Masham Wool Top

About the fibre

Staple length: 150-380mm. Micron count 38-44.

Coarse

Mashams are often white, but can also be shades of grey and brown. It is excellent for spinning, with its long staple length.

Each bag contains 100g of wool.

Origin: United Kingdom

About the breed

Just like how with dogs we get recognizable cross breeds -- think of a Puggle, or a Golden Doodle -- pure-bred sheep are often crossed with another breed to produce certain desired results.

Such is the case with the Masham, who really is a sort of "mash-up" between a longwool ram (like a Teeswater or a Wensleydale) and a hardy North English hill breed ewe, often a Swaledale. Mashams are suited to the rugged conditions of the north of England, but their fleece has a hint of the characteristic lustre brought by the ram's genes.

Jane Cooper Orkney, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons