Ashford Caterpillar Cotton Sport Weight Yarn

Ashford's Caterpillar Cotton is a sport weight yarn that behaves like a heavier one. It's spiral plied, with a fine binder wrapped around a softly spun unmercerised cotton core, which is what Ashford means when they describe it as having twice the bulk for the weight of the yarn. When you're sizing a warp, trust the grist over the hand. 743 yards on a 200 gram cone works out to 1,685 yards per pound, which sits squarely in sport territory. Lace weight runs past 2,600 yards per pound, so this isn't a lace yarn.

The dyed variegated pattern and the soft, lightweight texture make it a pleasure to weave, knit, or crochet with. It's voluminous without being heavy, and it comes out next to skin soft. Use it on its own, or pair it with a solid colored cotton.

Product details

Yarn weight: Sport

Texture: Crimpy, spiral plied

Put up: Cone

Unit weight: 200 grams (7.05 ounces)

Yardage: 743 yards (679 meters)

Grist: 1,685 yards per pound

Wraps per inch: 20

Sett, loose plain weave: 10 epi

Sett, firm plain weave: 12.5 to 15 epi

Sett, twill on a shaft loom: 18 to 20 epi

Knitting needles: US 2 to 3 (2.75mm to 3.25mm)

Fiber content: 100% unmercerised cotton

Care: Gentle machine wash, tumble dry low, do not bleach

Check the sett against your own cone

Wind the yarn around a ruler for one inch, laying each wrap against the last without crowding them or letting them stack, then count the wraps. You should land near 20. Half your count is your balanced plain weave sett, which is where the 10 epi figure comes from. Count more than 20 and sett a little closer. Count fewer and open it up. Either way, sample before you commit a full warp.

Using it as warp

As warp this yarn wants an open sett. Ashford's own Spring Shawl uses a single cone as both warp and weft at 7.5 ends per inch and 7.5 picks per inch, beaten gently to keep the weave balanced. That's looser than the 10 epi in their own sett chart, and it's a useful reminder to sample instead of following a table. At that sett it suits rigid heddle looms well. The twill figure above is published for multi shaft looms, so it applies on the Ashford table looms.

Wash a sample before you wash the piece

Cut a length off the cone, make a swatch of at least 6 inches, and measure it. Wash and dry that swatch exactly the way you'll treat the finished piece, measure it again, and work the difference into your warp length. This cotton is unmercerised and it's meant to full and soften in the wash, so the fabric you cut off the loom isn't the fabric you end up keeping.

About Ashford

Founded in 1934 by Walter Ashford, Ashford is a world leading maker of spinning wheels and weaving looms. They work from New Zealand Silver Beech sourced from sustainably managed, Forest Stewardship Council approved forests, and they've produced more than 800,000 wheels and looms.

Please contact us with any questions or concerns regarding your order at (509) 536-7746 or sales@paradisefibers.com.