Southern Cross Fibre

Cutting, originally uploaded by davidscf.

Finished cutting out the pattern pieces for my flat cap. Cutting into handspun/handwoven fabric for the first time wasn’t nearly as nerve-wracking as I expected it to be.

Cotton Boll, originally uploaded by davidscf.

The baby cotton boll I photographed two weeks ago.

Hard to believe around half a million fibres are growing inside.

Flat cap yardage, originally uploaded by davidscf.

A big crafting weekend! Wove and finished the handspun yardage for my flat cap project. Now I just have to suck up the courage to sew it. My entire sewing experience is pretty much hemming, so I’m a little nervous about screwing it up.

Also finished the spinning for my Riddari (Falkland singles) and cast on a sleeve last night before bed.

Cotton Flowers, originally uploaded by davidscf.

The cotton flowers start turning pink around 24 hours after they open. Following this, the flowers wither and fall, leaving behind a small, green boll containing around 30 seeds and the all-important cotton fibres.

As the fibres continue to grow and thicken within the boll, it enlarges until it becomes approximately the size of a small fig.