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We welcome our guest blogger, Kathy Hattori of Botanical Colors The art of dyeing cotton with natural dyes using traditional methods is labor intensive as the fiber undergoes several steps including scouring, then mordanting and finally the application of the natural dye. Indeed, the complexities of cotton dyeing sometimes seem overwhelming to the new natural dyer who, after reading the detailed dye instructions is tempted to run screaming for the nearest package of Kool-Aid to get a quick and easy color fix. Luckily, someone has been working to simplify cotton dyeing. Eileen Hallman of New World Textiles and Irene Schmoller of Cotton Clouds have collaborated...

We welcome guest blogger Jill Holbrook to dispel any roadblocks you may have to spinning cotton! I absolutely love to spin cotton. It is my favorite fiber and the most soothing fiber to spin. When stressed or upset, I spin cotton. Gandhi said ” If everyone in the world spun an hour a day there would be no more wars”. What a lovely thought! Gandhi spun cotton – a plant indigenous to his country, India. There is a modern myth that cotton is hard to spin. The fact is, it is really easy to spin though definitely different than wool –...