Long Way Homestead - Breed of the Month - March 2025

March: Spinning Polypay 🐏🌸

Breed Study – Month 3/12

I’m a little late posting this update, but March 2025 was all about Polypay! I’d never spun it before, and honestly... I loved it🤍 Out of the three spins so far in this challenge, it’s my favourite!

Polypay is a super beginner friendly wool that’s 100% American. developed in the 1970s by crossing Targhee (which I spun back in January) with Dorset, Rambouillet, and Finn. The goal was to create a versatile breed that could produce both quality wool and good meat, while being easy to manage on the farm. The name Polypay actually means “many pays, $$$” since farmers could get multiple benefits from one sheep.

The wool itself is soft and springy, with a medium staple length and a nice balance of crimp and bounce. It’s one of those fibers that feels approachable and forgiving, perfect for beginners or anyone looking for a smooth, easy spin that still has character. Basically, a blend designed for softness, elasticity, and productivity. And it really delivered on all three.

For this month’s spin, I worked with 100 g of roving from Long Way Homestead breed of the Month Fibre study. The prep was clean and airy, which made drafting smooth and lovely. I split the roving into three even sections again and spun each one separately before plying them together.

After watching one of Rachel Smith’s live videos back in March, I got inspired to experiment more. I tried a bunch of plyback tests at different speeds on my e-spinner; way more than I normally would! I even attempted my first 3ply plyback test, and honestly, I’ll never go back!! I didn’t realize how easy it was! You just pull out a bit more single from the orifice, fold it on itself once more, and let go at the bottom. & Tada! instant 3-ply

I can’t believe I’d never done a 3-ply plyback test before!!! The tests gave me so many different yarn samples, and Polypay turned out to be surprisingly versatile. It was really fun to see how much spinning speed affected the final twist and thickness.

The finished yarn came out to a worsted weight (9 WPI), measuring 181 meters from my 100 g braid. It’s springy, full of life, and feels like the perfect balance of structure and softness. I could totally see it being used for sweaters or other cozy accessories.

One of my three bobbins did empty out first. And instead of resplitting the other 2. I was way too lazy at that point of the day, I just made a little 2ply from what was left. I used it for a quick swatch to see how it behaved in fabric form. Spoiler: it looked adorable.

Every month in this breed study, I’m discovering new things about how I like to spin, what types of fibers to look out for or would want to try. With Polypay, I learned that I love Polypay, & experimenting with speeds can help understand twist energy. That simple 3ply'd yarns are becoming one of my favorite yarn structures to knit with and spin. They’re just so satisfying, round, and professional looking.

I’m really excited to see how all twelve yarns look together at the end of the year, like a little timeline of progress. 🧡

If you want to see the full process, from the wool to the final skein, it’s all in Spinning Polypay Wool 🐑12 Months of Wool Ep. 3🌿✨(Long Way Homestead) on YouTube! 🎥