types of cotton yarn

LaurieB wrote

on May 24, 2008 11:38 AM

 I'm slightly confused about cotton yarn.  I know that mercerized cotton is shinier than regular cotton.  But, I've also seen some mercerized cotton yarn this is spun differently.  The plies split apart very easily and it's harder to work.  Does this type have a name?  I want to avoid it, but if I'm ordering from a catalog it is sometime hard to tell.

I'm about to choose yarn for a very special baby sweater, but the baby will live in South Louisiana, so I want to make it out of cotton, not wool.  That's what led me to this confusion.

Boothacus wrote

on Jun 19, 2008 12:28 PM

I'm quite curious myself. My first use of coton was Elsbeth Lavold Patine' and it did a lot of splitting and there are many types of cotton out there that I have no idea which one to use.  I have seen some that are sort of braided like rope which seems like it would hold up better, but I am pretty inexperienced in cotton.  I'd love to know what all the terms mean under all the different cottons listed on Webs for example.

As a former New Orleanian, I would also recommend bamboo as a possible cool yarn for hot climates!  It's wonderful against the heat!

ElizaH wrote

on Jun 27, 2008 11:57 PM

 As far as I know, the braided type of cotton is  called cablé. As for the other types, some soft, thicker cotton I think is called wicking cotton. But I mostly knit "in Swedish" so the terms used here wouldn't help you ...

Eliza

LaurieB wrote

on Jun 30, 2008 3:05 PM

I've been wondering about bamboo.  Thanks for the tip. 

Boothacus wrote

on Jul 13, 2008 7:38 PM

I wonder what PIMA cotton is.  That is another name I see often and don't know what it applies to.