Bee Stitch Cloths FO

Pattern: Bee Stitch Wash Cloths

Source: Yarn Harlot Blog August 2013

Yarn: Rowan All
Colours: "Organic"#178 and "Bleached" #182

Source: Romni Wools Toronto

Needles: 4mm

Start: December 20, 2013 Finish: January 8, 2014

This Aran weight 50/50 Cotton/Nylon was fabulous to work with. (I love the tactile experience of knitting so its entertaining to experience how changing from one kind yarn to another feels "refreshing" to the hands.) This time it was a nice to change to the firm, cylindrical feel of cotton after the wooley wool of Shearer and this stuff felt pretty "beefy" even after the Super Bulky Alpaca of the Drop Stitch Cowl.

The Harlot's recommended "Bee Stitch" yields a substantial but manageable cloth for washing face, body or dishes.

What I should have done at the outset, will do in future, is divide the balls in half by weight before I start knitting. There's no magic to making an exact size so why not ensure bang for the buck with two per ball?

The Yarn Harlot, from whom I copied the idea, works from a cone of yarn - much better suited to mass production -no ends sewn midway into one of these things or wasting the better part of a ball if the remnant is insufficient to making another without a join.

I experimented with the edges for the wash cloth trying three different approaches before casting off the first one. For the dish cloth version I opted to drop a distinct edging altogether.

I also decided to forgo making any with the pink yarn. 'Not sure why, because when I started knitting these I was kind of saving the pink for the last as I was looking forward to working with it the most.

My Aunt worked up 7 "Spa Clothes" in Bee Stitch (using worsted weight cotton yarn) and packaged each up with a beautiful bar of French milled soap tied with a fabric bow. Hers were bigger than a regular wash cloth and in worsted, with her more relaxed natural tension, more open and drapey. They were beautiful and well received Christmas gifts.

In a season of gift knitting mine were started as gifts but finished as keepers. Such a selfish knitter!