Spinners: why double-ply?

[newlyminted]

So, I'm just curious, do YOU double-ply your hand spun yarn?

I don't but every book I've read about spinning seems to take double-plying as a given. Same goes for my copy of Homespun, Handknit; all the yarn used in the book is double-ply.

Now, granted, a lot of those homespinners are decidedly more....professional, than i am. i.e. they all have wicked spinning wheels.

I am only using a drop spindle and double-plying seems a) a lot of extra, hard work and b) a waste of my precious yarn! If I leave it single-ply I have twice as much.

So, I am just wondering if I am missing some crucial step here, or if it's a matter of taste more than anything. Besides double-plying for aesthetic reasons (art yarn, etc...), what's the point?

[Shantimama]

 Double ply yarns tend to be stronger and sturdier than single ply. I suppose it depends on what you will be using the yarn for. If you are making a scarf or cowl single ply yarn can be lovely. If you are planning to knit socks or mittens you will want a yarn that won't wear out within a few times of being worn and double plying will make your beautiful yarn last longer in its final form.

[Llyra]

I actually prefer to spin three-ply. Single-ply doesn't have the durability of multiple plies, which is important to me. I don't want my projects to be pilling and fuzzing after only a short time. But two-ply to me tends to work up unbalanced-- it doesn't knit up right. There's a subtle bias in the fabric, and a tilt to the stitches, that I don't care for. A three-ply yarn is truly round, which I think makes a nicer fabric. And yeah, it's a lot of extra work, especially on a drop spindle. But to me, the durability of multiple plies makes the extra work worthwhile.