First is Knit Loop who I discovered when my dear Instagram friend Melanie began showing their fibers in her feed. At once I knew I had to get my hands on this so I reached out to them and was so excite dto find this is in fact a small business run by a lovely gal Tamara.

First I tried the wool. It is DROOL-WORTHY and will get it's own post soon. Then I tried the cotton and it is AMAZING! It is vibrant and a good worsted weight fiber. I like the feel of it - it somehow has an almost alpaca-ish softness without being a blend at all. Very cool ply and spin on the fiber. She offers such a fantastic palette of colors too. And... like I said, it is a small business owned by a woman so you know that is a WIN right there. But man, I do love this fiber.

Next up is Northside Knit Co. What a hidden gem they were to discover at Vogue Knitting Live with my friend Chantal. On one of our late night knit sessions she had this cotton that was simply insane. The color was incredible but the feel of this for a chunky cotton was actually something I have not felt before. They dye it naturally and I was won over instantly! So the next morning Chantal and I met up to visit the gals of Northside Knit Co. and I grabbed up a bunch of this incredibly lovely BULKY Cotton!!! I cannot suggest to you enough to check these gals out.

For more outdoors and beachy wear ...

A fabulous mercerized cotton I use for summer cover ups, beach totes, market bags and all things outdoor-ish is the Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton. Now this is a heavily mercerized cotton which of course means it is ideal for those beach items but less ideal for a lighter tank top because the process of mercerizing changes the composition of the fiber. That should not deter you at all. Just keep in mind it is different in texture.