#cotton fiber

[gemwel]

Ok, cotton spun and the single looks good (around 50-60 threads per inch), which is still a thick cotton yarn (600+ threads per inch is possible apparently).

(Yes, the spindle is rather full. It is also 100% long staple Sea Island cotton, so it holds together well).

Now the issue is what to do with this next. I don't think there is enough to weave on a loom with, which seems like the most obvious use. It is too fine for knitting or crocheting without making it into a 6-8 ply yarn. Maybe some kind of lace or needle weaving?

[bumblebeeappletree]

Ice dyeing is a fun way to create colorful patterns on fiber using natural color. Freezing fresh or exhaust dyes into ice cubes welcomes a diffused watercolor palette. Adding a layer of dried dye flowers to the frozen mix will invite punches of vivid hues on top. The combination is a lovely way to create tie dye effects to your favorite textiles. Plus, with the help of some common household products, colors can be shifted to expand the rainbow of hues. This tutorial will show you how to ice dye with frozen exhaust dyes & dried flowers, shift color with pH modifiers as well as the resulting effect on cotton.

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro - Ice dyeing with exhaust

1:22 Ice & natural color

2:37 Exhaust dyes

2:57 Making ice

3:38 Cotton fiber

4:20 Color modifiers

4:53 Studio set-up

5:34 Ice cube build

7:30 Midway thaw

8:27 Exhaust reveal

12:18 Dried flowers

13:42 Second ice build

15:41 Final thaw results

18:11 Ice dye comparison

19:58 Wrap up

20:48 Sneak peek of next tutorial

21:19 Blooper

SUPPLY LIST

Exhaust dyes - madder, sulfur cosmos, marigold, logwood & hollyhock

Dried dye matter - calendula, dyer's chamomile, yarrow, scabiosa/pincushion, hollyhock, madder root, logwood

Ice

Ice molds

Strainer

Pot

Modifiers - citric acid, washing soda & ferrous sulfate used in video

Mordant - alum acetate used in video

Textile of choice - cotton featured

[nemfrog]

“Cross sections of cotton fiber swollen in cuprammonium hydroxide solution to show the layered structure of the secondary wall.” A symposium on the structure of protoplasm. 1942.

[cannibalgh0st]

Haven't had Cyclones in so long! Me and @catastrophic-chronic are hitting these like the good times! 😌🌀✨

[hookedatweiss]

🧶🔥 Check out this burn test from The Spruce Crafts to distinguish wool, cotton, bamboo, and acrylic fibers.

[gemwel]

First cotton harvest of the year, from just one plant growing exclusively in food waste (no soil). The irony as we use small amounts of food waste to grow plants, while nearby 85 million pounds of food is just rotting on its way to the landfill with no hope of transforming into something useful like plant fiber.

[gemwel]

The pods are full, waiting to burst open so I can grab the cotton inside. This is the third year for this plant. If I am lucky, it will set a second crop for fall.

[gemwel]

So I got a (sea island perennial) cotton plant and decided to try making cotton yarn.

Step 1: cute, modern spinning wheel that is about as large as a hardback book (there is quite the history on how these came to be, but that is a different story).

Once you open it, you can see the parts neatly fastened into place.

Of course it is some assembly required (and didn't come with instructions, so hopefully I put it together correctly).

This wheel is specifically made to be portable and spin cotton. I am a lazy spinner and spin directly from the bolls (which makes a rough yarn). If I prepared the cotton into punies, I would probably get a more even yarn, but I am looking for a rustic texture. I am also spinning as my cotton plants make cotton multiple times per year. If they would make the cotton in a big crop instead of a boll here and there I might be more willing to prepare it nicely.

This is cotton being spun. You can see the black cotton seed (which makes a nice handle for holding it as it is spun). I clean the seeds and debris out as I spin as spinning makes them "pop" free of the fiber.