All Caught Up in Cotton Blends

Debate about ethically sourcing yarn can get heated! Just check out some knitting and crochet forums and you’ll see. Of course, the world we live in is more complicated than ever before. What are ways to make ethical choices? Let’s take a deep dive into cotton and cotton blend yarns – and see if they can be a feel-good purchase. (Spoiler: they are an excellent option when weighing out the impacts you could be dealing with, but it comes with some caveats.)

What Makes Cotton Blend Yarns Different?

Cotton blend yarns are pretty much what they sound like. A yarn made with cotton and something else blended together. Cotton blends that are popular are cotton and acrylic, cotton and bamboo, and cotton and linen.

The choice to blend a couple of different fibers together is often made to try to get the best features of both fibers out of the yarn. Cotton is notoriously soft, skin friendly, breathable, and absorbent. Blending cotton with a synthetic, like acrylic, polyester, or nylon, makes it significantly more resilient. Synthetic fibers don’t wear down as quickly, and therefore lend strength to cotton when blended with it. Blends like these are popular choices for projects like baby blankets – when frequent washing and constant use are factors for wear and tear.

Cotton Blends and Sustainability: Are Cotton Blends Eco-friendly?

More and more crafters are becoming conscientious about their choices and the wider implications and impacts of those choices. Many of us are interested in doing our part for sustainability – including considerations to fair labor and environmental impact.

Cotton, historically, has been a mixed bag as far as environmental impact goes. The use of pesticides, fertilizer, and water for crops has sometimes been scrutinized for environmental impact. There are also still some areas of the world that have unfair labor standards for the harvesting of cotton.

Don’t panic! The cotton industry has made huge progress on commitment to sustainability. Goals for cotton farming include reduced water usage, land conservation, soil preservation, reduced greenhouse gasses, reduced energy use, and more! Cotton farmers in the US request roughly half as many insecticide applications compared to the previous generation of farmers. All of these make cotton much more sustainable now.

The biggest concern among fiber artists about fiber blends tends to be the synthetics used these days. Even in this area though, options exist! Many cotton blends are available using recycled synthetics now, to reduce the impact of the non-natural fibers.

Choosing Cotton Blends for Sustainability

As mentioned above, blending two different fibers together is often done with the goal of getting the best of both. Cotton blends are a great example of this – the durability of synthetics and the softness of cotton. While cotton has made great strides – sourcing where your cotton is grown to make sure fair trade and labor is part of its journey to your cart can be difficult. There are some yarns that include certifications of fair trade and labor – but not all. Similarly, there are a lot of yarns that recycle synthetic materials – but not all.

Cotton blends give you the strength you need and the softness you enjoy – and arguably reduce the impact from both fibers by finding a middle ground. Doubly so if your yarn choice has the recycled content and certifications I mentioned.

But let’s not forget! Cotton is also often blended with other natural fibers too! Cotton and bamboo gives you a lovely shine and silky smoothness. Cotton and linen, which is very popular among weavers, gives you the sturdiness of linen and the softness of cotton. As an aside, did you know that linen softens up the more you wash it and move it around?

It’s also important to recognize that small shifts lead to big changes. For some fiber artists, completely cutting out acrylic is an unrealistic switch to make for various reasons – skin sensitivities, budget, and ease of care are just a few. But small changes, such as moving to blended fibers, are still steps toward sustainability. Manufacturers also listen to the market – if the demand for more sustainable yarns increases, those products will be produced more and become more widely available.

Cotton Blends at the End: Biodegradability

Cotton blends have more biodegradability than synthetics – because cotton is biodegradable. Depending on the fibers in the blend, the yarn might be completely biodegradable (linen) or only partially (acrylic). Some biodegradability is better than none, though. There have also been important steps in making more environmentally friendly synthetics – there are now biodegradable nylons and polymers.

There is also a concerted effort to recycle fibers as well! Some recycling centers may take certain yarns – but you have to research to find ones that do. You can also upcycle yourself! Taking yarn scraps and using them as stuffing for other projects, unraveling projects and working the yarn into something new, un-yarning it to spin the fiber all over again; the possibilities are only limited by your creativity!

The options for sustainability are numerous. Whether you limit your synthetic fibers by choosing cotton blends, upcycle whenever you can, or stick to natural fibers – every bit of effort to be eco-friendly counts. It’s a complex world we live in, and we all do the best we can with the resources we have.

Do You Enjoy Cotton Blends?

I recently have been working in a lot of cotton – it is the season for it as we head toward warmer weather! I hesitated to work with some cotton blends when I first started crafting, but I’ve also learned a lot since then. I’m very excited to work with some cotton blends that I got recently – and be able to compare them to other yarns I have worked with more.

If you want to work with some cotton blends, check out our shop! Bonus – until the end of April, we have a cotton sale, and a lot of cotton blends are included! If you pick some up, let us know how you like it – it might surprise you!

If you’ve already worked with lots of cotton blends, tell us about your favorite cotton combos below!