Dishcloths

I haven't felt like working on my cross stitch, but instead have done a lot of crocheting.  I had a lot of Sugar 'n Cream yarn sitting around, some full skeins, some leftovers, and we had a need for new dishcloths.

I learned about the Foundationless Chain technique earlier this year, and I am hooked on it (no pun intended).  There is an excellent tutorial here and other instructions here.  The one thing I have never have enjoyed about crocheting is the chain row, and then the very first row of the pattern.  With this technique, I have a much more even foundation row with much less frustration.

These dishcloths are done in half-double crochet, and are 34 stitches across by as many rows as needed to make a square.  I crocheted in the back loops only, giving them a bit of texture.  Although you can't see it in the pictures, I then crocheted two rows of single crochet around all four sides.  It takes me a couple of hours while watching TV to make one.

I did use all the full skeins I had, and am now mixing and matching (the best I can) the leftovers I have.  These dishcloths are plenty thick and work much better than the ones I've previously made from fancy patterns.