Final Touch

March is both National Craft Month and National Crochet Month. In honor of both, I am writing about a lesson I learned that pertains to both. And maybe a lot of other stuff, too. It’s all about the small stuff. The little details that make something special.

It really came home to me when I found a couple of hand towels at Cost Plus. They were just plain linen that was hemmed along the sides and bottom. But then someone had hand done a blanket stitch around the edges. The last touch was what made me immediately want one (well, really two - that was all they had) – a small crochet flower with a crochet leaf behind it had been added to one corner. That little extra decoration made the towels seem precious.

Recently, I have found that I really like knitting wash clothes. It’s a small project that is great to take with and simple enough that I can talk or watch TV while working on them. They are nice to use and make a nice gift. But they seem a little plain. So, when I was making one as a gift, I wanted to add something on that would make it special, like the hand towels. I love crocheted flowers and have made them in assorted sizes, but making one for the wash cloth, along with a leaf, was a bit of a challenge. But it seemed like just the touch I was looking for. I played around with different yarns and hook sizes and even how to attach them to the finished project.

I wasn’t happy with the first end result and made a whole new wash cloth and a new version of the leaf and flower with a better way of attaching them. I was content with that one. I coupled it with a bar of naturally rose scented soap from Whole Foods, packed it up in a draw string bag I found at Michael’s and sent it off, feeling that it seemed special.

It’s easy to want to be done with a project and think about settling with just a basic fastening off and weaving in the ends, but with just a little more time, it can go from the ordinary to keepsake. Think about adding some beads, or heart shaped silver buttons, or edging, fringe, or even just a tassel.

I know that’s my plan from now on.