Cotton

Cotton fiber spins up into a yarn that is perfect for warm weather knitting or crochet projects because it is fairly lightweight and breathes well. However, when working with cotton fiber, you’ll want to remember that it sags when wet and that if you use it for a heavier garment it can lose its shape very easily.

Cotton fiber for spinning comes in many forms – roving, pencil roving, and punis to name just a few. Pencil roving may be the easiest fiber preparation to work with because you’ll probably want to spin cotton very fine.

Current eBay auctions for cotton fiber are listed below – click a picture or description to get more information or to place a bid!

lovely-white-cotton-fiber-to-spin-8-oz-free-shipping Lovely White Cotton Fiber to Spin 8 oz Free Shipping
US $9.95
End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 8:41:30 PDT
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-white-cotton-combed-top White Cotton combed top
US $6.00
End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 12:53:10 PDT
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organic-cotton-roving-sliver-spinning-fiber-brown-4-oz Organic Cotton Roving Sliver Spinning Fiber Brown 4 oz
US $9.99
End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 7:04:27 PDT
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dyed-cotton-roving-sliver-spinning-fiber-critter-4oz Dyed Cotton Roving Sliver, Spinning Fiber, Critter, 4oz
US $9.99
End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 7:06:08 PDT
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dyed-cotton-roving-sliver-spinning-fiber-lupine-4oz Dyed Cotton Roving, Sliver, Spinning Fiber, Lupine, 4oz
US $9.99
End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 7:10:10 PDT
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cotton-hemp-roving-sliver-spinning-fiber-white-lt-4oz Cotton Hemp Roving, Sliver Spinning Fiber White Lt 4oz
US $9.99
End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 7:11:48 PDT
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-white-cotton-combed-top White Cotton combed top
US $6.00
End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 8:22:11 PDT
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ashford-hand-cards-for-cotton ASHFORD HAND CARDS FOR COTTON
US $58.00
End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 8:54:26 PDT
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cotton-fibre-dyed-roving-spinning-fiber*earth-a*-1oz COTTON FIBRE DYED ROVING-SPINNING FIBER*EARTH-a* 1oz
US $2.85
End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 13:30:28 PDT
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cotton-fibre-dyed-roving-spinning-fiber*earth-a*-1-7oz COTTON FIBRE DYED ROVING-SPINNING FIBER*EARTH-A* 1.7oz
US $4.85
End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 13:46:35 PDT
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You may also want to check the listings for cotton fiber at Paradise Fibers. They have a good selection of organic cotton fiber as well as conventionally grown cotton fiber and blends.

Cotton fiber can be a bit tricky to spin, especially for the beginning spinner, because the staple length of cotton is generally quite short. Cotton fiber has traditionally been spun with a charkha, but you can use a spinning wheel. You’ll just need to spin slowly and use minimal tension. Supported spindles such as takhlis also work well for spinning cotton.

Cotton is also a great fiber to work for hand dyers because it takes up dye really well.