From Sheep to
Rug
Adapted from
"Rugs and Posts," H. L. James
The Two Grey Hills weavers of
Toadlena use only hand spun yarn for their beautiful rugs and
tapestries—a much more labor-intensive endeavor. Here is a comparison of the amount of
hours it takes a weaver to produce a hand woven 3' x 5' rug using
hand spun yarn vs. commercial yarn that has been purchased.
Activity |
1973
Handspun |
1988
Commercial yarn |
Shearing (2 sheep) |
2 hrs. |
0 hrs. |
Cleaning |
10 hrs. |
0 hrs. |
Carding |
40 hrs. |
0 hrs. |
Spinning |
90 hrs. |
0 hrs. |
Washing |
8 hrs. |
0 hrs. |
Loom Construction
(Optional) |
16 hrs. |
16 hrs. |
Warping the Loom |
18 hrs. |
18 hrs. |
Weaving |
160 hrs. |
160 hrs. |
Total |
344
hrs. |
194
hrs. |
|