Yes - and to this day, I make napkins from cotton scraps, roll hemming them. Great tranquilizer and accomplishes something while watching TV.
I still use the old 'flour sack' towels for dish wipers, hand towels, to make cafe curtains, to clean with...I buy one 6 pack of paper towels a year.
LOL - you picked cotton. Up here, it was potatoes. We kids got out of school 2 weeks in the fall to help pick potatoes. Didn't we love it. Out in the fields instead of in school - and pocket money we earned ourselves! Sweet. Lots of lessons there.
But Big Daddy Gub'mint protected kids right out of that opportunity.
Where do you find good flour sack towels? I have to admit that I now use a lot of paper towels in cleaning, excusing the waste with the idea that they are a more sanitary solution. I do use cloth towels and terry towels, only drying my hands once or twice a day on paper towels. - I also waste toilet paper, I suppose. :O/