Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Worthwhile Wednesday- Dishcloths

This Christmas, I got some great books on Tunisian crocheting, also called afghan crocheting. Big thanks to Fran!!!

It gives you the look of knit, but with crocheting. Perfect for me, an avid crocheter.

To try it out I used some cotton yarn I got on sale awhile back. (have you noticed I'm all about using what I already have on hand?)

I loved it!!

First I just did the simple stitch.


Then I combined it with the purl stitch for this great honeycomb pattern.


Finally I tried the knit stitch, awesome!!

Sorry for the shadow, I couldn't get it right. :(

I made all dishcloths and washcloths to get used to the technique. Very simple and a great practice, plus more dishcloths which we needed.

To boot, these are stylish dishcloths that took very little time to make and cost a fraction of what even walmart charges. Since I got my yarn on sale, all in all my dishcloths maybe cost at most .50 cents a piece, for a much better look.

Next up is a bag for my bible study materials. I've been using a reusable grocery bag, and it's time to move up.  I'm thinking I can make my bag for less than $3, using similar cotton yarn that I got at a fraction of the price.


Below is the pattern for the honeycomb cloth. If you need clarification on any of it, let me know.

Next up on my crocheting adventures: plarn. What's plarn? It's "yarn" made out of plastic grocery bags. The bad thing about plastic grocery bags is they aren't strong enough. Now, we use reusable bags to shop, but every once in awhile we get stuck with plastic bags and before we started using reusable bags we have a bunch leftover!

My goal is to use up my plastic bags, making stronger crocheted grocery bags. Plus if they get worn out or dirty, off to the recycling bin. A great way to reuse and then recycle later!  (Even better, it gives us more reusable bags to take to the store without purchasing any!)


Look for some plarn adventures in the near future and happy dishcloth making!!

Honeycomb pattern dishcloth-

Chain 25, using h sized Tunisian hook and cotton yarn of your choice. Organic natural peaches and cream brand is always a favorite of mine!

Complete a foundation row forward- insert hook in second chain from hook. Yo, pull up lp. *insert hook in next chain. Yo, pull up lp. Awarding another stitch to hook. Repeat from * across. You will have 25 lps on your hook.

Foundation row return- yo, pull through 1 lp. *yo, pull through 2 lps. Repeat from * until 1 lp remains on hook.

Row 1- sk first vertical bar. *tps in next vertical bar, tss in next vertical bar. Repeat from * across, ending with tss.

Row 1 return- same as foundation return.

Row 2- sk first vertical bar. *tss in next st, tps in next stitch. (hint you have staggered stitches when compared to previous row) when two stitches remain, tss into next to last st and final st.

Row 2 return- same as foundation row return.

Repeat until desired length.

Final row- slip stitch across in normal stitches, Fasten off at the end. This gives the cloth the same look at the start and end.

This post linked with Frugal Days, Substainable Ways Wednesday.

4 comments:

marie said...

I love that you crochet and also that you are making your own reusable grocery bags, very cool. I am all about reusing, recycling etc. I have a long way to go but I am trying. Beautiful family.

Grumpy Grateful Mom said...

Your dish clothes are so cute! Someone gave me a clothe like that once and it's one of my favorites.

You have me so curious about your plarn. What a great idea!

Grumpy Grateful Mom said...

Your dish clothes are so cute! Someone gave me a clothe like that once and it's one of my favorites.

You have me so curious about your plarn. What a great idea!

Natural Mothers Network said...

Hi! What beautiful website, a beautiful family and beautiful dish cloths- I'm impressed!
I am Rebecca and I write a blog called Natural Mothers Network. Each week I host a linky called SEASONAL CELEBRATION SUNDAY. It remains open each week for Sunday through to late Thursday night.
If you haven't already linked, you might like to, I would certainly love to welcome you there and introduce your blog to my subscribers!
http://naturalmothersnetwork.com
Rebecca x

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