Picking cotton (to machine knit)

It's been exactly one week since the official (soft) launch of the Crafting Fashion project. I am very happy that there is so much interest in coned yarn! The group is in its infancy and now has the chance to grow. [Jan. 20, 2015 ETA: The yarn-on-cones group was disbanded in June 2013. Also please note that I'm now knitting with sustainable cotton yarns. Read more about it here.]

It's been one of those weeks! Although I am very busy with yarn and knitting-related activities, I haven't had the chance, until now, to write more than 140 characters at a time (as I said on Twitter yesterday).

If you're a regular reader of this blog or if we communicate on Rav, you may have seen a couple of these pics before. Here they are, this time with the focus on the yarn.
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I often hear machine knitters talk of the difficulty they have working with cotton. The first time I heard someone say that, I had already worked with UKI Supreme yarns for a number of months and never knew it was "supposed" to be difficult. It's the lack of elasticity in cotton that can make the yarn trying and a little unforgiving. It doesn't have to be this way. The range of stitch sizes that will work for a particular stitch pattern is limited, however.

For this rippled double jacquard, I used 2 ends of UKI's 5/2 mercerized cotton on a bulky knitting machine with ribber.

Yes, it's my (sometime) avatar --  2 ends each of  Deep Beige, Spice, Mead, Light Orange, Gold Dust  

A single end of 3/2 would probably also be a good choice for the bulky or mid-gauge, depending on the type of fabric.  Having the 5/2 around in the studio is more versatile, since it can also be used on a standard gauge. The UKI mercerized is available in about 65 colors.

More recently I've used a single end of 5/2 on a standard gauge for a racked stitch pattern with no difficulty. The yarn is smooth. With a large enough stitch size and proper weights (I recommend weights even on a Passap with this yarn.) the carriage will moves easily. The stitches are crisper and more defined than with a wool. Lacy effects made with needles out of work (tuck lace) are more pronounced, because there is not a lot of  "pulling in" (that is, not much recovery from the horizontal stretching by the machine) when the fabric is off the machine.

1 end 5/2 mercerized or "perle" cotton in Deep Beige

The Ecocot from Silk City Fibers is the certified organically grown and dyed choice and comes in 27 colors. This cotton lacks the subtle sheen of a mercerized cotton, which is a plus for many designs. Using a standard gauge machine, I knitted this 1x1 basic tuck pattern (brioche) using 2 ends with the medium stitch size without any difficulty. The yarn is approximately 16/2.

2 ends 16/2 Ecocot in Aegean Blue

I cannot give a weaver's perspective on these yarns, and I haven't hand knit or crocheted any of them. But I can honestly say that I enjoy working with cotton as much as the wools, and it's my fiber of choice for tuck lace stitch patterns.
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Last edited 5Mar2012