Handspun Organic Cotton Yarn – Free Patterns & Tips

As the summer heat (and humidity!) gets more oppressive, I find myself working more and more with organic cotton. It’s soft, it’s lightweight and it doesn’t make me all sticky when I spin on the porch. (Wondering why organic cotton? Read this.)

But as I stock the shop with a rainbow of handspun organic cotton yarns, I’ve been getting asked: “What can I make with it?”

The short answer: Anything.

What? You want more than that?

Ok, the long answer.

First, the details:

You can get Handspun Organic Cotton right here.

This yarn is handspun into a smooth worsted  to heavy worsted weight. I suggest using needles that are US 8-11. But of course, everyone’s knitting is different, so you may need a different size!

A few things to remember when working with cotton:
-It’s not as elastic as wool, so your fabric won’t “bounce back”. This means you’ll probably want to avoid knitting things that might sag (like skirts or shirts).
-Cotton is heavier than wool, which contributes to the “sag factor” if you make something big.
-Because of it’s inelasticity, it may be harder on your wrists. I combat this by using circular needles, so there’s not so much weight on one wrist at a time.
-Cotton can be machine washed! But if it gets caught up in your washing machine, it’ll be pulled out of shape, so I always handwash (if you have a front-loader that won’t happen).

Pattern Ideas:
I’m  making a shawl with the cotton and banana yarn. I’ll be releasing the pattern next week (but here’s a sneak peek).

Until then, here are a few other ideas:

• Le Slouch, a beret (on Ravelry)

• Bubby, a bear (on Ravelry)

• Simple Baby Bib (on Ravelry)

• knitCOWL (a cowl!), a Free Ravelry Download

What are you making?

See what everyone else is making by checking out the Handspun Organic Cotton Ravelry page here.

You can also share ideas, thoughts and your projects in the Blonde Chicken group on Ravelry.

What would you make with Handspun Organic Cotton?