Retrospectively REWRITTEN DUE TO TECHNICAL Difficulties in 2026...
The simple cotton square. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t demand to be admired. It just works; in the sink, in the shower, in the rhythm of your hands as you make it. I remember the time when my crochet practice was consumed with these cotton commanders.
I didn’t know it then, but those experiments with 3D stitches, the bobbles, the ridges, the raised lines that made the cloths look almost architectural, meant developing and feeding my fascination with the craft. Cotton is heavier than wool. It highlights every wobble, every moment of hesitation, every place where my tension betrayed my mood. And still, it held together. It became something useful. Something giftable. Something that made people smile. At this time in my crafting career, I did NOT, truly did not, follow patterns, I would start, try, see something else and attempt to recreate it from a mere whisp of a memory…
I still have a full box of cotton yarn, strands of colours, both deep and delicate, that I thriftily collected in a variety of places, usually unexpected, because cotton is also, more expensive.
Cotton
Over the years as I toyed with ideas and pathways and creativity obsessions into this stitch and that, I often circled back to cotton. TOYS, CLOTHS, HATS, any of them would do. Maybe, unintentionally, by having to rebuild this page and circling back to these here first cloths, so let us enjoy and remember and restock what crocheting with cotton creates.
They’re the perfect beginners’ project: small, rhythmic, forgiving. A reminder that small steps make all the difference. Sometimes it’s just a hook, a ball of cotton, and a few raised stitches that catch the light. And despite so many things changing since this post was originally written nearly 10 years prior to this here revision, some things stay the same.
Have you caught on to cotton?
And maybe returning to the beginning with more softness, more understanding, and a sense of continuity, maybe that is not the worst thing ever. A fresh start for an old idea. A hot date with a regular babe, as some say… Enjoy:
Thanks for reading!
