Perendale Top

About the fibre

Staple length: 80-120mm. Micron count: 28-33

Medium

Perendale wool is naturally bright white and takes dye well. This wool is suitable for spinning and felting.

Natural white.

Each bag contains 100g of wool.

Origin: United Kingdom

About the breed

The Perendale sheep breed was developed at what is now Massey University in New Zealand during the 1950s. It was started with rams from the Cheviot breed (small, sturdy-legged sheep originating from the hilly borderlands between Scotland and England), and ewes from the Romney breed, which thrives in the marshlands of the southeast corner of England.

The aim was to breed a meat-producing sheep who could withstand the cold, rainy, and steep hillsides of the country, since the demand for sheep products was beginning to outpace the available pastureland.

Added to this pressure were environmental changes in those grasslands, as the soil was fast depleting in nutrients, which in turn encouraged the growth of scrub vegetation and weeds, which the Romney sheep had a harder time stomaching than tender grass.