Log Cabin Washcloth

A Log Cabin washcloth, colors borrowed from The Classic American Quilt Collection: Amish. (Amazon has it for as little as $2.97 a copy, and this is a great source for weaving and knitting ideas, thank you very much, Mason-Dixon Knitting.)

Pattern: Mason-Dixon Knitting and my quilt book
Yarn: Sugar 'n Cream, in brown, black, turquoise, purple and yellow
Needle: size 6 Addi Turbo circular
Finishing: Machine wash, gentle cool; tumble dry low, permanent press (this cotton yarn takes forever to dry)
Size: after finishing, about 9" X 9"
Shrinkage: 10% lengthwise, about 15% widthwise

In weaving, we always note shrinkage; in knitting, I've not seen this measurement. But it really counts when you're making a textile to be used. If you start out, as I did, with a perfect 10 x 10 inch cloth, but the washing and drying takes up more widthwise than lengthwise AND the fabric shrinks, you (or, more importantly, the person who you give it to) will end up with a very different result after the first time through the machine.

Also, finishing provides very important information about how the fabric will perform. Again, in this case, I learned that my Log Cabin cloth will be nice and thick for washing as well as really absorbent. But I also decided that I'm not as happy with the colors and yarn after even one wash; they became a bit muddied in tone and there was lint from the black yarn fuzzing onto the other colors. Next time, I'd try this pattern with a mercerized cotton, like Tahki Cotton Classic, perhaps with a strand of linen worked in.

But not a bad first effort, and I hope that the recipient will like this one until I try the second generation of washcloths.