Mercerized cotton yarn... what's mercerized?

It's a good thing! It's not like some modern treatments where fibers are soaked in chemical and then there are toxic chemical residues on the fibers and yarns. Mercerizing works on a cellular level of the cotton so there's no need for the chemical to remain on the fiber, it's all rinsed away. Higher quality cottons are mercerized because it makes the yarn softer, shinier, stronger, brighter colored and washable. Mercerized cotton is cotton that has been heat treated to be colorfast, so no fading, and it's also shinier and smoother than non mercerized cotton and it makes the yarn shrink resistant or shrink proof. I also think it's stronger because only long staple fiber cotton can be mercerized. The process is safe, it won't make you sick if you use mercerized cottons, the sodium hydroxide is gone from the cotton because the cotton is rinsed in solution that neutralizes the acid. It's rinsed in clean water, dried, dyed and put up in balls, spools and cones. The process changes the cotton on a cellular level, so no chemical residues need to be the fibers. Knitted and crocheted item made from mercerized cotton have a higher quality look, they don't develop the short fuzzies as easily, and the yarn itself is easier to handle and work with.

Mercerized Cotton Yarn

I looked at at all the sites that listed patterns using #1, but not one of them gave any kind of gauge. I found out #10 weight is considered bedspread cotton and is 3 or 4 plys depending on the manufacturer. #3 cotton is suitable for attaching seed beads, which are pretty small, so it has to be thinner than #10. Logically, #1 weight must be the thinnest of all. Lily is the manufacturer, but their web site is temporarily down, so I got no further. I don't know if this helps, but I sure hope so.

Mercerized cotton has a higher luster (sheen) than untreated cotton, will shrink less, and is stronger when spun. Most sewing thread was mercerized cotton up until polyester thread came on the market.

I did a quick Web search for reviews of the yarn (I've not used it myself). Here are links to what others who *have* used it said about it:

http://www.wiseneedle.com/yarndetail.asp?id=3449

http://www.knittersreview.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCH...

http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t... (scroll 2/3 page down)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercerised_cotton