Corriedale Tops

Corriedale Fibre Tops

This special natural tri-coloured Corriedale sheep hand dyed top is lovingly hand dyed and perfect for easy spinning. It has a beautiful crimp, is lofty and bouncy with a soft handle and a micron count of approximately 22-24 micron. It is wonderful to use for socks, hats, shawls and jumpers. 

The Corriedale sheep was developed around 1870 in New Zealand by crossbreeding Merino and Lincoln Longwool sheep by James Little, who had come to New Zealand from the UK in 1863. At the Corriedale estate in North Otago  where he was manager, he then attempted to produce a Lincoln-Merino cross, but the results were unsatisfactory. At about the same time William Davidson, manager of The Levels, an estate in South Canterbury, began similar work using Lincoln rams on medium-wool Merino ewes; the resulting sheep became the foundation stock for the Corriedale breed. In the following decade two Australian breeders – Corbett in Victoria of in 1882, and MacKinnon in Tasmania in 1888 – also did work with the same aim and the Corriedale breed was off to a fabulous start.

In New Zealand in 1911, the name "Corriedale" was officially recognised, while in Australia a flock-book was established in 1922.

Within a few years the Corriedale was exported to a number of countries, including some European and South American countries, South Africa and the United States of America. It became one of the most numerous sheep breeds worldwide.

Corriedale sheep come in various beautiful colours from white to grey to browns and blacks. Three colours of natural coloured Corriedale sheep were used in this blend: white, a light fawn and a brown-black.  Combining these colours together and then dyeing them results in super interesting results, where the dye takes on different shaded because if the natural base colour of the wool.

You can spin this blend in a variety of ways: keeping the tri-colouring in tact without pre drafting will create a wonderful variety of colour especially when spinning slubby yarn; predrafting the top into small strips according to natural base colour will give you another result all together. The possibilities are endless!

Btw: Knitting with Corriedale yarn is great for colourwork because it’s much more “grippy” than merino. So, if you are into colourwork or fair isle knitting, try Corriedale!

Fibre Top Roving details

Weight Per Top 100g / 3.52 oz

Contents: White, fawn and black/brown natural Corriedale 100%.

Can’t find a colour you need for your project? Or, the colourway you love has sold out? Ask for a custom dye! Always Happy to Enable, Contact Us.