Demystifying Grist
When you’re planning a project with handspun or just trying to work out how much yarn is in a mystery skein, grist is a vital measurement.
In the video above I talk about the different ways I use grist and give the formulas for all kinds of grist calculations in both metric and imperial versions of grist. For your convenience (and mine), I’ve also created a free Grist Calculator you can use for many of those calculations.
What is grist?
Grist is the measurement that tells us the linear density of yarn — what length of yarn is in a particular weight. For example, most skeins of commercial sock/fingering weight yarn have around 400m (437yd) per 100g (3.5oz).
In the spinning community grist is most often stated in yards per pound (YPP) but you could use whatever combination of length and weight measurements make most sense to you: metres per 100g, yards per ounce, metres per kilo and more.
In this article we’ll use the two most common forms of grist for spinners: yards per pound (ypp) and metres per 100g (m/100g).
Why is it important?
If you’re planning yarn for a project which requires 100g of fingering weight yarn, you might assume that spinning 100g of fibre to a fingering weight thickness would give you enough yarn for that project. And it might. Maybe. If you’re lucky. But most handspun is more dense than an equivalent thickness of commercial yarn, so it’s much more likely that you’d produce less yardage per 100g than the yarn the project was designed for.
Knowing the grist means you can work out what weight of fibre to spin to create the length of yarn you need for your project and all sorts of other helpful bits of information.
Grist is only one of the measurements I use in my spinning process, but it can save me from running out of yarn mid-project so it’s an important one!
How do I calculate it?
You’ll need to know two bits of information: the total length of the skein and its weight.
If you don’t already know the total length, measure the circumference of the skein (pictured) in centimetres or inches (depending on whether you want a metric or imperial result) and multiply that figure by the number of loops of yarn it contains.
Most niddy noddies and skein-winders are designed to produce a standard length of skein like 1.5 yards but the yarn is under tension when it’s on the niddy noddy and will probably grow or shrink during wet finishing, so I prefer to measure the skein when it’s dry after finishing for a more accurate figure.
Weigh your yarn in grams or ounces. For small samples, you’ll need jewellers scales with a good degree of accuracy. (Affiliate link)
Metric Calculation (metres per 100g)
Divide the total length of the skein in centimetres by 100 to convert it to metres (skip this step if you already know the total length in metres).
Divide the total length in metres by the weight in grams to get metres per gram.
Multiply the metres per gram by 100 to get metres per 100g.
Imperial Calculation (yards per pound)
Divide the total length of the skein in inches by 36 to convert it to yards (skip this step if you already know the total length in yards).
Divide the total length in yards by the weight in ounces to get yards per ounce.
Multiply the yards per ounce by 16 to get yards per pound (ypp).
…or just use my free Grist Calculator!
What if my yarn’s the wrong grist?
First, it’s only the ‘wrong’ grist if it’s not going to work for the project you’d planned. Try not to compare your handspun yarn’s grist to that of commercial yarns. Commercial production often means inserting less twist than we do for handspinning and it’s done on machines designed to draft and twist the fibre very precisely. We’re not machines, therefore we rarely produce yarn like a machine would.
As much as I think grist is a useful unit of measurement, the most important thing to me is whether or not the yarn works up to the right gauge and creates a pleasing fabric for the project I’m planning.
If it doesn’t, I might think about changing the grist… or just spin the fibre for something else! Changing the grist is primarily about changing the amount of air in your yarn. The less air, the more dense it is (fewer yards per pound); the more air, the less dense it is (more yards per pound). So if you wanted a more dense yarn you’d think about how to eliminate more air. Spinning from a combed fibre preparation, in a worsted style like short forward draw should give you a denser yarn. Whereas spinning from a carded fibre preparation, in a woollen style like one of the long draws should give you a less dense yarn.
Leave your questions and comments below
