Icelandic or standard sheepskin: what’s the difference?

Both are soft, warm and real. The difference is in the wool, and it changes how a sheepskin looks and where it shines.

Standard sheepskins: dense and springy

Our British multicolour, brown, white and mouflon sheepskins have wool of about 4 to 10 cm. It is dense and springy, bounces back after every step and feels wonderful under bare feet. That makes them lovely on the floor, on a dining chair and anywhere you sit or walk every day.

Icelandic sheepskins: long and flowing

Icelandic sheep have lived on the island for more than a thousand years. Their wool grows in two layers: a soft, warm inner layer and a longer outer layer that falls in loose strands. On our Icelandic skins the wool is 12 to 18 cm long, so it drapes beautifully over an armchair, a bench or the end of a bed.

Curls and short wool

Our white curly sheepskin grows its wool in tight, soft ringlets that catch the light. At the other end, medical sheepskins have short, dense Australian merino wool of 2 to 3 cm, smooth and even, lovely on a bed or a desk chair.

Which one for you?

• For the floor and everyday seats: a standard sheepskin.
• For draping over furniture and real drama: an Icelandic skin.
• For texture: the curly white.
• For a smooth, even feel on a bed or chair: a medical sheepskin.

Every size includes the wool, measured diagonally on the wool side (how we measure). Browse Icelandic sheepskins or our standard sheepskins.