Naturally Colored Cotton

Yep, naturally colored cotton grows right on the cotton plant! For most people naturally colored cotton or as some refer to it "color grown" is unknown to them, we were one of them. I pride myself on knowing a lot of history, esp in the fabric and textile world of the early 19th century, since I do a lot of research on natural fabrics & dyes, ect. And I have always been particularly fascinated with the cotton plant. We have been seen stopped along the highway picking up tufts of cotton when harvest time was in its height in cotton country (you get free seeds too!). But this one was news to me. It has quite a history. Did you know that some of the cotton colors of the Peruvian people included Mauve, Brown, Yellow, Pink and Blue? Tho some believe the oral traditions of some of these colors could be just a myth. However, the America's are one of the places you used to could find colored cotton growing in the fields in ancient and not so ancient times. Now, thanks to the dye & textile industries of the mid-1800's we rarely can find colored cotton and some colors may be lost forever. The colored cottons were pushed out because they had short fibers that made it too hard for the machines to work with. Spinning it from hand was good, but the white cotton reigned supreme since it was easier to dye, and easier for the machines to process it. And then came the southerners who thought they would leave the harder to deal with colored cotton for the slaves who were restricted from growing white cotton. That left them unable to sell the colored cotton. So much of the colored cotton was lost in time. There are a few places where you can find colored cotton seeds being sold from heirloom crops. Some found benefits such as a hardier cotton crops and more insect repellent as good reasons to continue tradition and keep harvesting it.