Thursday 25 April 2013

Crochet Bath Mat # 1

My little crochet bath mat production line has been busy and Bath Mat # 1 is ready to roll out and receive any wet feet coming its way! I love it!


And what I particularly love is the fact that it has turned so happily into this, instead of the Granny Square Sampler Afghan, which the squares were originally intended for. Sadly abandoned last summer, because I found the pattern just too complicated to keep going with, they lay dormant, useless and nearly forgotten for almost a whole year. But their time has come and I am so glad I couldn't bring myself to unravel them when I realised the blanket idea had stalled last autumn.


Note to self: Stay the unravelling hand of care until time has hooked it up again! No, that's not quite right but you get the gist!

The lovely thing about this use for such squares is that it raises all manner of possibilities for similar patchwork mats. You could use new patterns for blocks you fancy experimenting with, brush up your hooky skills and make a skill-challenging combination of different blocks - some of my squares, notably the ones with stars and circles in them, certainly challenged my skills - or you could use the simplest Granny Square scheme in varying colours and rustle a whole mat up without a pattern in sight.


For a bath mat, cotton yarn is perfect - washable, soft and absorbent. The bath mats in Sue's book are made using a mixture of cotton and acrylic yarn which obviously also works fine. But acrylic on its own would not be absorbent enough, I think, and I am not sure about wool for a bath mat. I used a 4.5mm hook and Rico Creative Cotton for this, which I really like, although the Creative Cotton can be a little bit splitty on the hook, if you aren't careful. But it's a good weight (Aran), it's cheap and the colours are so bright and cheerful. Some of the colours I've used, which were in my post-blanket stash, have now been discontinued, which is a shame, but it's a fantastic way of using up lots of ends of skeins - you don't need much of any particular colour apart from in the border.


The mat did need a border, I felt, once I had sewn the squares together. Something just to hold the squares together, visually and literally. I added five rows of single crochet in different colours to make a simple but satisfying edge and it gives the mat a nice cohesion, I think.

If you prefer, you can of course use the join-as-you-go method to join the squares but I like to play around with the design once all the component parts are completed so sewing them suits me better and I actually find it easier.

In the above pic, the water looks almost jacuzzi-esque. This is not because I have a jacuzzi but because H who put his head round the door to offer creative photographic advice told me it was no good taking photographs of a bath mat without water in the bath. After I had precariously balanced across said bath, now filled with cold water, to repair the omission, my critic felt that the still water was not definite enough in the resulting images and churned the surface vigorously, instructing me when to press the shutter and the pic above is the result! The bath mat remained dry, although that cannot be said of all in the vicinity!!

Another note to self: If perching across a filled bath to take photographs, make sure the water is warm, not cold, or wear a wet suit!

The bath mat is not a geometric rectangle as you can see! Something a bit "wee-wowy" has happened at the corners!


But I like the slightly quirky corners, which come, I suspect, from putting together squares that are not absolutely identical in size or may be my border edging was a bit creative in places, I'm not sure! I did my best to add a round or two here or there to the smaller squares to achieve compatibility, but the original afghan design was meant to come out a bit asymmetrical so perhaps it was never going to be perfect. If you prefer a more geometrically perfect rectangle on which to plant your post-bath or post-shower feet, it would probably make sense to choose patterns for blocks that promise identical measurements.

Bath Mat # 2 is nearly finished too. My little carpet of hexagons has grown nicely and they just need sewing together now. A job for a happy half hour in the Spring sun perhaps!


24 comments:

  1. I love this, I really do. I have fancied crocheting a bath mat for some time. This is so joyfully colourful - lots of detail to hold your interest during the making and the using. I'm looking forward to seeing bath mat #2. x

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  2. Oh, Mrs. Tittlemouse, the bath mat is great! I would hate to drip on it; but then again, it would feel so luxurious to do so.

    The corners give charms...not wonky at all! Enjoy Mat #2 in the sun.

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  3. I think I might need a new bath mat.....swoon! :) x

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  4. Some excellent bathroom cheer you've created there Miss T!

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  5. What a absolutely wonderful and colorful bath mat... Love it Hugs Judy

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  6. 'Wee - wowy' - it's lovely! Well done x Jane

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  7. Yes your bath mats are fabby do! Love them - do you put something underneath to stop them slipping? I have some cotton In my chest fom when the children were little just waiting for some thing like this!

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  8. Looking very good, I love the three centre squares on the middle row. Rowen@ Coastal Colours x

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  9. The colours look so much better than the rather staid ones for sale and the size is ideal for us novice crocheters. H is right about the water as it brings the photo to life - hope you didn't get too wet.

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  10. Such colour, such texture, such pattern.............such a lovely vibrant bath mat, and as you say a brilliant way to try out different crochet patterns.........I may just need to have a go at making one!
    kim x

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  11. Wow! What a work of art, and so practical!

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  12. Very lovely...do you put rubber on the back? m.

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  13. Love your bath mat, Elizabeth! It is so colourful and fun. I wish I had one just like that ;-)

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  14. Hi there - this is another tour de force from the Tittlemouse home and has given me some inspiration - I've got a lot of Rico creative cotton left too (and yes, I find it quite splitty too - do you think it's something to do with the way they spin it?) I also agree with you about the 'wait till you've finished to arrange the blocks' so that you get the arrangement you really want. I read a blog somewhere about how to do a crochet border and make it neat and tidy, but I can't remember where. I think basically you have to do fewer stitches in the border than there are in the accumulated blocks themselves in order to stretch to border out a bit. WEll done you! Judy.

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  15. This is so fun! An excellent idea for stash busting cotton yarns :). I love the mix of colors you used! I bet you feel super fresh after a shower standing on this garden of bright colors! :) Nicely done! ~Dawn

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  16. Oh I love it - bright, cheery, the antidote to any more grey skied days we might have. The eclectic squares make my eyes very happy

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  17. That's really gorgeous, such a good use for that cotton. I'm trying out some Drops yarn from the Wool Warehouse, the Paris is almost identical to Rico creative cotton but not quite so splitting. And it comes in 45 colours.......me thinks a bath mat could be in my future!!!

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  18. liebe elizabeth,
    your bath mat is gorgeous. I love each granny and the colours,too. really great!!!!!! I use for my cotton-crochet drops paris.
    Wish you a nice sunday,
    love regina

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  19. Such a creative idea and so gorgeous too.

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  20. Such a creative idea and so gorgeous too.

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  21. Just discovered your fab blog, what a wonderful idea I'm loving all the colour soooo much such a feast fro the eyes.

    Clare
    http://summerhousebythesea.blogspot.co.uk/

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  22. That is a delightful bath mat! I love the bright colors.

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  23. It looks fabulous, another project finished
    hugs x

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  24. Hi,

    its very good and interesting blog, thanks for sharing.


    cotton bath mats


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