I did a histogram on one of my Romney ewes. The micron was 25.
To better understand how micron affects wearability: (Quoted from
Montana State University) "Fibers that are greater than 30 micron in
diameter are rigid and do not bend when they come in contact with the
skin. Fibers over 30 micron are responsible for the prickly feeling of
wool and can cause skin irritation, leading people to erroneously state
they are allergic to wool." Some people are more sensitive and can
only wear fiber that is less than 25 micron next to the skin. Cashmere
is around 12-14 micron. Good alpaca is under 20 (ours are 15-17).
Good merinos are 16-20. (My rams are 16-18.)
Romney can have a high SD - standard deviation, meaning that, for
instance my ewe with the 25 micron - she had some fibers that the
micron was 18 and some fibers with a micron of 48. So, its like a
measure of the extremes in variation. You want as many fibers as
possible to be the same micron. This affects the 'handle' of a fleece
- how soft it will actually feel.
Gabrielle
Hi Jet -
The Romney /Kid Mohair roving I did was 70% coarse romney/ 30% Kid
Mohair. The Romney breed standard allows for a wide range of fleece
types which is nice. You can breed for fine or coarse and anywhere in
between with Romneys to suit your own taste and still be within the
breed standards. Our customers are hand spinners so we presently
breed for fineness and we have only soft and fine fleeces now in our
flock.
Julie
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