Denotes wool from a breed of sheep originating in the Shetland Isles, north-east Scotland, which produce a soft and shaggy fleece that is spun, knitted and woven into cloth and tweeds.
Real Shetland wool is not sheared but pulled out by hand from the sheep’s underbelly in springtime (on equal footing with the best cashmere and shatoush) when the sheep moult naturally. This soft fibre has an unsurpassed softness. However, most ‘Shetland’ wool, is likely to come from shorn fleece, or is just a term used to describe soft wool, with no destination certainty, or even guarantee of quality unless you know the source is reliable.