Last year I planted my first cotton seeds in my kitchen one frigid February, Indiana winter day. View Post. It was a lot of fun to watch the plants mature. I learned so much and at the end of it all I had useful fiber.
It took me a while to get around to spinning it up but I did finally get to it. I’m really happy with the result. The brown skein is especially interesting because there was a lot of shade/color variation in the crop that occurred naturally. To think they all descended from one gifted cotton boll with 21 seeds inside. Now I’m debating what to make with it.
Spinning Cotton on my Ashford Traveller WheelBobbin full of white cotton yarnWinding Cotton SkeinsSkeins from 1st CropFinished skeins from first cotton cropI found a straggler! It must’ve opened up over the winter.
Of course I planted a new crop for this year. The kids from the youth ministry helped. Then my niece wanted to plant some too, so we planted more. I’m sure a gardener would cringe at our methods, those poor seeds. The cool thing that I’m finding with cotton plants is they’re really hard to kill. Those seeds just know what to do! Even if you put too many in a whole and forget to cover them.
1 week old seedlings in my kitchen. Baby nephew is loving the new hiding placeThese cute little guys know just what to do.It’s been pretty cloudy so far this spring so they are stretching for the sunlight.My niece helped me pot the 2nd batch of seedlingsAbout 1 month in, some of the plants have adult leaves coming in.
I have had an fascination with handcrafted textiles since before I can remember. The most influential women in my life have been skilled at sewing and needlecrafts. This includes great grandmother Mattie and grandma Arelia who was ever encouraging and proud of her “sweet pea” as I attempted my first projects at the age of 11.
Starting with braid weaving, then progressing to sewing, then crochet I was on my way. I received a bachelors in Apparel, Textiles and Merchandising from Eastern Michigan University in 2006. Over the years I have picked up knitting, loom weaving, embroidery and finally spinning every type of fiber I can get my hands on.
The process of creating using traditional techniques has brought me much joy and fulfillment over the years and I hope to inspire others to explore our heritage skills through my sharing.
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2 thoughts on “Cotton Seeds Sown, They know what to do”
how many cotton seeds or balls of cotton to make a skein?
Hi there,
I spun up a single boll back in 2012 and found:
The stats:1 brown cotton boll
26 seeds
12.83 yards
32 WPI 2ply
I used the yarn to crochet a rose
White cotton yields more so I would guess about 15yards of 2ply lace weight per boll. I have updated the older post with pictures of the tiny skein. At best I had 8-9 bolls of fiber on a plant. Extremely small yield compared to what can grow with a longer growing season.
Traditions in Cloth 
how many cotton seeds or balls of cotton to make a skein?
Hi there,
I spun up a single boll back in 2012 and found:
The stats:1 brown cotton boll
26 seeds
12.83 yards
32 WPI 2ply
I used the yarn to crochet a rose
White cotton yields more so I would guess about 15yards of 2ply lace weight per boll. I have updated the older post with pictures of the tiny skein. At best I had 8-9 bolls of fiber on a plant. Extremely small yield compared to what can grow with a longer growing season.