| Breed | Micron Size Range | Fiber Length Range | Fiber Structure | Elasticity | Flammability | Felting Potential | Suitable Uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Border Leicester | 30 - 40 | 125 - 250 mm | Distinct staple with tip curl, medium crimp | Low to Moderate | Moderate | Good | Outerwear, Blankets, Upholstery, Rugs. |
| Cheviot | 27 - 35 | 75 - 150 mm | Helical medium crimp, lofty | Good | Moderate | Poor | Outerwear, Blankets. |
| Columbia | 24 - 31 | 90 - 130 mm | Fine to medium crimp | Good | Moderate | Good | Medium to lightweight garments |
| Corriedale | 25 - 35 | 75 - 150 mm | Medium crimp, open | Good | Moderate | Good | Medium to lightweight garments. |
| Cotswold | 31 - 36 | 200 - 300 mm | Distinct curled staple, wavy and hair-like, dense | Low | Moderate | Moderate | Upholstery, Rugs. |
| Jacob | 26 - 36 | 70 - 150 mm | Medium crimp varies, black often shorter than white | Varies | Moderate | Moderate | Quality varies. Medium garments to rugs. |
| Lincoln | 34 - 42 | 175 - 300 mm | Distinct curled staple, wavy and hair-like, dense | Low | Moderate | Moderate | Upholstery, Rugs. |
| Merino | 12 - 23 | 65 - 100 mm | Fine crimp, heavy grease | Good | Moderate | Good | Fine garments and shawls. Merino includes several recognized breeds. |
| Rambouillet | 19 - 25 | 50 - 100 mm | Fine crimp, heavy grease | Good | Moderate | Good | Fine garments and shawls. |
| Romney | 31 - 38 | 125 - 175 mm | Uniform medium crimp, open | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Outerwear, Blankets, Upholstery, Rugs |
| Tunis | 24 - 30 | 100 - 150 mm | Medium crimp, red-haired lambs, wool comes in later | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Medium garments, socks |
Maximum 264 points
Points awarded for the tables are by each individual item. Examiner 1 gave 21 points for each item except Merino, with 18 points. Examiner 2 gave 21 points for each item. Both expected a detailed description of how each fiber burns for "flammability." Examiner 1 noted that the range of fiber diameter for Merino was 18-24 microns.
I am not happy with either of these comments, for different reasons. I got a lot of points off for not having a detailed description for flammability. I kept the information in these tables as short as possible because there just isn't much space. It didn't occur to me to expect long descriptions to be a requirement, part of the instructions for the tables is that they can be "neatly hand printed." If I had neatly hand printed Examiner 2's suggested "Ignites easily but self-extingishes, shrinks from flame, burns slowly, smells like burning hair" in the little box provided, it would be entirely unreadable. I tried to keep it to a minimim, I thought some of the text I used in the tables was too much as it was.
I have a problem with Examiner 1's comment that Merino is only 18 to 24 microns. I suspect I lost the extra 3 points not because I put 23 instead of 24, but for the 12. I can only guess Examiner 1 did not know there is now 16 micron Merino available in retail spinning shops and that 12 micron Merino is being produced for commercial use. Limited and the highest of high-end, but it's not just a fleece here and there. The Australians have been doing all kinds of amazing things to push the fineness of Merino fleeces, because they have to compete with the latest improvements in synthetics. The article I referenced is at this point 18 months old and it made big news in the industry. Presumably Examiner 2 was aware of this, because there was no comment.
I suppose nobody cared about the holes I punched in these pages, a friend jokingly suggested I'd get marked off for each one. I think written material belongs in the notebook, not a file folder, so I punched holes to be able to put it there later. Getting these landscape pages to print correctly with an extra top margin was actually a lot harder than I expected it to be due to browser support issues.