Sunday, October 16, 2016

Yarn fail turned into a success...

Looking through my cotton yarn to make another dishcloth  I knew I was picking a least likely contender for making a pretty cloth, but wow - was I underwhelmed by just how ugly of a cloth this color would make:


It's Lily's Sugar & Cream in the color Earth Ombre in case anyone wants to be sure not to purchase it for the purpose of making a dishcloth.  Bleck.  One good thing I can say for it, though, is that I won't worry about it getting stained.  Not that I'd likely even be able to tell if it's stained...

Looking in my stash and seeing three more skeins I decided I either needed to rehome the stuff, or find something else to make with it quick so I could stop regretting I'd purchased it once upon a time.

When I came upon this pattern I thought it might provide enough openness in the crocheted fabric that the unattractive blend of colors and degree of variegation just wouldn't matter that much.

Once I started, I couldn't crochet fast enough - I wanted this yarn gone.


I had to make two bags before I used most of the offending yarn.  I have to say, while these won't be winning any beauty contests, I like these bags a whole lot more than I like that dishcloth.  And they were easy peasy to make.  After making the first one I really just winged (wung?) the second one.

The pattern makes a fairly small bag as written - though these things stretch.  A lot.  I made mine larger than the pattern (by enlarging the circle base - which was a good choice because I wanted them larger in diameter than the pattern would make), but I think I made them both a bit too long.  It's hard to estimate how much these stretch, so my recommendation is to make them shorter than you may think you actually need them to be.

Grocery day is a ways off, so I just went shopping in my kitchen and can see that these bags hold quite a bit of stuff.


Because they stretch so much, I recommend not putting super heavy items in them, but they will nicely corral bags of chips, some boxes of cereal, a loaf bread, some not-too-heavy produce... Frankly, I think these bags will hold pretty much anything that would fit in them.  The question is, do I want them dragging on the floor as they're hanging over my shoulder?!?

Now to put these babies in my car - where they can await my next shopping trip!  And Yay! for finding success again out of what was appearing to be another yarn fail.

To see what other Yoppers are up to, visit our thread this week on Ravelry.





17 comments:

  1. Might not be the prettiest yarn but the projects are great!!!!

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  2. That yarn looks perfect for bags. The stretching problem reminds me of a bag that was in fashion when I was in my teens. I was sent out with it to buy some potatoes. You can imagine what their weight did to the bag!

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  3. Actually, I thought it was very pretty. It's probably not something I would naturally gravitate too but what is it about your projects that I always love them? Do you have a magic camera?

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    1. You always make me feel good about anything I make, Sam. :) Maybe it's the wooden spoon that did the magic in the cloth pictures. I have no magic camera and didn't edit these pictures much at all. In fact, I had just a little ambient light coming in from a window for taking those pictures above. Amazingly, they are very true to the real colors.

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  4. It has to be said, it does look a little like a used cloth!! The bags however, are genius, love them and they are super practical.

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    1. Thanks, Lucy. I can't wait to give the bags a trial run for real.

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  5. I like the cloth . I would even make one in that color. It reminds me of marble and outdoors. I will try to find the yarn to make my grandson some for his first house in the country. I have a lovely large bowl with outdoor scenes on it and will put some of the cloths in....thanks for inspiration.

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    1. I did wonder if the colors might appeal to a guy, or someone who lives in a more rustic space, or even to use for camping. I'm glad you like the cloth and are inspired to use the color in spite of my not liking it. I didn't think to mention above that a cloth crocheted from this color might leave me with a totally different impression of this yarn. I hope your son likes his gift! :)

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  6. You could always redye the cloth. I love the bag.

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  7. There's nothing worse than making something and hating it! Thankfully dishcloths do seem to have an expiration date:) The bags did work up much prettier, and thanks for the tip about the length.
    JEnn

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    1. I always feel a little bad retiring my pretty dishcloths to the rag basket, but you're right, this one can be sent there with no regrets! :)

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  8. Wow! I love how you solved it! I actually like the dish cloth - it looks like a marble pattern or something. And these bags remind me of my childhood - we used them to pick up our fresh bread from a local shop...

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    1. What a wonderful way of seeing this dishcloth that I so quickly disdained. It may help me look at it differently when I use it. :)

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  9. Well I don't mind the colors... I think mixing it with another color might have made a 'prettier' washcloth but excellent use of the yarn. I always think of making those bags for groceries and such but am such a wool using gal I just don't do it. Cotton hurts my hands to knit :-(

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