Warning: this is an extremely long pattern.

I don’t mean the actual coaster knitting pattern, which is really very simple. It’s just a stockinette square with seed stitch border, and the stitches are so big that 10 stitches by 10 stitches makes a nice-sized coaster (not counting cast on and bind off). No, the coaster pattern is quick, short, and simple.

It’s the rest of it that’s extremely long.

Aside from the knitting pattern, I also show you how to spin yarn. And not just any yarn- cotton yarn. From cotton balls.

My story starts towards the end of summer 2014. I went to a farm fest, was drawn in by the fiber arts section, and came home with a drop spindle and some wool roving. It was all spun up by the end of the month. But then I despaired- there were no more stores around me that sold wool roving, and what I found online seemed a bit pricey to me. I began searching other options.
Could I spin the milkweed fluff across the street?
Yes, but I had to card it with wool. One option out.
What about the other fluffy, seeded material I found next to the milkweed?
Tried; fell apart.
How about the milkweed stem?
Yes, like flax. But it must be harvested in late fall.
Cotton balls?
The idea struck an internet searching frenzy like a match strikes a flame. I looked everywhere: blogs, forums, yahoo answers. But I didn’t really find anything. There were places that didn’t say much of anything, and others that said you could, though none really showed how to do it. But I went ahead and experimented anyway.

Turns out; it works! And it works well! Cotton balls are like little balls of roving that you can simply unroll, split, draft, and then spin into custom made yarn! No carding or anything! And then, when you’re done, you can tie-dye it to make it even more custom made!

So that’s what this pattern really is- how to make yarn out of cotton balls. I also explain how to make a drop spindle to spin them on, show you how to knit your cotton ball yarn on pencils, and last but not least there’s the actual knitting pattern. Everything used in this tutorial/pattern you should be able to find just laying around your house.

I hope you enjoy it and much as I have!