Practicing on Dish Cloths

I'm not a big fan of green living.  Actually, it's more accurate to say that I am not a big fan of making major inconvenient lifestyle changes just so I can say I'm living green.  That said, I'm all for helping the environment, within reason.

So, when I saw some patterns for dish cloths, I thought, "Hmmm. Could I make some of those?  Would my husband use them?  They can be thrown in the wash for cleaning and we'll save money on paper towels and help the environment, too.  It's a win-win."

It's really a win-win-win because I can practice new stitch patterns on them without worrying if I make a mistake.  It's just a dish cloth, right?

The photo here shows a few that I have made.  They knit up quickly and my confidence in trying new stitches on other projects has dramatically increased - and I'm not just knitting swatches for practice.  Not that I mind swatches, but my knitting time is so limited that I'd much rather be more productive.

(One of the cloths in the photo is dirty because it was on active duty in the kitchen at the time I wanted to take the picture. By tomorrow, it will be clean as a whistle.)

My husband loves the dish clothes! He's a very frugal guy, so anything that saves money is really good in his book.

I've also learned that those with raised patterns are more absorbent and scrub better (without scratching teflon or glass!). 

Gee, I sound like I'm trying to sell these things, but I'm really not.  But wait a minute...that's not a bad thought......

Cotton yarn and size 11 (or smaller) needles - that's all you need.  I suppose you could use larger needles, but at some point you want them to be less "holey" than more "holey," right?

So, that's my knitting tip for the day.  Practicing on dish cloths. Enjoy!