I had the calculations of how much 2-ply yarn it took to make my vest, but now I was using a wheel instead of a spindle, and I had much more experience as a spinner. My yarn was finer, requiring more yards per woven inch, and I had a limited amount of colored fiber. By keeping careful records and weaving a sample, I estimated that I needed This cotton would get boiled twice — once after being spun into singles and again after plying.
I estimated about My calculations from actual weaving were I spun the brown, green, and white separately, and then plied brown and green together and brown and white together.
There are two panels each on the front and back and a half-panel on each side. Each shirt sleeve is made from two and a half panels. I wanted to conserve as much of the fabric as I could, so I designed the shirt to use only unshaped lengths of fabric, aside from a bit of neck shaping.
The weft was entirely made of my homegrown 2-ply cotton, too. The color blocks in my shirt are woven in, not pieced. The side panels were each woven at 22 inches long. I had to allow for shrinkage when I determined my measurements for weaving. Shrinkage in the length amounted to about 8 percent. It fit beautifully, and I created more room over my hips and for putting my hands in my pockets by ending the seams where the front and back panels connect to the side panels a few inches above the hem.
I hope this story has encouraged you to consider growing fiber plants and learning about the rewarding processes involved in producing your own clothes. Plus, you can meet some wonderful new people by joining fiber groups to learn more about spinning and weaving. Almost all commercial cotton is white, but a number of heirloom and newly developed cultivars are available with naturally colored fiber. You can choose between several shades of brown and green.
Colored cottons tend to have shorter fibers than commercial white cultivars do — the result of less selection overall, and of maintaining the unique colors of the fiber rather than focusing on fiber length and ease of machine harvest.
My beds were only separated by about feet, so pollinators merrily went from one bed to the other, muddying my original colors. What you do will depend on how patient you are, and how much space you have to devote to growing cotton.
Cindy Conner is a permaculture educator and managing partner of Homeplace Earth LLC, through which she teaches sustainable growing practices and other skills. Her most recent book is Seed Libraries. Thank you for this info! I am thinking of growing a small garden's worth of cotton for my own use, and this is very encouraging and informative.
What a great article! I only wish I could grow cotton up here in Canada smile. Join us for a much anticipated return to the Lone Star State! Earlybird ticket discounts are now available online. Cotton is used in 40 percent of the world's clothing -- from a man's dress shirt that requires 10 ounces of cotton, to a pair of jeans 24 ounces or even a diaper that takes just 2.
One pound bale can provide men's shirts. The website Cotton Today, however, argues that cotton is naturally drought tolerant and uses less water than most crops. Cotton growers also use less pesticides than 20 or 30 years ago -- about 0. That's partly because technology has made it possible to grow more cotton on less land.
Low-cost imports, many from China, have led to a fashion trend many call "fast fashion" -- purchase of clothing as almost disposables.
Americans buy about 1 billion garments from China annually, and throw away in excess of 68 pounds of textiles per person per year, according to "Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry.
So what to do with all those old unwanted shirts, and how much of it ends up in landfills anyway? Some is sold online as vintage.
How much does a shirt cost? For a shirt to be created, it needs a few steps. Design printing, materials, shirt design, yard spinning, and shirt labor are all essential requirements. What is the carbon footprint of a shirt? A T-shirt can use up to liters of water per wear, and contributes 0. Most of that is a division of the water and carbon used in making the jeans, so extending the life of the garment diminishes the impact.
How much cotton makes a pound? This year, that cotton is selling for about 60 cents a pound. What can you make out of cotton? Apparel; home textiles sheets, towels, blankets, rugs, window coverings, etc. What cotton can make? Cotton fibre can be woven or knitted into fabrics including velvet, corduroy, chambray, velour, jersey and flannel. Cotton can be used to create dozens of different fabric types for a range of end-uses, including blends with other natural fibres like wool, and synthetic fibres like polyester.
How is cotton made into a shirt? Bales of cotton fibers are spun at a facility where they are carded, combed and blended.
0コメント