Master your materials.

Build your skills.

Spin with intention.

Make more yarns you love.

Learn about breed study in this free workshop: what it is (and isn’t), how it will make you a better spinner, and how to get started.

As a passionate handspinner, you should be spending time your time making yarn you adore and can’t wait to use.

There’s only one problem: there are a zillion fibers out there to choose from and you don’t know which one would be the best choice for the yarn and fabric you want to create.

Even if you know you want to work with sheep’s wool, should you choose Polwarth or Perendale? Targhee or Teeswater? Shetland or Southdown?

Unlike spinners of old, who spun whatever wool they could get to clothe themselves and their families, we have literally dozens

of breeds to choose from. What’s more, they are very different from each other; the best wool for an luxurious lace shawl isn’t the best wool for hard-wearing socks.

If you’re tired of confusing your Corriedale with your Clun Forest, frustrated by having made the wrong wool choice in the past, or so overwhelmed by all the choices that you’ve spun nothing but Bluefaced Leicester for months—well, that’s perfectly understandable.

Fortunately, there’s an easy fix.

It’s called “breed study.” 

What is breed study?

In a breed study, a spinner systematically acquires, spins, and compares different types of wool. It’s the best way for yarnmakers to develop a hands-on understanding of the rich and varied world of wool. It’s also one of the best ways to become a more skillful and knowledgeable spinner. 

Breed Study 101 is a comprehensive introduction to breed study.

In this free four-part workshop, you will:

Learn exactly what’s entailed in breed study, and the easiest way to start

Dispel common misconceptions about breed study

Understand the simple first step to becoming more breed-savvy

Get a conceptual map that will help you remember which breed is which

Learn why rare and endangered sheep breeds are so important to spinners

Discover exactly where you are in your breed-study journey

  • Lovely intro! Very excited about your goal of encouraging people to explore rare breeds of sheep to create a market for the wool. Fantastic!

    Caryn H.

  • Wonderful introduction to a breed study. I'm really excited about this course. I have been wanting to do a breed study for years but never had the time. . . . I'm ready to dive in.

    Colette C.

  • Wow. The student sitting next to me in spinning class at the Estes Park Wool Market gave me your card and I'm so glad I found you! I, too, have been influenced by Deb Robson (though through her talks and books) and am so thirsty for learning more about sheep breeds and rare breeds.

    Amy M.

  • Well prepared and succinct, engaging and informative, reassuring in that there is a bunch to learn and that it is broken into bite sized, accessible sections. This lesson solved much of the confusion I’ve had as a fairly new spinner.

    Rachel K.

Register for Breed Study 101

Learn how breed study will make you a better spinner

Breed study changed my life. Really.

In 2010 I took a class with Deb Robson, co-author of The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook. That class introduced me to a range of different wool types and sheep breeds. It also, crucially, taught me that some of the breeds whose wool I loved the most were rare or, in some cases, critically endangered.

Deb’s class introduced me to breed study and gave me a mission: to help as many fiber artists as possible learn about the wonderful diversity of wool and to invite them into the fight to preserve genetic diversity in sheep and create wider markets for rare wools.

I came home from the class and immediately started my own breed study. By deepening my understanding of my materials, breed study made me a much more skillful, knowledgeable, and confident spinner. Eventually, it led to my decision to start Sheepspot in 2014.

Breed study has connected me to the world of sheep and shepherds, helped me become more intentional as a yarnmaker, and, through Sheepspot, connected me to a worldwide community of spinners who enrich my life every single day.

What can breed study do for you?

Join me in Breed Study 101 to find out.

Sasha Torres, a recognized expert in hand spinning, boasts a PhD from Cornell University and almost four decades of teaching adult learners as a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Western Ontario and as a former faculty member at esteemed institutions such as Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, and Johns Hopkins. Founder of Sheepspot, she has spent over a decade in the fiber arts business, excelling as both a spinning teacher and fiber dyer. In addition to her scholarly contributions, which include a book, an anthology of scholarly articles, and numerous articles in academic journals, Sasha's impact extends to broader audiences through her writings in Ply Magazine and the two spinning podcasts she’s created and hosted, The SpinDoctor Podcast and The Sheepspot Podcast, which together have amassed over 200K downloads. Sasha's innovative approach to spinning education is encapsulated in The Spinner's Journey™ and Pillars of Skillful Spinning™ frameworks, a comprehensive curriculum guiding students from confusion and frustration to the joy of consistently creating yarns they love. Her branded methodology ensures spinners of all levels find satisfaction in crafting yarn they genuinely adore.