Knit a Cabled Towline Hat in Tunis Wool

The Towline Hat started with a spinning challenge. I had joined the Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em program, a challenge for crafters run by The Livestock Conservancy to encourage use of rare and endangered heritage sheep breeds, and Tunis was one of the wools I needed to fill my passport. Tarheelbilly Farm is a Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em participating farm that has raised Tunis sheep since 2017. I live in North Carolina, and I liked that the farm had a North Carolina connection: Charis Walker, the “Tarheel” in the farm’s name, was raised here. I bought five ounces of her Tunis lambswool roving for my project.

Tunis is one of the oldest sheep breeds, originating in North Africa and said to date to biblical times. The first Tunis sheep arrived in the United States in 1799 as a gift to the new country government from the Bey of Tunis. They are a dual purpose-breed, meaning they are raised for both wool and meat, and they produce a medium-soft wool that starts out reddish at birth and gradually changes to a creamy white. Tunis sheep are particularly well adapted to hot, humid climates. Many of the original Tunis flocks in the United States were destroyed during the Civil War, and they are now listed in the Watch category by The Livestock Conservancy.

Tunis lambs are born with a red coat, but it is quickly replaced with creamy white wool. Photo by Charis Walker