Shaggy Gotland Shearling, ‘Natural Grey’

Gotland Shearlings are something special; so silky and lustrous, with the most beautiful natural grey colour. Either thrown over a chair or as a rug on the floor, they are pure comfort and softness!

Shaggy Gotland Shearling
This shearling is incredibly tactile. The wool is completely unclipped and shows off the full and natural curl of the fleece. The curl starts at the base in a soft circle, corkscrewing down into gentle waves with the tips finishing in either a fine crimp or very small curls. As you move the wool with your fingertips you see the beautiful variation in shade from base to tip. Often you can see that the tips of the fleece have a hint of brown or light blonde; this is where the sun has bleached the wool as the sheep are grazing in the field. Because the shearling is completely untrimmed it feels wonderfully substantial and looks marvellous as a rug or draped on a comfortable chair. The length of the wool will vary from piece to piece, but around 4 inches is to be expected. This variety is not washable.

The Gotland sheep originates, as the name suggests, from a beautiful Swedish island in the Baltic sea; a fascinating place with a rich and varied history of human habitation and civilisation since prehistory, and was a major trading hub in medieval times. The breed itself is said to have been established by the Vikings.

These shearlings either come from either Gotland itself, or have been sent from small-holdings throughout Scandinavia to the tannery in Sweden. We can only get a limited supply each year working with the farming seasons, there are 35 processes involved to fully tan one sheepskin. The skins are prepared and treated with the upmost care at the tannery, and all aspects of the work is done with the smallest possible impact on the local environment.

They come in all shades of grey, from a pale silver to dark charcoal, all the natural colours of the sheeps wool; the fleece actually darkens in shade as the sheep ages. The colour also naturally varies across each piece such as a darker neck and spine with lighter flanks. The wool is extremely silky and smooth to the touch – its like nothing else!

All of our shearlings are suitable for use on the floor, draped on a chair, sofa or bed. Unlike our other leather items we sell our Gotland shearlings only by the skin at a set price as they are consistently sized.

Panel Size Information

Sheep skins are narrowest in width beneath their shoulders where the shape naturally scoops inwards. Should you require a rectangular panel, the maximum width will be determined by this narrow point.

If an alternative shape is requested (circle, tall and thin rectangle, square etc.) it may be possible to cut a shape with a wider width, or a taller length.

Skin sizes vary widely within a batch. These measurements represent an average sized skin.