Traditional "5-ply gansey yarn" had a grist of 1,000 yards per pound. And a "hank" of gansey yarn was 8 ounces and 500 yards.
This worked because the traditional singles hank was 560 yards, and the ply-twist to form the yarn took up ~10%, so a hank of worsted spun knitting yarn was ~510 yards. And, the traditional wools were lustrous long wool. Objects knit from them had a different appearance than objects knit from modern, commercial yarns spun from finer wools.
These days I note that a favorite commercial 5-ply gansey yarn is about 1,200 yards per pound, so it is thinner; -- more the grist of traditional 4-ply worsted spun yarns. Wendy's is now ~ 1,115 ypp. Penzance is now about the only traditional grist 5-ply Guernsey yarn at 996 yards per pound. At the same price as other favorite purveyors, http://www.knitwitspenzance.co.uk/index.php delivers 20% more wool per cone.
However, the modern, thin 5-ply gansey yarn has more twist, so it is not well suited to being used double as some of the Gladys Thompson patterns use 4-ply yarn. If you want to work with doubled 4-ply, try the Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool. That combination has tremendous fill and makes a very good Aran weight fabric.
If knit to the traditional patterns, the fabric from modern thin 5-ply gansey yarn will be softer, and much less "weatherproof." For most modern uses, not a bad thing. However, the softer material will cause stitch patterns to be NOT as clearly defined and the fabrics will not provide as much padding if a seaman gets tossed about. The Penzance will give a thicker, warmer fabric with clearer stitch patterns.
I have nothing against the thinner 5-ply, but I knit it on 2 mm needles.
It takes just under 900 yards of yarn to knit a gansey, that is ~5,000 yards of singles; That is about 9 hanks, plus 900 yards of plying. That is about 12 hours of reasonably paced spinning. At 35$/hour, that is more than $400 worth of spinning labor, plus $15 worth of wool, plus labor to clean and prep the wool. Hand spun from long wool, the yarn costs on the order of $500. $71.80 plus shipping seems pretty reasonable for a couple cones of commercial 5-ply gansey yarn - either the thick or the thin versions. On the other hand, if you must have the authentic fabric, then today, it will be hand spun.
This worked because the traditional singles hank was 560 yards, and the ply-twist to form the yarn took up ~10%, so a hank of worsted spun knitting yarn was ~510 yards. And, the traditional wools were lustrous long wool. Objects knit from them had a different appearance than objects knit from modern, commercial yarns spun from finer wools.
These days I note that a favorite commercial 5-ply gansey yarn is about 1,200 yards per pound, so it is thinner; -- more the grist of traditional 4-ply worsted spun yarns. Wendy's is now ~ 1,115 ypp. Penzance is now about the only traditional grist 5-ply Guernsey yarn at 996 yards per pound. At the same price as other favorite purveyors, http://www.knitwitspenzance.co.uk/index.php delivers 20% more wool per cone.
However, the modern, thin 5-ply gansey yarn has more twist, so it is not well suited to being used double as some of the Gladys Thompson patterns use 4-ply yarn. If you want to work with doubled 4-ply, try the Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool. That combination has tremendous fill and makes a very good Aran weight fabric.
If knit to the traditional patterns, the fabric from modern thin 5-ply gansey yarn will be softer, and much less "weatherproof." For most modern uses, not a bad thing. However, the softer material will cause stitch patterns to be NOT as clearly defined and the fabrics will not provide as much padding if a seaman gets tossed about. The Penzance will give a thicker, warmer fabric with clearer stitch patterns.
I have nothing against the thinner 5-ply, but I knit it on 2 mm needles.
It takes just under 900 yards of yarn to knit a gansey, that is ~5,000 yards of singles; That is about 9 hanks, plus 900 yards of plying. That is about 12 hours of reasonably paced spinning. At 35$/hour, that is more than $400 worth of spinning labor, plus $15 worth of wool, plus labor to clean and prep the wool. Hand spun from long wool, the yarn costs on the order of $500. $71.80 plus shipping seems pretty reasonable for a couple cones of commercial 5-ply gansey yarn - either the thick or the thin versions. On the other hand, if you must have the authentic fabric, then today, it will be hand spun.
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