Naturally Colored and Unbleached Natural Yarns
American Maid Yarns
Naturally colored cotton 
Our American Maid yarns are made from cotton that is grown in
colors other than the traditional white. The color is a part of the
fiber and therefore does not need dye to produce the colors.
The cotton is grown in the southwestern US, and spun here in
the United States. The cotton is produced by a consortium of
growers that are using sustainable farming practices such
as Integrated Pest Management, sensible water usage and
low chemical input. We are trying to support US grown and spun
cotton as much as we can these days. This cotton comes from
different seed stock than the Foxfiber yarns that we have carried
for years. This year, we have the American Maid yarns in both Brown and Green. The Dark shades contain 100% colored lint, and the Light shades contain 30% colored cotton lint mixed with 70% white cotton lint.
These yarns are currently available in two sizes: 10/2 and a 4 ply cabled yarn. Sett the 10/2 cotton yarns just like any others: 28 epi for twill, 24 epi for lace or plain weave. If you want to pair these yarns with naturals, choose 10/2 unmercerized. The 10/2 has appoximately 4200 yards per pound. The 1.5 oz mini cones contain about 400 yards per cone. The cabled 4 ply yarn is a worsted weight yarn and knits up beautifully on size 7-9 needles with a 16-20 stitches per inch gauge in stockinette stitch. It also works well on rigid heddle looms. Sett at 10-12 ends per inch. A 1 lb cone has approximately 1050 yards on it. We have the yarns available individually on 1.5 oz, 1/2 lb or 1 lb cones or in kits.
Please note that the color in the naturally colored yarns darkens when exposed to warm, alkaline water. Just add a little baking soda to the warm wash water and watch the color deepen. These are the only colored yarns that actually get darker as you wash them.
| Yarn Color | 10/2 Unmercerized 4200 yards per pound |
4 ply Cabled Yarn 1050 Yards per pound |
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10/2 Dark Brown 1.5 oz cone $6.50 each |
10/2 Dark Brown 1/2 lb cone $22 each |
10/2 Dark Brown 1 lb cone $40 each |
Dark Brown 4 ply 1.5 oz cone $7 each |
Dark Brown 4 ply 1/2 lb cone $23 each |
Dark Brown 4 ply 1 lb cone $42 each |
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10/2 Light Brown 1.5 oz cone $6.50 each |
10/2 Light Brown 1/2 lb cone $22 each |
10/2 Light Brown 1 lb cone $40 each |
Light Brown 4 ply 1.5 oz cone $7each |
Light Brown 4 ply 1/2 lb cone $23 each |
Light Brown 4 ply 1 lb cone $42 each |
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10/2 Dark Green 1.5 oz cone $6.50 each |
10/2 Dark Green 1/2 lb cone $22 each |
10/2 Dark Green 1 lb cone $40 each |
Dark Green 4 ply 1.5 oz cone $7 each |
Dark Green 4 ply 1/2 lb cone $23 each |
Dark Green 4 ply 1 lb cone $42 each |
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10/2 Light Green 1.5 oz cone $6.50 each |
10/2 Light Green 1/2 lb cone $22 each |
10/2 Light Green 1 lb cone $40 each
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Light Green 4 ply 1.5 oz cone $7 each |
Light Green 4 ply 1/2 lb cone $23 each |
Light Green 4 ply 1 lb cone $42 each |
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10/2 Natural 1 lb cone $18 each |
Natural 4 ply 1.5 oz cone $5 each |
Natural 4 ply 1/2 lb cone $10 each |
Natural 4 ply 1 lb cone $20 each |
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We have 2 sampler kits available for our American Maid™ Yarns.
10/2 Sampler. This sample kit contains one cone of each of 5 yarns in 10/2 unmercerized cotton: Dark Green, Light Green, Dark Brown, Light Brown and Natural. Each cone weighs approximately 1.5 oz, and contains approximately 400 yards of yarn. ................. $25.
Cabled Sampler. This cabled yarn sampler kit contains one cone of each of 5 yarns in our cabled unmercerized cotton: Dark Green, Light Green, Dark Brown, Light Brown and Natural. Each cone weighs approximately 1.5 oz, and contains approximately 100 yards of yarn. .................$30.
Unbleached Natural Cotton
These yarns have a soft off-white color. The mercerized yarns are exceptionally strong and smooth. Great for dyeing and painted warps, and perfect for overshot. The unmercerized yarns are just what the towel doctor ordered. Pair them with our "Good Bye" colors for fabulous towels, throws and other cuddly fabrics.
New: The Yarns marked as "Sustainable" are now made from cotton grown from the Sustainable Cotton Project. See the Sustainable Story. The real benefit to these yarns is they are supporting projects that are dramatically reducing the amount of pesticides and water used needed to grow the cotton. At this time, the final cost of the yarn is
a little higher because it takes special effort to produce these yarns right now. Hopefully as demand and supply grows, the cost will come down.
| Yarn Size | Mercerized Natural |
Unmercerized Natural |
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| 3/2 |
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| 5/2 |
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| 8/2 |
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| 10/2 |
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| 12/2 |
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| 20/2 |
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| 30/2 |
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| 40/2 |
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| 8/4 |
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