The winter knitwear market is dominated by acrylic, wool, and cashmere, none of which are produced in the U.S. However, cotton is domestically produced, and if it could replace wool-derived fabrics, would support local farmers and reduce the pollution created by global shipping. For cotton to fit this role, the team looked into cotton’s ability to be crimped to better mimic the structure of wool. To crimp the yarn, students first knit the cotton yarn, wash the knitted fabric, then undid the knit structure–or “de-knit”–the yarn, resulting in a crimp in the cotton. For this “Knit-de-knit” technique to work, students accounted for cotton’s shrinkage during the wash and chose a simple knit structure so it is feasible to de-knit. A crimped cotton fiber traps air (also called “dead air”), giving it insulating properties and allowing cotton to be a viable replacement for wool. With these techniques and the modified cotton yarn, students compared regular cotton, de-knitted cotton, wool, and acrylic yarn, testing the materials’ moisture absorption, thermal insulation, mechanical properties including fabric thickness, fabric weight, and fabric density.