We visited a park recently covered in cottonwood seed fluff; of course I had to try to spin it.

There is good reason the cottonwood tree is named after the plant. The fluffy seeds look similar to the fibrous cotton seeds, but are much smaller. The fibers are short, less than an inch, which made spinning a high twist with a stick a challenge. It would have been better to use a tahkli spindle or chakra, which are designed for short fibers, but it was a walk through the park, so I used what was at hand. I also didn’t prep the material at all, but spun from clumps of seeds, taking out non-fibrous material as I went.

It took me the better part of an hour walking the park to spin a small amount of yarn because I was not getting enough twist in and it kept drifting apart. When we were done at the park, I had my eldest help me fold the single in half, and I added some twist to ply it, just to see what it looked like. It was fluffy and soft with a pretty luster.

Note, I am allergic to cottonwood, but is a nasal allergy, not a contact allergy, so I was quite sniffily by the end. I have spun it now, though, so can stop wondering if it is possible.