When choosing a yarn for your next knitting or crochet project, softness is often one of the first things we think about. Will it feel cosy against the skin? Will it have a little more character and texture? And when is a harder-wearing wool actually the better choice?
We’ve made choosing yarn easier with our simple sheep softness guide. On each webpage of our yarn ranges, you’ll find one, two or three little sheep icon denoting softness. The more sheep you see, the softer the yarn. We also indicate whether the fibre is coarser, medium or finer to handle. This gives a quick way, at a glance, to understand the character of each yarn and helps you choose the right one for your next project.
🐑 One sheep: character and durability
A one-sheep yarn can be a great choice when you’re looking for a wool with strength, resilience and plenty of character. Hardier fibres can be particularly well suited to projects that will get plenty of use and wear. Think socks, outerwear, traditional ganseys, hard-wearing jumpers and accessories where durability and structure are just as important as softness. These yarns such as our Blacker Breeds DK and 4-ply have a more distinctive handle, but that’s part of their charm. They can create fabrics with wonderful texture and a traditional woolly feel.
🐑🐑 Two sheep: the happy middle ground
Two sheep yarns sit nicely in the middle, offering a balance between softness, durability and character. This can make them incredibly versatile for everyday knitting. They’re worth considering when you want a knitting yarn that feels comfortable but also has enough resilience to stand up to regular wear.
Our Pure Romney Guernsey is a wonderful example. Made from 100% Romney wool, this 5-ply yarn is worsted spun to create a crisp, lean yarn with excellent stitch definition. Its construction also helps to soften the handle of the wool, making it a great choice for traditional and contemporary Guernsey-style knitting.
🐑🐑🐑 Three sheep: when softness comes first
If you’re looking for something particularly soft, three sheep is the rating to look out for. These yarns can be especially lovely for next-to-skin garments, scarves, shawls, baby items and lightweight accessories, where a soft handle is important. Our Blacker Swan yarn is a wonderful example of a three-sheep rating, a beautifully soft blend of Dohne Merino, BFL and Shetland, with a luxuriously soft and fine handle, making it a lovely choice for garments and accessories worn next to the skin. Its combination of natural fibres creates a soft, smooth yarn while retaining the warmth and character that knitters love about wool.
So, which Blacker Yarns wool should you choose?
There’s no single “best” wool, it really comes down to what you’re making and how you want it to feel when working with it and when wearing the finished garment or accessory. And remember, softness isn’t determined by fibre fineness alone, it is possible to produce soft yarns from coarser fibres. So next time you’re choosing your yarn for a project, do take a look at the sheep breed, their unique characteristics and their fibre descriptions as well as the sheep softness rating to really get the best from your knitting and crocheting experience.
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