Halcyon Yarn

Homestead Cotton is one of our most versatile yarns. It has a great color range, an earthy, unmercerized texture, and it’s machine washable making it the perfect yarn for kitchens, bedrooms, and clothing fabrics. Homestead Cotton is everything except expensive. Weavers, you will find a multitude of uses for Homestead Cotton. Try it as warp and weft in dish towels and table linens, or in combination with a cotton/linen blend such as Cottolin (Item35) or a linen yarn such as Newport Linen (Item 178). For some fresh ideas check out Interweave’s Design Collections: #5-Dishtowels, #10-Table Toppers and #16-Kitchen Collection. 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 2-Ply Shetland (Item 9), Bartlett 2-ply sport weight (Item 121), or Cotton Fine (Item 129).

Homestead is also a great yarn for both machine knitting and hand knitting. Doubling or even tripling Homestead Cotton works in sport and worsted weight patterns. Using multiple strands lets you play with color. Start with six shades that go well together. Use three or four strands at at time and periodically drop one or two and pick up others. You will be amazed at how the colors blend and change.

Shrinkage – allow for 15% shrinkage when calculating weaving yardage. Also beware of dissimilar shrinkage characteristics when combining cotton with yarns of other fiber contents in stripes or plaids. Be sure to alternate threads of different fibers or use one as warp and the other as weft. Color-fastness – as always, be conscious of high contrast color combinations. If your sample suggests bleeding, pre-wash the yarn 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.