Right now I have several LARGE works-in-progress going on, and the finish line for them still looks very far off in the distance. So I like to break it up with some smaller, more immediate gratification projects -- like crocheting dishcloths:)
There are many, many ways of making these, but I like a little variety, so I got The Big Book of Dishcloths, which has 99 different patterns (what's amazing is that this is not nearly an exhaustive list -- you can still find plenty of others on the internet and elsewhere).
This is a very straightforward, no frills kind of book. The photographs of the stitches are in black and white, stitch explanations are brief but sufficient even for me -- a fairly new crocheter -- to follow. There is an element of surprise to it because stitched up in 3-D looks a little different from the 2-D photos. Below is a page from the book:
And here is #80 all stitched up:
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| #80 |
I enjoy the book because it gives me the chance to try lots of different stitches and techniques on a smaller scale. There is no difficulty rating so I just pick and choose ones that I think I can do and am interested in doing. This is one of the first ones I did:
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| #12 |
Here are some more. The bottom two are recently done and haven't been through the wash yet. Unfortunately it looks like I'm getting worse at keeping them square.
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| #21 |
Part of my problem is making the foundation chain too tight. I think I actually crochet a little loose, so I have to exaggerate the foundation chain. My other BIG problem is putting an edging on. In this picture below I think I did too many stitches on the left side.
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| #83 |
This last one was so crooked even I didn't want to use it. I unravelled the whole thing and redid it from scratch. It's a lot better now although one of the corners is still stretched out.
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| #24 |
I enjoy making them but there's still a lot of room for improvement. Any of you crocheters out there have any tips for me?
I like working at small projects and will look for this book. I would enjoy making these. You can probably use those that aren't perfectly square and maybe stretch them when they are wet. To be a good dishcloth doesn't matter if they aren't square anyway. I love the variety!
ReplyDeleteI just bought a book (24 pattern dish cloths) to start remembering how to crochet...so far I haven't finished one...so I think these look great!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great book! And I quite agree about needing small projects to run alongside bigger ones or one gets dispirited! I think your results look very encouraging - what a lovely way to try out new stitches. I also have a problem with crocheting things square and my blankets always seem to be smaller at the bottom than the top! I think it does help crocheting the foundation chain with a bigger size of hook. Most of my crochet is done with a 4 mm hook but I always use a 5 mm one for that pesky foundation chain partly because it makes it easier to crochet into for that first row if the chains are not quite so small, so you might find that helps. The other thing I didn't get right initially was making sure I started each row with a turning chain of the right length so it may be worth experimenting with that too. Hope this helps! Elizabeth x
ReplyDeleteI don't do the dishcloths since I have so many friends and family who keep me supplied. I do like the variety of stitches and the size of the project. I wonder if one could make an afghan from some of these patterns using regular yarn. That would appeal to me mightily. You're doing great!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely no suggestions from me...admiration only!
ReplyDeleteI never learned to crochet. My youngest took a short term knitting class this past winter, and her teacher tried to teach me. But the learning curve is steep when you get older! I need LOTS of practice...just to get a handle on the basic stitch. (Fortunately, I learned to sew when I was young!)