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I have been a spinner where I “let the fiber tell me what to do”. This is not a bad starting place However, when you are spinning for a project, most likely you will not spin all that you need in one day. The second day the fiber could “say” it wanted to be thicker or you could just be in a different mood. The size of your yarn changes and thus, your project yarn is inconsistent. Here are a few tips to help maintain consistency. Finer yarns are easier to spin consistently and cotton as a fine fiber “wants” to...

I admit that I often spin just for the delight of spinning with no thought of what I will do with the yarn.  At best, I will try and make a consistent yarn for whatever batch of roving or sliver I am spinning so I will be able to use it for a project. I usually do turn these yarns into something knit, crocheted or woven. I have also spun for a specific project. I highly recommend that at least once, you spin for a project. The exercise of spinning with a project in mind teaches you how to plan, choose the...

Spin Cotton! It’s the new luxury fiber–tenderly soft and lofty with a fresh, clean hand. Now you can spin in luxury without the expense! Cotton needs a lot of twist to hold together as a yarn! You can’t overtwist it! Practice spinning cotton on a support (Tahkli) spindle to get the feel! Begin with a long staple (Pima) cotton fiber either in lint (ginned) or Puni (carded into a rolag) form. Set your wheel’s spinning ratio (wheel to revolutions of bobbin) to the highest, or sit farther back from the orifice. Adjust your spinning wheel so that there is just...

We cotton lovers are really quite spoiled, compared with knitters, weavers & crocheters of the past.  The 21st century has given us such a great variety of high quality cotton yarns in a never-ending rainbow of vibrant colors!  But what to choose?  That’s the big question.  Mercerized vs unmercerized–what’s the difference? Mercerized  Cotton:The modern production method for mercerized cotton, also known as “pearl” or “pearle” cotton (that’s how we got the name Pearly Perle!) , gives cotton yarn a sodium hydroxide bath that is then neutralized with an acid bath. This treatment increases lustre, strength, affinity to dye, resistance to mildew and shrinkage. Mercerized yarns more...

Aurora Earth is an "all purpose" cotton in a full spectrum of colors. Versatile for every type of towel, table linen and style of clothing. Strong enough for warp and weft and machine knitting.A dream yarn for woven baby blankets!Weaving Aurora Earth in a simple tabby pattern will give you a nice, homespun fabric. Huck, basket & waffle weaves also work well with this 8/2. Whenever a pattern calls for 8/2 cotton, this is the yarn of choice. Easy care. Machine wash and dry. USA made! Available in 4, 8, and 16 oz cones 100% unmercerized cotton 3360 yds/lb  plain weave...