Blues Time Test Two Ply Yarn

This post records a test of how long it took to card, spin, and ply a 2 ply yarn in my current default yarn weight.  One of the toughest things about selling one's hand made items is determining a fair price.  I have been using a price per ounce calculation and wondered if it was accurate.  My previous spinning notes involve spinning larger amounts of yarn and noting the time but more anecdotal than scientifical. 

I know loss occurs during the carding and spinning process, but did not know how much.  Here was an opportunity to learn that as well, so  I started with 1 ounce of fiber.  Equal amounts of blue New Zealand wool, grey mohair and natural colored blue faced Leicester wool.  All rovings from my fiber stash and all purchased from The Weaving Works.  

Next, I divided the three rovings into two equal piles, one for each ply for the final yarn.  The fibers were blended on my drum card fiber into 2 - half ounce rovings.  Carding can't be rushed.  Turning the drum too quickly results in the fibers sticking to the small drum, which, in turn, is wasted fiber.  I know from past experience that three fibers and three colors requires two passes through the drum carder for a nice heathered yarn.   I finished with two half ounce batts in an hour.

To spin, I took one batt, split it in half lengthwise, and pre-drafted it.  I put on my favorite playlist, which at this time features Massive Attack, Carbon Silicon, Supreme Beings of Leisure, Morcheeba, Thievery Corporation, Yoko Kanno, and Big Audio Dynamite. The yarn was spun and plied on my Elizabeth wheel, set to the large bobbin whorl.   It took me roughly 30 minutes to spin each half ounce bobbin, for a total of 66 minutes of singles spinning.  

I used my tensioned kate for plying.  It took 19 minutes to ply the yarn.  A small amount remained on one bobbin.  I removed the yarn for washing, but took pre-wash measurements of 19 wraps per inch and 1200 yards per pound.  The finished skein is 0.90 ounces/26 grams, for approximately 67.5 yards and a 10% loss from roving to finished yarn, which took 2 hours and 15 minutes to take from design to yarn. 

Next time:  I recently finished a hat for a friend.  Here's a sneak peak: