Working With Cotton Yarn

Cotton is a fiber that has been grown and spun into yarn for centuries. Cotton represents half the entire fiber usage in the textile industry and as such, is a very important. What makes this fiber so valuable? It is incredibly absorbent.  Water is able to penetrate right to the core of the fiber itself so anything made from it soaks up excess water, such as towels, or wicks water away from the body such as socks and underwear. This ability to absorb water to the inside of the fiber also makes it easy to remove embedded dirt. Creases which form in garments are easily removed using a steam iron because the fiber absorbs the moisture and relaxes. Cotton is soft and comfortable to wear in hot climates. It can keep the wearer warm in cold climates, but is not as effective as animal fiber. One drawback is, if cotton clothing gets wet, it stays thoroughly wet for a long time so can make the wearer very cold if large areas are wet. Conversely, if the wearer happens to be in a tropical climate, the wet cloth helps to cool. Also, thoroughly soaked cotton garments should never be hung to dry because they will stretch out of shape under the weight of the water.

Cotton fibers have a natural twist which lends itself well to being made into strong yarn. This is fortunate as cotton fiber generally has a staple length of around an inch which would otherwise make it difficult to spin and it would become a yarn subject to breakage.

So, why would you want to knit or crochet with cotton?

Clothing made from cotton is light weight and breathable. Thus, it is excellent for summer clothing. I have never heard of anyone being allergic to cotton so if there are allergies it is rare. Cotton is soft, non-irritating and is very comfortable next to the skin...a great quality when one considers using it for underwear. Cotton can be machine washed and dried.. It can shrink in the dryer, but if lower settings are used and the garments are removed before they are thoroughly dry, that can be avoided. Cotton actually gets softer the more it is washed. Cotton takes dye very well so they yarns come in an amazing array of color. As far as cost goes, cotton yarn often isn't expensive. Though if you pay more for higher quality, it is well worth it. Sometimes stitches are "lost" in the yarn used. The yarn doesn't give good definition and that can be frustrating if you are using a complex pattern. It just can't be seen well. Cotton yarn produces stitches with excellent definition so is suitable for those complex patterns. Cotton doesn't pill....you know, those irritating little balls of fiber that form from many washings. Cotton holds dye well, except for red and blue. They sometimes bleed the color in the wash so shouldn't be washed with anything other than dark clothes and probably shouldn't be used with lighter colors in a project lest the dark bleeds into the light.

There are some points, possibly negative, to remember when working with cotton yarn. The yarn can be slippery and may easily come off the needles if one isn't careful. It requires a very firm tension to keep to the gauge.  If the tension isn't firm enough, the garment will more easily stretch out of shape when wet. This characteristic causes some knitters/crocheters difficulty if they aren't experienced enough to keep the tension even and knitting at a firm tension causes quicker hand strain, particularly if one is using metal needles. Even made from aluminum they are heavy. 

The following are tips on working with cotton.

Use bamboo or wooden needles. I love bamboo needles for the fact they are very light. The lightness reduces hand fatigue and I can knit longer at one sitting. In crocheting, the weight of the tool is not as critical. If you have a problem keeping a firm tension, try knitting/crocheting with a needle/hook size one size smaller than is recommended on the ball or skein. Knitting or crocheting a test swatch is very important. Also, wash and dry the swatch to see what the cotton yarn will do when worked. If using dark and light colors, this will also show if the colors will bleed into each other. It is generally recommended when adding a new skein of yarn to the project, one should add it at the beginning of the row because the yarn tends to be bulky.

The inelastic nature of the yarn means that items made from it won't stretch. This makes socks quite a problem to make from cotton because a sock must stretch a lot to get over the heel and instep. Some ways around this is to use ribbing stitches in key areas that need to stretch. Ribbing such as K1, P1 or K2, P2 for a few rows can increase the stretch. Also, yarns that are plied often have some spring to them, more than a single ply, and combined with the ribbing, it can create enough give to stretch where it needs to.

When one keeps in mind the limitations of the material and tips on how to overcome any difficulties when working with cotton, it can be a very satisfying yarn to work with.