# I was wondering...



## Sujae (May 14, 2008)

I stop by the Fiber Arts section all the time to read and see the beautiful things you guys are up to. But this is my question...

It seems you all spin and work with fibers like angora and wools, etc. do any of you work with cotton? As in do you spin/clean/dye cotton the same way you do wools and other animal fibers?

I know I could look this up on some youtube video or Wiki, I have no interest in it myself except to read about your own experiences.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

You can also spin cotton long draw, WIHH ... It's one of the fibres traditionally spun on a great wheel.


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## IowaLez (Mar 6, 2006)

I have a tahkli spindle and spin cotton on it when in the mood. I got a DVD about spinning it to learn from. I have had a bundle of punis from India but can't make myself untie the bundle, it is so cool looking. I have spun from cotton top tho.

Spinning the cotton is different from spinning animal fibers, but the basics are still the same. You just have to develop a feel for the fiber. It is harder for me to judge how much spin I have to put into the yarn using the spindle. And the cotton yarn is so very fine...


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

I dont like to spin cotton,it has a very dry feel. Lifeless.


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## rabbitgeek (Mar 22, 2008)

I have not spun very much cotton at all. But I like weaving with it.

I do have a briefcase charka designed to spin cotton but I don't have any cotton batts or roving to spin up. But it is on my list of things to do.

Have a good day!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I have some Foxx fiber cotton (natural colored cotton) to spin up, love her colors. But I have not tried it. I have so much wool and I'm not a huge fan of knitting with cotton. I do have a Tahkli but have never used it. 

Because cotton is a cellulose fiber, it requires a very different dying method than a protein fiber does. Lots of people do spin cotton, cotton balls Im told are a great way to begin. Now they are growing cotton with much longer fibers and it is supposed to be easier to spin.


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## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

Tried spinning cotton...decided life was too short to mess with something that obnoxious to spin! LOLOLOLOL I leave it to those that actually LIKE working with the stuff. That being said, I do like to knit with cotton yarn.....


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## Sujae (May 14, 2008)

Oh my!

Just these few posts to my questions and I have learned from you ladies again! 

Tahkli, Foxfibre cotton (absolutely beautiful colors) and now I really know what boiled cotton means, Charkha's and puni's...I had to look up the terms. Thank you all so much for answering my post and please post pictures if you ever get around to completing a cotton project. 

Wind in Her Hair, I understand what you mean when you say you can't get past the feel of cotton. I sew and I feel the same way about some fabric's.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Sujae I neglected to welcome you to The Fold, so Welcome! Do you knit, crochet, weave, spin? If you ever have an interest we would be more than happy to help you learn  

I'm glad you have learned a lot reading our forum. This is a very intelligent and knowing group of people. It is also nice that you are so willing to ask the questions and to do your own research. Please feel free to ask anything you have a question about.


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## rabbitgeek (Mar 22, 2008)

Here is the charkha that I own. I took it to a guild meeting.










Here is picture of a little washcloth that I wove on a simple frame loom with sugar and cream cotton yarn.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Awww c'mon guys. Cotton isn't that bad! I like spinning it from the fold long drawl from top. You have to boil the skein to set the twist. 

Washcloths made from this are awesome! I've also spun it with silk ... yummy!

Like Marchie mentioned, you have to use a different type of dye for baste fibers.

I want to try combining with hemp, will probably spin a single of each, then ply them together, then Navajo ply that.


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## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

LOL @ Cyndi! OK, I will attempt to spin more cotton because I do like to knit with it.....after all, I mastered the Hemp beast this past summer.....


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

The 'magic' of spinning cotton is keeping a nice, consistent draw ... it almost spins itself then.


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Hi and Welcome to the Fold Sujae! Hop on board :bandwagon:

Im making a cotton sweater for a friend right now. Its the 1st time I have knit with cotton. Its not soft like wool, it feels way better than acrylic, honestly I dont have any problems with the feel of it.

It does seem to pull harder on my hands than wool, or maybe I should say it feels like its much harder on my hands.

Ive never spun cotton. I looked into cotton spinners, and almost got one. The plus side is that they are way less expensive than a more traditional type wool spinner far as I can see.

The one thing I dont like about knitting with it, and maybe this is me and not the cotton. It doesnt seem to have 'give' like wool does.

Like on this sweater, I have tried every type of increase there is in knitting.
Still, where I did the increase it -stand outs- Im pretty sure with wool, it wouldnt. I dont know how to word this. With wool, I think the wool would pull back together. The cotton doesnt.


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## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

Cotton doesn't have any spring or bounce back to it, which is why you don't normally try to teach someone to knit or crochet using it. It's a little different to work with, but I still like it.


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## Katherine in KY (May 11, 2002)

I usually grow a few plants of green or brown cotton every year -- from my days of managing a seed exchange. I have bags of cotton bolls, but I don't really like spinning cotton. At least, I much prefer spinning wool. I don't like to knit with cotton, except maybe dishcloths. But now that I've started weaving again, I have gotten out the cotton to spin and maybe use for weaving. I still end up switching back to wool, though.


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## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

One of my goals during the Tour de Fleece was to spin some of the cotton roving that I had bought a few years ago. I just wasn't experienced enough to spin it when I got it. 

Now that I've been spinning a few years, I could do it! It has a beautiful sheen actually. But I haven't done anything with it yet - not even washed it....

Here's a picture (it's draped over my Sir MixAlot because of the theme of the week for the Tour)

yarma by BooPK, on Flickr

I think I'll make some wash cloths with it - that's a great idea! The knitted ones take me forever, so I tried crocheting one a few months ago, and it went well. Another project woohoo!

The next fiber fair I go to I want to get some cotton bolls to try spinning right from them. We tried growing cotton one year, but we ended up moving in the middle of the growing season, and it didn't make it. Another project


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## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

Found another picture of when I was spinning it:


yarma by BooPK, on Flickr

I think this might be the cotton too - I really need to label my Flickr photos

yarma by BooPK, on Flickr


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

That cotton roving and the yarn you made, looks wonderful PKBoo!!

I have thought about blending some Coopworth and cotton, and spinning that.
Have always wanted to spin flax... 
Just haven't gotten around to it yet.


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## netskyblue (Jul 25, 2012)

Speaking of cotton...I saw my first cotton field today on a road trip to the South! I'm told it has a distinctive scent but couldn't smell anything from the road.


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## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

bergere said:


> Have always wanted to spin flax...
> Just haven't gotten around to it yet.


When I was spinning at the Historical Living Museum last weekend with our guild, we met a woman who learned to spin on flax! She knows how to do the entire process, and she agreed to come to a guild meeting to show us how to spin it.

That would be such a cool process - grow the flax, rett it, spin it, then weave fabric to make for a reenactment 'pocket' or something. We might tackle that next year! 



netskyblue said:


> Speaking of cotton...I saw my first cotton field today on a road trip to the South! I'm told it has a distinctive scent but couldn't smell anything from the road.


We were driving to Virginia one year, and saw this too - it's a beautiful site. DH actually pulled the car over, and grabbed a few bolls (shhhh - stealing farmer's crops is not a sanctioned activity!!) It was only 3 bolls, but I still felt bad...


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