CHARACTERISTICS OF LETELLE WOOL
- Length
- Fineness
- Uniformity of crimp
- Handle and elasticity
- Staple information - Fibre Roundness and Thickness - The Merino - Past, Present & Probable: HB Austin p120 Design showing how oval fibres destroy the regularity of the thread into which they are spun. (Click on image to enlarge)
- Uniformity throughout the fleece
- Rigidity
- Discrimination against excessive "creeping bellies"
- Yolk (colour white to light cream)
- Relection of light on fine wool ( The Merino - Past, Present & Probable: HB Austin p128)
- Prickle factor (none)
- Professor Piet de Wet of the Sheep and Wool Department at the University of Stellenbosch reported as such about Letellemark wool after having it analyzed using the laser scan method: "As a breed the wool did not vary much in respect of fibre diameter and the breed produced the finest wool of the four white wooled breeds in South Africa. Should fibre diameter results include the variation in fibre diameter then very little wool above thirty micron is produced by Letelle and I predict that the wool should perform very well using both high speed spinning machines."
- Professor de Wet's prediction regarding Letelle wool is substantiated in the final product. In this regard the following extract from a report by Dr L Hunter - Programme manager Textek in conjunction with Mr G Hofheinz of SA Fine Worsteds is quoted: "The spinning performance and yarn properties were assessed as very good and so too warping performance. The fabric was assessed as having a luxurious drape and noble handle."
- It is very important to note that nature places a ceiling on the quantity of wool that an animal can produce within a specific environment. Each farm has its own ceiling, therefore the quantity of wool shorn will differ due to the environment. It is important that the breeder understands this phenomenon, ensuring that unfair demands are not made on the sheep.
Opening a sheep's fleece
One of the methods used by the society to open a sheep's fleece is to open the wool horizontally from the shoulder to the britch. By employing this method one is able to ascertain whether the sheep has small body pleats and also to determine the uniformity of the wool from the shoulder to the britch.