String, twine and yarn

As always time slips by all to quickly and the Vintage in the Vale fair I'm so looking forward to is approaching at a rate of knots.  Lately I've been experimenting with crochet string and twine to create pampering gift sets for my stall.  I saw Alexandra's crochet bathroom bowl and decided to have a go at my own version.  I used rather thinner string with some lovely bakers twine to crochet a cylinder shape and added a scalloped rim.  Then I wanted something to put in the bowl and crocheted a simple facecloth and some spiral scrubbies.  I'm hoping to add small locally made soaps to finish off the sets.

I first saw these spiral scrubbies on pinterest and following the link came to Natalie's excellent instructions.  It seems these have been around for a long time but it was the first time I'd seen them.  I really like look of the spiral and they are quick and easy to make.  They make sweet small gifts on their own and when I was trying to work out some packaging found two scrubbies and a small soap fitted neatly into Papertrey Ink's Favor It Box 2.

I think I'll be making more of these.  I used 4ply natural cotton yarn that is lovely and soft but will stand up to bathtime well.  I also tried some Rowan Handknit Cotton dk which also crocheted up nicely but made a rather more substantial scrubbie good for exfoliating.  Here's the set using the chocolate Rowan yarn.

Lots of bloggers very generously put patterns and tutorials on their blogs so that we can all have a go at making lovely things.  Now, I've never written a crochet pattern before but if there is any interest in these bowls (can't think of a better word for them at the moment) I like to write instructions for the pink one.  Please leave a comment on this post if you'd like me to have a go.