In Which the Pirate Will Have a Clean Face.

When you want some instant gratification, crochet is definitely the way to go. It’s so much faster than knitting! I decided that a crocheted cotton washcloth would be the perfect project for my weekend, and after some searching of the Ravelry library I decided on the free Big Girl Dishcloth/Washcloth pattern, upsizing it by 150% because big washcloths just seem so much more luxurious.

My own beginnerness at crochet caused me to run into some trouble getting started, but after six or seven beginnings and watching a few tutorials on YouTube I was able to get past the first row. I probably tore out half as many rows as I crocheted; I kept missing stitches or ending up with too many stitches at the end of a row, but by the end I was cranking away at it. Not counting the several attempts at starting, it took me one evening and a solid day to make the washcloth. The next one will go faster; I’ve learned a lot about crocheting from doing this one, and if I don’t lose time working rows and tearing them out again… yeah.

I used about three-quarters of a ball of white Sugar ‘n Cream, and the finished cloth came out to be around 10.5″ x 11″. It will almost certainly stretch out to an even larger size as I use it. If I hadn’t made a bigger washcloth than the pattern specifies, I probably could have gotten two smaller ones out of one ball of yarn. As it is, I will use the remainder of the white for edging on other projects.

Things I’ve learned: The chain and the first row need to be worked a lot looser than I would have thought; that edge pulls a little tight. I’m not sure if I like the little loop from which to hang the washcloth, so I’ll see if I end up using it and then decide whether to include it in the next one. Maybe a fancier border would have been fun to try. And, I learned that washcloths aren’t too difficult at all… perhaps I’ll design one of my own! Combine a few different stitches to make a nice design and texture, add a nifty border, test it out a few times, and voila – a new pattern to offer. That makes it sound really easy…

I tested out the new washcloth on my face, and I am so thoroughly impressed that I’ve already begun a second one.

In other news, this is the blog’s five hundredth post! Wow, huh?