Sunday, December 13, 2009

My first real FO - dishcloths

Beth and I had a chance to sit down and knit a bit a few days ago and she taught me how to work an increase.  Thank goodness, because every time I read the directions in my book I got more confused!!  It was so much better to see it done and then for her to watch me do it and make sure I got it right.  Once I had increasing down, she showed me a simple garter stitch dishcloth pattern to practice with.  I have to say that having a real pattern for practice is a whole lot more fun than just random knitting!

Look, I made three!  I knitted the first two by the pattern Beth taught me.  It is knit diagonally, as you can probably tell, and the border is formed from the increases (k1f&b) and decreases (k2tog) that also form the shape.  The middle is garter stitch, so it is perfect for practicing increases and decreases, and it has a nice knubby texture - good for scrubbing!

This is the first one I made entirely myself.  Beth cast on the first one and knitted a few rows to show me the increase.
For the third one, I thought it would be fun if I knitted the middle in seed stitch, since it makes such great bumps.  I thought that would be good for pot scrubbing.  Somehow, it didn't quite turn out as I planned...

How did my seed stitch end up as ribbing?  Not to mention that it is shaped like some sort of sea creature.

Here is how it looks when it isn't stretched out.  Even more like a weird sea creature.

And why can't I knit anything without yarn overs???  This one has two!
Oh well, at least I think it will still be fine for washing dishes.


Comparing the two side by side made me think about how interesting it is that something as simple as a change in stitch makes such a difference in the final "fabric".  And how a fabric choice and weave choice can really effect the final appearance of a sewn (or knitted) garment.  Think silk twill vs. silk chiffon.  Interesting.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with my dishcloths!  I even washed up the breakfast dishes with one this morning.  It worked great!  And did a great job wiping down the sink afterward.  How great are these things!  And when it gets gross, I don't throw it away, just toss it in the wash.  No more buying scrubbing sponges for me!

5 comments:

gwensews said...

Your dishclotes will become more square with practice, as your tension improves. I have sets of dishclothes in my "gift" drawer. I make sets, like red, white, blue, or primary colors. I fold them and tie 6 up in a bundle with a nice ribbon. Then, they go into gift baskets for hostess gifts.

Keith and Laura said...

I am Beth's sister and she shared your blog with me. I am so glad she is teaching you to knit, and you are helping her with sewing. I love reading your blog and seeing your latest creations.

Beangirl said...

You made me LAUGH! I totally agree with Gwensews above, the tension will help improve it quite a bit. However, if your seed stitch came out as stocking stitch (which is what it looked like to me but I'm not sure) then probably you didn't flip something when you should have (that's my highly technical term for moving the yarn from one place to the other, "flip"). Keep working on them, you'll figure it out. These are pretty great anyway (I sort of like the Sea Creature one, myself).

Beth said...

Fun that my sister commented!

Isn't is interesting how much more you can like a dishcloth, just because you made it?

I like giving them away as gifts, too. Congrats on your first few dishcloths. Now it's time for your sister to take over and help you make something beautiful.

Kathi said...

I love that yarn -- I see some cool socks in those!
They look great!!!