One old definition said that a competent (hand) spinner could spin (wool) at its spin count at a commercial rate. Of course, spin count is the measure of the fineness of the wool in hanks per pound, but what was "a commercial spin rate"?
I have spun 500 yd (a hank) of 5-ply gansey yarn in a day, even hanks on consecutive days, but that about did me in. For 10s,16,000 yards per week is about as fast as I can spin (on th AA # 1 flier) On the other hand, I am a fat old man, who has not run a marathon since the summer of 1980.
I suspect that "commercial rate" for 10s by professional hand spinners was in the range of 16,000 to 20,000 yards per week. (the AA# 0 flier is faster, and I expect, it is the kind of tool that a pro would use.). In short, there were likely active hand spinners that spun a million yards of lace-weight singles in a year.
And, there were likely active spinners that spun half a million yards of 40s/shirting/hosiery singles in a year.
Conventional wisdom is that spinning finer requires slower spinning. However, I think quite the reverse. And at this point, I do not know anyone that is researching the topic as aggressively as myself.
I have spun 500 yd (a hank) of 5-ply gansey yarn in a day, even hanks on consecutive days, but that about did me in. For 10s,16,000 yards per week is about as fast as I can spin (on th AA # 1 flier) On the other hand, I am a fat old man, who has not run a marathon since the summer of 1980.
I suspect that "commercial rate" for 10s by professional hand spinners was in the range of 16,000 to 20,000 yards per week. (the AA# 0 flier is faster, and I expect, it is the kind of tool that a pro would use.). In short, there were likely active hand spinners that spun a million yards of lace-weight singles in a year.
And, there were likely active spinners that spun half a million yards of 40s/shirting/hosiery singles in a year.
Conventional wisdom is that spinning finer requires slower spinning. However, I think quite the reverse. And at this point, I do not know anyone that is researching the topic as aggressively as myself.
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