Red Hat Basket Items Finished!

I didn't re-photograph the red hat cloth for this photo, because (1) I was in a hurry, and (2) I didn't have a decent backdrop that would show the items of different scale well. But here you see the finished tribble, as well as a soap bag (and the lavender soap I found in the K-Mart clearance rack).

This was my first tribble, and I found it a little difficult to cinch up into the proper shape. Maybe that's just because I tend to break my yarn, rather than cutting it, so I'm awfully aware of what happens when you yank hard on cotton yarn. I was afraid my yarn would just snap instead of cinch! I ended up with the gathered sections not quite as tight as shown in the pattern's image, but I just filled it in with a couple of extra stitches and a handle, and I'm content.

The soap bag is designed not for displaying soaps prior to use, but for holding onto them during use. It works especially well if you are as miserly as I am about throwing out anything that could be potentially useful. Those slippery little bits of soap can be popped into this bag and used right up to the end of their natural life. And the open netting and hanging cord make it possible for the bag - and soap - to dry out between uses, rather than dissolving into a gloppy mess like some other designs. My friend calls this "soap on a rope without the commitment."

Scrubby Sacks for Slippery Slivers of Soap
(c) 2007 by Jami Huisjen Scott
All rights reserved unless it's for a good cause, yada yada yada

Materials:

• Double-pointed needles, size 8 (or so)


• Cotton or hemp yarn of your choice (so long as it is durable and dries easily)


• yarn needle

For the sack shown, I used peaches & creme and size 10 needles, because that's what I had handy. Gauge is not important for this pattern.

Instructions:

Cast on 40 stitches, divided evenly on 4 needles.

Work 4 or 5 rounds of the reversible stitch of your choice. For the sack show, I used k2 p2 ribbing, but seed stitch works just as well. It all depends on whether you want the neck of your sack to pull in or flare decoratively.

Round 3: *yarn over, knit 2 together * and repeat steps between * for the rest of the round.
Round 4: knit

Repeat rounds 3 and 4 until the net portion of your work is a tube roughly 3 inches wide.

Decrease round 1: *knit 3, knit 2 together* and repeat for the rest of the round.
Decrease round 2: purl
Decrease round 3: *K2, k2 together* and repeat for the rest of the round
Decrease round 4: purl
Decrease round 5: *K1, k2 together* and repeat for the rest of the round
Decrease round 6: purl
Decrease round 7: *k2 together* and repeat for the rest of the round.

Break yarn and using yarn needle, draw the remaining loops closed and sew tight. I usually run through all the loops twice with the tail of the yarn, then knot it tight a couple of times on the inside of the bag. You are going to be scrubbing with this little bag, so texture is your friend and you will want your ends to be secured firmly.

For the drawstring, single-chain with medium size crochet hook (I use my fingertip) and make a string at least 8" long. Weave drawstring in and out of the holes in the top row of netting and tie together.

That's it. Now all I have to do is finish the sewing on the attitude bag, and pack for tomorrow's trip. Tasha is pouting because I'm going to miss her play (who knew that for the second year in a row it was going to be the same weekend as my retreat!? I broke all kinds of sound barriers and rules of polite behaviour last year trying to get home in time for her Sunday afternoon performance. This year I'm the car pool, and it just doesn't seem possible or appropriate to ask 6 women to cut 5 hours off their weekend for her play.) so I'm going to try to talk my way into the final dress rehearsal tonight. Which means I have less time to do my other getting ready stuff, but I feel like I've made enough progress thus far to chance it. Besides, it means a lot to my baby girl, even if she's too much of a teenager to actually show it.