Cottoning to cotton

That's a funny expression. Why do we say "I don't cotton to that" anyway? After playing more with cotton fiber, I think I understand. It really clings to you, to your clothing, your skin, even your shoes; not to mention the carpet and the wooden parts of the spinning wheel. Those fibers are so short they even can go right up your nose. So if you "cotton to" something, I guess you like it enough to stick to it.

I haven't felt that way about spinning cotton, though I certainly do like weaving with it. I don't find it as useful for knitting, however, because it lacks the elasticity we usually want in a knitted fabric.

I got some pima cotton sliver back before the holidays thinking I could spin it up for the COE study group. It turned out to be much trickier than I expected. In fact, it seemed impossible. Hunting through SpinOff back issues, talking to Toni and others, I got a little better idea of the nature of the beast. I added high speed whorls and bobbins to my armaments, but after the first experience I still put off going back to the cotton. Instead, I used them for hemp and ingeo, both of which were easier to spin with a faster twist ratio.

This week we played with cotton some more at the COE group. (Thanks to Susan R. for bringing in various supported spindles and her charkha.) I found I could spin the stuff on a light handspindle if I didn't suspend the spindle. Instead I used a "park and draft" method: put lots of twist in a short leader, then rest the spindle and draw out more fiber, letting the twist slip gradually into it. Since I usually spin worsted style (never any twist in the drafting zone) this was easier for me, but I started to understand why cotton is spun in other ways. The fibers are so short that worsted drafting is difficult. The drafting zone is only a centimeter or so in width at best.

This morning I finally took the cotton back to my double drive wheel, using the highest ratio I could achieve (15:1 with the high speed kit,) and soon figured out a method that works. It's a modified long draw, I guess, or maybe a medium draw? By drafting out ten inches or so while letting in just enough twist to hold the fiber together, and then letting twist in by tiny increments while further drawing out the partially spun yarn, I was able to achieve much better results. With more practice, I suspect I can be pretty good at it. I found that stubborn slubs give way more easily if I flick them with a fingernail while continuing to twist, rather than pulling hard on them (which tends to just break the yarn at its thinnest point,) and also learned that once the yarn is sufficiently uniform in thickness you still need to treadle several more times to put enough twist into it to make it stable.

I am going to play more with cotton now, and suspect I will start to like it better. I also foresee an unexpected side benefit: I've never really been able to do a long draw effectively with wool. After some more practice with the cotton, I think my woolen long draw will improve quickly. In fact, I'm eager to try it with some carded batts from my own sheep that I've had sitting here for some time now.