Homestead Cotton is one of our most versatile yarns available to weavers. It has a great color range, an earthy texture and it’s machine-washable. This unmercerized 8/2 cotton is an ideal weaving yarn for kitchen towels and can be doubled for heavier pieces or used in combination with other yarns. Consider making items for the kitchen and bedroom, as well as fabric for clothing. Please allow for 15% shrinkage when calculating your yardage for a particular project. It will full and become very soft after machine washing and drying. You’ll find it well-suited for a variety of fiber arts.

Weavers:
You will find a multitude of uses for Homestead Cotton. Use it as warp and weft in dish towels and table linens or in combination with Cotton Boucle, a cotton/linen blend such as Cottolin, or a linen yarn such as Newport Linen. When using cotton with other yarns of different fiber contents be aware of dissimilar shrinkage characteristics. Try alternating different fiber threads or use one as warp and one as weft.
Homestead Cotton is also an excellent choice as warp and tabby weft for overshot coverlets. For the pattern weft consider 2/8 Maine Line Wool (Item 22), Harrisville Shetland (Item 9) or Bartlett 2-Ply Sport Weight (Item 121).

• Tabby sett of 15-22 epi 
• Twill sett of 22-30 epi

Knitters & Crocheters:
Homestead Cotton is also a great yarn for both hand and machine knitting. Double or even triple it for use in sport and worsted weight patterns. Using multiple strands lets you play with color. Start with six shades that work well together. Knit with three or four strands at a time and periodically drop one or two and pick up others. You will be amazed at how the colors blend and change.
• Single – fingering weight
• Doubled – sport weight
• Tripled – worsted weight

Color-fastness: As always, be conscious of highly contrasting colors. If your sample suggests bleeding, skein the yarn and pre-wash it until the water runs clear. To limit bleeding in a finished piece, do not allow it to remain damp for long periods of air drying. Faster drying by machine is preferable. For the first couple of washings we suggest adding a little washing soda (borax) to make sure any residual spinning oils are removed, this will allow for maximum softness and absorbability.

While the individual threads can be somewhat delicate and may not pass the 'snap test' the yarn will make a fine warp for towels and other projects. For the best results, we recommend not doubling it in your reed (or doing so very carefully) so as to avoid tangling and 'wear' from passing too tightly through the dents, making sure the tension is even but not overly tight, and removing any knots from your warp as you wind it so that they won't sneak up and snag later. The biggest danger for breakage is while dressing the loom, once the project is underway, and in the finished items, it's a great towel material.

WEIGHED ITEM: Large Homestead Cotton Cones (approximately 1 pound) are sold by actual weight. Yarn weight per cone will vary between 15 oz and 18 oz, therefore your final invoice may reflect this difference. Youll see that the small grey dot in your shopping cart will read 18 (oz) before checkout - this is the maximum quantity and amount you'll be charged. Your final invoice will reflect this or a lesser quantity if the cone weighs less. Please note that if you request. return online you'll need to enter the quantity you are returning in the same qty of ounces as were purchased on your final invoice - we cannot accept returns for cones weighing less than what you received. Please let us know if you need assistance or an exact quote prior to shipping.