I’m excited to share the next yarn I’ve been learning about for my “Story of Yarn” series. This time we focused on the Gulf Coast Native sheep breed and some worsted weight yarn from the Sand Hill Thicket homestead in northeastern Kansas. Sherri, my co-host on the Geminate podcast, picked this one for us to discuss next because it is one of the first sheep breeds to come to the United States.
As with other rare sheep breeds, some of the best information about the breed and their history can be found through The Livestock Conservancy Heritage Breeds list – Livestock Conservancy on Gulf Coast Sheep. I also found some good information from Oklahoma State University for this breed.
From those sources and others, we know that the Gulf Coast Native sheep first arrived in Florida in the 1500s. They quickly adapted to fit into the hot and humid conditions of the deep south and were some of the only sheep herds to thrive in the area for centuries. Most of these sheep are white but some browns and blacks do exist.
The yarn we sampled from Sand Hill Thicket is a 2-ply light worsted weight yarn. A simple swatch of this yarn knits up nicely and feels soft on the hands. The un-dyed yarn comes in 2-ounce skeins of about 150 yards each and is sold at a really, really reasonable price.
My favorite bit about this yarn is the postcard that came with it introducing the sheep who grew the fiber. Her name is Feta and the card above includes her bio and a photo with her 2023 lambs. One of the surprising parts of this deeper dive into sheep breeds and rare sheep breeds, is how important it feels to support the small businesses who raise the sheep. This is a way to support local and support the wool industry. I love knowing where my fiber comes from and working to find the most local suppliers that we can. I love learning more about sheep breeds and their history. In fact, I got so sidetracked researching about this sheep breed that I didn’t save enough time for my swatch with the yarn. Sherri did though and she loves it enough that she needs a sweater out of it at some point.
Stats of the Yarn:
- Name and from where: Un-dyed, 2-ply, lightweight, worsted yarn hank from Sandhill Thicket in northeastern Kansas, spun at a small mill in Kansas
- Fiber Content: 100% wool
- Weight/Yardage per Skein: 150 yards or ~2 ounces
- Plys: 2-ply
- Feel of the Yarn: In the skein, the yarn feels bouncy and soft. A simple swatch of this yarn knits up nicely and feels soft on the hands.
- Knitting up: This yarn is very nice in cables, lace, and simple stockinette stitch. The texture disappeared a bit possibly due to the loft or bounce of the yarn. This yarn would be great for hats, cowls, and sweaters!
- Care and Washing: Experience says to hand wash this yarn gently and lay it flat to dry.
If you’d like to hear more about this sheep and yarn, listen to us talk about this breed and others in Season 4 of the Geminate Podcast.
