Knitting -- cotton and linen

I've worked with a cotton-merino blend called Cotton Fleece (worsted) and Cotton Fine (fingering/DK). They work up well and there are enough colors that you can use them in Fair Isle work. They are hand wash/air dry and they wear very well. I have pairs of socks in this yarn that have lasted something like 15 years without needing the heels to be darned, and I have started throwing them in the dryer on "less dry" to get some of the water out of them before turning them inside out and hanging them on the clothesline.

But Cotton Fine is too heavy for summer. Comfy Fingering (cotton/acrylic) is not heavy, but it is warmer than you would think from the weight. It works very well if you are going to be in air conditioning. I made a lace stole in Comfy Fingering to throw around my shoulders on cool evenings when I've been wearing something both light and cool all day.

Linen is famous for being cool. You can spend $26 per 100 gram hank for sport weight Euroflax, or $5.49 per 50 gram skein for fingering/lace weight Lindy Chain. There may be others. As I said the other week, it takes 5 skeins of Lindy Chain to make a sleeveless summer tee that is both light and cool.

Linen needs special treatment and there are things about it that I've seen two opinions on.

1. If you buy linen that comes in hanks, you have to wind it to prevent kinks and knots. Use a cardboard tube or some other kind of holder and wind the hank onto it for a ball of yarn that will pull smoothly. More than one site says to do this twice to help soften the yarn. The other big issue with linen yarn is lint (the words are related) so do your winding outside or you'll have lint all over the house.

2. Use a slightly smaller needle to knit with. I've worked Euroflax on size 3 needles, instead of the size 4 I generally use for sport weight; I used size 1 with Lindy Chain.

3. DO A SWATCH. Then wash it and block it while it is still damp. Then you'll have an accurate estimate of stitch counts.

4. Before wearing your finished garment, wash it and wet-block it. Every time you wash a linen garment, it gets a little softer, but the color never fades.

5. Don't do ribbing: do seed stitch at edges or simply bind off. However, I have seen patterns that do put ribbing at the hem. I also saw one pattern that left the edges raw but I thought it looked unfinished.

6. Don't do steeking at armholes. If you are going to have sleeves, leave the edges of the armholes raw. Linen does not hackle, unlike woolen yarn, and steeking will unravel..

The real controversy is whether you can do stockinette in linen. One site says no, but another has a pattern done in stockinette. What's more, it's not just in linen yarn, it's in linen tape!

It's up to you, cotton or linen. Try a top in each and see which is more comfortable in hot weather!