Saturday, December 09, 2006

Looking for a quick-to-knit Holiday Gift?

How about a spa cloth? (what we like to call a fancy face cloth, handknit with VERY nice yarn!!)

I have been knitting these all week. This is about the time when I realize that my original plan for knitted gifts is not realistic for ANYONE, let alone me-with 3 kids, endless PTA responsibilities, and waaaayyyyyy too many projects, such as the 99 handmade Christmas cards that I have only JUST begun to work on...

And yes, I realize this picture is posted sideways. For some reason it looks correct on my computer, but it keeps uploading rotated...

I have knit these in the absolutely scrumptious Blue Sky Organic Cotton. One skein will make 2 cloths. I recommend using a size 8 or 9 needle- unless, like me, you're a loose knitter. In that case, I used a 7.

Here's the pattern:
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BROKEN RIB SPA CLOTH: (8" square)

Cast on 4 stitches.
Knit one row.
Next row: K2, yo, knit to end of row.
Repeat this row until there are 9 sts on the needle.
Begin broken rib pattern:
Row 1 (WS): K2, yo,*k1, p1; repeat from * to last 3 sts, k3.
Row 2: K2, yo, knit to end of row.
Row 3: K2, yo, *p1, k1; repeat from * to last 3 sts, k3.
Row 4: repeat row 2.

Repeat these 4 rows until the sides measure 8 inches, or until there are approximately 48 stitches on the needle. (You can adjust this to whatever dimension you'd like your cloth to be.)

Begin decrease:

Continue in established rib pattern, except replace k2,yo at the beginning of each row, with: k1, k2tog, yo, k2tog, continue in established broken rib pattern to end of row.

Continue decreasing at the beginning of every row, until there are 8 sts remaining on needle.
Next row: k1, k2tog, yo, k2tog, knit to end of row.
Repeat this row until there are 4 sts remaining.
Bind off. Weave in ends. Block lightly.
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That's all there is to it! Shirani has lots of the Organic Cotton in stock. It comes in several natural colors as well as some beautiful pastels.

Yours in knitting,
Claire

2 comments:

Amber said...

I love this idea...
I drew a name for a gift exchange with my bf's family. naturally anyone who has me as a gifter exspects something handknit (egad!) I am thinking, what to do, She doesnt wear hats socks are too slow for the time I have and I dont know if she wears scarves. And viola prayers answered. I am going to bath and body works tomorrow and getting some holday theme soap and then off the the crafty place for some spa towel yarn. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! For the great gift idea, I only wish I had more people to gift now :-)
Cheers,
Amber in Edinboro.

Amber said...

I just thought of something to make it even better, make it out of hemp or some other rough fabric so that it can be an exfoliant towel...never ending ideas with this one.
Bulls eye cultured purl ;-)