Duh!

When I was making my coffee this morning, I saw another paper on the fridge with "2 square dishcloths" and "8 cotton pads" and their  weights written down.  Then I thought--did I blog those yet?  No.  Yesterday's comment about "another" two dishcloths would have made much more impact if I had already shown these dishcloths and pads, LOL!

So far, I've done 5 dishcloths and 8 cotton pads from this cotton yarn.  Years ago, when my 9 year old was a baby and I had just gotten into babywearing, I saw a pattern for a knit pouch.  Having gotten into machine knitting, I knew I could do it on the machine--though it was very difficult to figure out how much the fabric would stretch until it was sewn up and a baby put in.  To sew it up meant grafting 95 stitches, because of course I wasn't going to have a seam show!  Luckily, I hadn't woven the ends in, so I knew where the graft was and could unpick it (ugh.  Anything to save a few yards of yarn LOL).  I must have used those giant balls of Bernat Handicrafter, cause I have yet to find a yarn end.  I still have a fair bit left of this sling, and one more in the bin to unravel.

 I experimented with the  puff stitch pads.  The original pattern called for 11 loop puffs.  I found that really pouffy, and I wondered how well they would dry.  I tried both 7 and 9 loop puffs, and liked them both, though the 7 loop puff one was a slightly smaller diameter.  I will say, I think the puff stitch ones feel more like cotton pads though--not exactly fluffy, but the ones done in single, hdc, and dc have a much firmer, textured feel.  I really should try these out myself.

I tried two different patterns to get a solid square.  Well, I also tried a third idea before these two, but it wasn't quite right.  The top one, it started out having two chains in the corners, but I found that still pretty open, so I tried one chain.  Not a whole lot of difference.  The idea I had tried had no chains in the corners, but I was using hdc and perhaps the stitches were just not high enough.  The bottom one starts off with making a circle, then building out the corners.  It's a little wonky as I wasn't sure exactly where to start each side.  Funny how the colours made vertical stripes on the lower section!

While on the topic of crocheted/sewn baby slings, I just want to point out two pictures circulating.

 This one is probably not too bad, it's most like a real sling, though a little narrow at  the shoulder.  The pattern is no loner available on etsy though, so I'm assuming there was some flack about it by the bigger sling makers.  I also saw pictures of crocheted slings using an open mesh stitch (like what I've used for bottle holders).  What does it feel like after laying in a hammock for awhile?  I can't imagine it's all that comfy for baby to be pressing against the crocheted knots.

This one makes my blood boil.  If you click on it, you should be able to see it larger.  It actually says you can have your hands free!  Tell me, what will happen if she lowers her right arm? Whomp, there's baby on the floor.  This is a horrible design.  Narrow strap, NO head support.  Please don't make it.

Crocheted and knit fabric stretches.  Sometimes, that is a good thing.  A stretch wrap, made in a knit cotton, is awesome for a newborn, but we're talking knit at like 20stitches per inch.  T-shirt fabric.  In thicker yarn, the stitches are bigger, so there is more stretch over the length of the item.  Knit/crochet it tighter to reduce stretch, and you've made fabric cardboard.  As well, crochet stitches are knots.  It's never a smooth surface, like knit stitches.  I hate crocheted slippers because of this.  A sling would feel the same.  If you want to make a sling for a new mom, make a sewn one.  There are also decent no-sew ones you can create.  Or, support a WAHM and buy one.

Yarn In:  500gr
Yarn Out:  55gr (dishcloths) + 42gr (pads) + 1827 = 1924gr
Balance: 1424gr more USED than bought
Costs:  $21.19/57days = $0.37/day