100 grams (3.4 oz.) of undyed commercial top, ready to spin.
 
This is the origin and foundation of the Down breeds. The wool has a distinctive compound crimp, giving yarns incredible loft, and making them more resistant to felting than most other wools. The resulting yarns are ideal for warm, hard wearing items like socks, but also make excellent sweaters, hats, and blankets. The breed gets its name from its place of origin; the southern downlands of England, along the English Channel. Sheep of a similar description have lived there since at least the Middle Ages, but may be the result of the crossbreeding of Roman imports and the native sheep of the Bronze Age. Today this breed is kept almost exclusively for the production of meat.