Material preferences: sock yarn or cotton?

Dear users and authors,
do you currently prefer to work with sock yarn, cotton, or perhaps a completely different material?
Let me know.

For my last project, the hedgehog in a pile of leaves, I combined both! The body is made of cotton, and the spines as well as the pile of leaves are made of sock yarn.
In general, I like using cotton or bamboo yarn for crochet, and for knitting I prefer merino, alpaca, or silk blend yarn.
I think gradient yarn cakes are beautiful, but I don’t use them very often.

For quite some time now, I’ve been working exclusively with a 50% cotton / 50% acrylic blend.

From 2-ply to 5-ply, it works for me all year round,
depending on whether I want to make something light or warm.

If I want it to be especially thick, I wind 3- to 5-ply yarn so that the number of strands is tripled.
There’s a video about this on YouTube — search for “Wolle dreifach nehmen”.

Right now, I prefer working with cotton. It’s not as warm and feels more comfortable against the skin. But I already have some proper “winter wool” on the go for a soul warmer.

Right now, I also have some silk on my needles. I always enjoy working with it. But in the next few days, I’ll be starting on some hats made from 8-ply sock yarn. But I’m picky about that, too—I don’t use just any sock yarn.

I enjoy working with sock yarn, especially when it creates beautiful color variations. However, it should have as high a wool content as possible or be blended with other natural fibers.

I also like to knit winter items from pure merino wool, sometimes with a bit of alpaca or hemp mixed in.

When it comes to cotton, I prefer it to be 100% natural. It’s great for summer projects or for crocheting bags, figures, and the like.

Anyone else want to add something?

I’m currently partial to soft merino wool, since I’m knitting baby clothes right now. Little ones can’t regulate their body temperature very well yet, so they need something warm and cozy. Tomorrow after work, I’m heading to my local yarn shop to try to find a nice shade of turquoise that goes with the colorful gradient yarn I already have. I just have to feel the yarn and see the colors in person.

I hope everyone has a lovely (crafting) evening.
Warm regards—Ina