Hi Ben,

You! saying enough, now thats funny.

Mercerizing is a finishing process, it either is or not and in 1850 there was cotton thread done with that finishing in the U. S., the only thread strong enough for machine sewing, without constant rethreading. Read my earlier answer.

There are many craft people still spinning cotton thread, finished or not, if not the repair of historical textiles in trouble.

Happy Trails!

Tom Martin (my real name)
www.Piedmontflag.com
www.Confederate-flags.org