Klövsjöfår is a heritage breed of sheep from the Jämtland province in North-west Sweden and is included in a conservation programme.
Klövsjö sheep were "re-discovered" when a group of sheep were purchased from Maj Oldander in Klövsjö in 1991. Maj Olander had taken over the sheep from his father who in turn had received them as a wedding gift from his mother. From Ivar Andreasson's herd, the animals were then spread to Halland and Skåne and in 2003 Johan Widing carried out an inventory of these sheep which resulted in the sheep being considered a separate breed of country sheep. During the autumn of 2004, a few more animals were added to the gene bank and they originate from a few herds in Klövsjö. In 2010, the last known original herd of Klövsjö sheep was added to the gene bank. These sheep are still kept in a summer pasture despite repeated problems with bears.
The animals can live to be very old, 15 years for a ewe is not uncommon. According to Maj Olander, his grandmother used to cook porridge for ewes that had no teeth left so they would survive the winter.
Klövsjö sheep are quite large for a common sheep. The rams weigh about 60-80kg and stand about 66cm at the withers, the ewes weigh about 45-70kg and stand about 64cm at the withers. The body is quite low and wide. The ewes are in heat all year round and can lamb twice a year. They usually have two or three lambs, but single lambs and quads also occur. Some ewes lamb standing up.
The Klövsjö sheep have good orientation skills and are easy to move between different pastures. The ewes are exemplary mothers and lamb well in groups. The animals are very affectionate and the ram can usually be left with the flock all year round. He is very protective of the ewes and lambs, both against predators and strangers.
The Klövsjö sheep has been preserved in the gene bank of the Swedish Farm Sheep Association since 2003. In 2019 there were 600 registered breeding ewes in 83 flocks and as of 2021 there were 673 registered breeding ewes.
The sheep are white, or black with white socks and/or white markings on the face but brown and grey sheep and spotted sheep also occur. Both rams and ewes are usually polled, but horn buttons are present and horns have previously occurred on rams in the original herd.
 |
The fleece are double coated. The wool is of the rya type with an incredible shine and lustre, but there are also animals that have wool that is woolly. The wool usually grows so long that it reaches the ground and is excellent for spinning and felting. The sheep are usually sheared twice a year to avoid the risk of felting and to make it easier for both the shearer and spinner. The face is free of wool and shiny, the tail is short.
I have discovered that when the term "Rya type" is used to described Swedish wool, it is not saying that it is like that of the Rya sheep, a Swedish breed of sheep. Silly me for thinking that! "Rya type" as a wool type, has a long and shiny outercoat and soft undercoat with almost no crimp. The outercoat to undercoat ratio is between 60/40 and 50/50 and is a way to describe the staple type and distribution of undercoat and outercoat within that staple.
 |
I bought this breed in as 250g of unwashed raw lambs fleece in May 2022 from the same lady called Anita Grahn based in Uppsala, Sweden that I bought the 8 breed sample pack from. Her online shop has been empty for some time, although it is still open. However, I can provide a link to Swedish Fibre, a small business run by Sandy Zetterlund who has a passion for knitting, wool, spinning and now a passion for bringing these beautiful fleece from these rare conservation sheep kept by small farmers into the limelight and put them in front of similarly passionate hand spinners like myself who care about ensuring the future and continuation of these rare and unique breeds. The demand for and sale of the fleece from these rare breeds really do help the survival of the breed.
So, I was expecting 250g of raw fleece but it was actually over 300g when it arrived. It was the lambs first shearing at 6 months of age and it was sheared September 2021. Fibre lengths were 7-14 cm (2¾ inch - 5½ inch)
From the sales page she described the fleece as "The wool is magically soft! The fibre length varies because there are parts of the wool which seem to be only underwool, and parts that are only guard hairs. Some tangling, but still fantastic wool! The wool has both underwool and longer cover hairs of fine diameter, and often with a shine."
I sorted and washed the fleece on 4th June 2022, and once all the second cuts had been removed, and it was dry, I was left with 214g of clean fleece. As I was busy with other projects, I didn't get around to combing this fleece until 19th February 2024, and there were a lot of tiny short bits of fleece; some of it broke up into little pieces as I pulled on the locks. I persevered with it, and I managed to get 81g of spinnable fibre from it. It is very soft; it's lamb's fleece, after all, but it is kind of like really fine hair, like a Longwool type, but finer and shorter. The fibres are smooth, not crimpy or fuzzy.
I began spinning this fibre on 11th September 2026. It was lovely to spin, very soft, fine, and straight, with very little crimp. I removed several clumps during spinning that the combs had missed. I spun both singles the same day and plied them the next day. I achieved a yarn that was 77g/222m.
