Hodden grey is very like the colour of Herdwick rams when they are 'ruddied up' to be distinct from the ewes. The stuff used is a red powder mixed with oil or grease, as the fleece of the sheep is difficult to dye.

The lambs are born very dark - probably it makes them easier to see in the snow as the breed is very hardy and they can lamb alone up on the fells in the Winter. At one year old they are brown - naturally like the hodden grey, and then they get greyer and paler with age so an old ewe is almost white. The fleece is very coarse and bristly. In the wet a jersey made from the yarn has lots of drops of water hanging on the ends of the bristles so if you press up against a flat surface you are suddenly very wet as all the droplets are pushed through the garment.

Anne the Pleater :ootd: