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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.