Breed Study: Lleyn

Pronounced “hleen”, Lleyn is a heritage Welsh breed that has creamy white and bouncy fibre. The breed was developed in northwestern Wales in the early 1800s, Border Leicester bloodlines were introduced to the local sheep on the Lleyn peninsula. It was quite popular in northern Wales through the nineteenth century and early twentieth century, but it almost went extinct in the 1960s when only 10 flocks remained. The remaining breeders worked together to promote their breed and their hard work has paid off, today Lleyn can be found throughout the UK.

Lleyn tops and a mini skein of test spin

Lleyn fibre is creamy white with staple length averaging 7.5-12.5 cm, some longer staples can reach 18cm! The staples have clear wavy crimp, kind of between BFL and Border Leicester. Depending on the sheep the micron can range from 26-31, in these tops the fibre feels soft and bouncy.

I spun a small sample from the tops using a Turkish Spindle in the size S (Munchkin) and I let the fibre dictate how it wished to be spun. It drafted easily and I finished spinning the sample in no time! The plied yarn once finished is quite squishy and it has a roundness to it.

Lleyn sample swatches

I spun around 5g of the fibre but I forgot to measure the meterage, but you can see from the photo above I just managed to get two swatches with a tiny bit left over. The yarn has a slight sheen and a good body, I would love to make a jumper out of this it.