle it.

Some of them keep their coats, some don't. If she coats them as soon as they're weaned they take to it pretty well. We have so much sun that the tips don't just bleach, they'll fry, so she tries to keep her entire ewe herd coated most of the year.

I am going to be nosy now and ask you what is bringing you to Scotland for 7 months. Have a wonderful time!

Higs, Katherine

I used to have Black Lama wool , mirjam "

I'm spinning black alpaca at the moment (which is actually black except for the very occasional white hair). It's very soft and fine - just lovely. So if you want to switch animal or perhaps mix some fibres, put alpaca on the list of possibilities.

Hey Katherine. I read it as "in seven months we'll be in Scotland", but what do I know :D

That's right, we're going in seven months. We'll be there for three weeks. My mom was from Scotand, I still have family there and it's one of my favorite places. We're doing a road trip this time and I want to see the Scotland most people don't get to see. We're even going to Fair Isle. We're booked into the lodge at the BIrd Observatory. If I happen to come a cross a mill store or two or twenty, so much the better!!