It’s hard to talk about Shetland sheep as a single breed because they exhibit a huge variety. They have evolved in the far northern Scottish isles for more than 2,000 years with genetic infusions from Roman types as well as Scandinavian sheep. Some are single-coated, and others are double-coated. There are 11 named color variations, and the wool can vary from exceptionally fine to very coarse. A good place to start an understanding of this or any other sheep breed is the Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook by Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius.

After a week of “trial” spinning, I could see an improvement in my product, but it was a fight every inch of the way. Rather than dividing nicely into fiber bundles that I could draft from, the lengths of top shredded and made it really difficult to draft while spinning. Even with pre-drafting, I would come to sections in the top where there were obvious clumps of cut ends that would instantly separate from the rest of the fibers.

Since I was having such poor luck with the top, I dove into my stash to retrieve a bag of brown Shetland top I purchased at a fiber festival a few years ago. I needed to see if it was this particular bag of fleece, or if Shetland was indeed so cranky to spin.

In consultation with other spinners locally, I got quite a few suggestions. First and foremost was “not all fleece are created equal.” Not all fleece is properly or well processed. It was recommended that I re-comb the fibers to get a more even distribution of the fibers and better integrate in the cut ends.

As it happens, there’s a really good article by Elizabeth Johnston in the current (Summer 2021) issue of Spin Off magazine on spinning for Shetland fine lace. She recommends using a dog comb to prepare individual locks, working on your knee as opposed to in the air. While I wasn’t working with locks, this game me the idea that I might try re-combing the top to see if I could get a better length of fiber to spin from. I don’t happen to have a dog comb (yet), but I’ll give that a try soon.

Meanwhile, here is the skein of somewhere between fingering and sport weight, with a few lumpy bits of worsted in places. Its’ not nearly consistent enough, and, as you can see, steam setting didn’t work well enough to straighten out the twist.

For comparison, here is the moorit (the “more red” than the other brown colors) from my stash. It is currently drying in the laundry room where I gave it a good soak in slightly hot water and hung it to dry with a weight to keep the strands straight. This is my preferred way of setting twist, and while it takes longer, I like the results better than steaming.

I’m working on a shawl to wear to a wedding in a couple of weeks. This pattern was designed to be knit in 48 hours, so I think I have enough time to get it done (we shall see!) I quite like the spines where the increases occur that give the garment some nice drape. The yarn is a mystery skein from my stash. I remember where I got it, but nothing else about it. It’s a fine, soft wool, and given the sheen, must have some silk in the blend. The wedding will be outside along the cliffs in Newport, CT, and it’s always windy there. Even if it’s a hot day, this is apt to come in handy.