Breed: Jacob
Wool Category: Naturally coloured
Brand: West Yorkshire Spinners
Form: 100g skein
Preparation: Worsted spun, aran

What does the wool or fibre feel like?
The hand-squish-grab: The yarn feels soft in the skein, as well as slightly greasy. The yarn doesn’t have much stretch to it. Although you can see stray, coarser fibres in the yarn it does not seem to affect the softness when feeling it.
Initial thoughts on use: This seems like it would be a fairly hardy yarn, good for sweaters and socks. It seems like it would be ok against skin, although fairly rustic. The natural colours are gorgeous and may work well in natural colourwork. Smells slightly sheepy.

Cast on:
How many stitches: 32 stitches on 5mm metal needles. The swatch has a garter border and stockinette center.
What does this yarn feel like to knit with? The yarn feels much more rustic when actually knitting with it compared to in the skein. The hairiness of the yarn as well as the coarser fibres are more apparent when they past through your fingers. There is not much stretch in the yarn at all so tension, for myself, is quite easy to maintain. The yarn sheds. It does not feel greasy when knitting.
Size of unwashed swatch: 8in by 8in
Describe the feel/observances of the unwashed swatch: The garter ridges are well defined, whereas the stockinette is less defined. The stockinette feels softer and looks less hairy than the garter. The garter feels less greasy than the stockinette. The stockinette is extremely stretchy.

Washing & Blocking & Wearing –Test One:
How did you block it and to which dimensions? Blocked in cold water without any soaks or washes so I could see how the yarn itself acts without anything else affecting it. Blocked at 8in by 8in
How has the swatch shrunk or changed/observances after test one?
The swatch is the same size as it was pre-blocking. It doesn’t show the points where it was pinned out during blocking, the edges have straightened quite well. The yarn has softened further and feels quite nice. There is a slight bloom on the yarn.
What is the feel and look of the washed blocked square?
The garter feels more rigid than the stockinette. The yarn has become softer since blocking. The stitch definition has become more crisp which I found surprising. The coarser fibres are clearly visible but don’t seem to affect the feel of the fabric.
Wear test for a day:
A slight coarseness builds up across the day but is still wearable. Not many ‘prickles’ but might be worth wearing on top of another layer. Very warm.

Washing & Blocking & Wearing –Test two:
How did you block it and to which dimensions?
Blocked in cold water with eucalan soak. Blocked to same dimensions as first block.
How has the swatch shrunk or changed/observances after test one?
Feels softer. More halo.
What is the feel and look of the washed blocked square?
Softer with more of a halo. Quite similar to the first block.
Wear test for a day:
Similar to the first wear test. Soft but with a prickle that builds up across the day. Prickle more noticeable on an area which moves more. Wearable, I would recommend over another layer.

Rubbing against itself vigorously – has it piled, felted or changed?
It hasn’t felted but it fuzzier.

Final and Overall Assessment:
Describe the swatch and fabric now: include size of swatch
8in x 8in.
Thoughts on the life, longevity and uses of this wool:
Do these differ from your initial thoughts? Feels like a great warm and workhorse yarn. Perfect for hardy socks etc. It is definitely ok against skin for sweaters etc.
Would you consider using this breed wool again?
Definitely! I used some for socks already :)
What else have you learned or observed from this test drive?
While yarn doesn’t necessarily change loads it also can change subtly quite a bit.