Whip it Good

Please do not ever challenge me to a towel-whipping contest.  There are only two outcomes, and neither of them are pretty.  (1) I make a pitiful attempt at waving my towel, and twisting it, and flinging it through the air, and end up with a bunch of welts.  (2) I put my towel down after the first welt I receive, get a broom, and hit you with it.

Because, you see, I can't whip a towel.  Clearly not going to public school for all of my elementary years left some gaps in my education.

I did 'whip it' one, once.  I remember most of the day clearly, although I'm a little hazy on the exact location.  I mean, it was at summer camp (the one I wrote about here), and I'm pretty sure it was near the pool.  The poor guy on the receiving end was a kid (okay, teenager) who liked to terrorize younger girls.  All I can say in my defense is that the guy started it, and I have no aim.  The one time, the only time, that I actually got a good 'crack!' from the end of my towel, well, I, um... well, lets just say I hit him in his most vulnerable spot.  Whoops!

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I must also confess that the above story has nothing to do with what I wanted to tell you about to day.  Me!  Wandering in conversation.  Imagine that!

Here's what I wanted to tell you: I made my own washcloths.

And here's what I wanted to know: Did I just cross a line?  Is that too far?

What if I told you I thought about making my own yogurt.  Am I making a move I can never come back from? I'm not sure.  I'm also not sure about knowing where yogurt comes from.  Intentionally making milk chunky, well, it weirds me out.  Either way, I (think) I want to do that.  Richard! Whats happening to me?!

Washcloths, though, do not weird me out.  I've met one or two in my time that definitely made me think twice, but making my own is completely simple and not icky.  So here's what I did!  I had this towel here, that had ripped right down the middle (hotdog, not hamburger).

I had this towel.
It had seen better days.
One day, at the Fire Academy, Handsome needed to make it lay square.
It wouldn't lay square.
So he went all The Hulk on it.
Now it's only future is as a washcloth.

Step 1: Cut the scrunched-up ends off, so you have one big square of terry cloth.
I've started thinking about clothing & things as just pieces of fabric.
Its freeing and confusing, all at the same time.

Step 2: Measure & Cut.
I recommend squares, but that's only as a general convention.
Who says we can't have triangle washcloths?
Octagons, WHO'S WITH ME!!?!
p.s.- I did 10x10 inch squares.
Because I've given in to the oppression.

Now, you've got a pile of terry cloth squares.
These will work as wash cloths themselves, and you can just go to town (or the shower) with them AS IS.
However, when you go to wash them (which I highly recommend), you'll encounter a problem:
The ends will fray all to crap.
Thus the need for Step 3.

Step 3: Finish the edges.
I couldn't decide on which of my 60 stitches would do the best job, so I tried 4.
I like the bottom one best.
But the other day, I had an epiphany, if you will.
WHY NOT HEM THE EDGES?
I don't know why not.
That may be a better idea, as these will still fray until they get down to the  stitched part.
Or, if you're not a weenie like me, you can sew on the edges of the fabric.
But I'm scared of tying bobbin knots like that.

Voila!
Washcloths!
Beige - Walmart
Brown - BB&B
Blue - Mariah's Specialty Shoppe

They've got nothin' on me!

Finding Purpose in Repurposing,

TFW