An Old Pinstrosity Fixed: Crochet Ruffled Dish Mop

Happy Monday all!! 

Today I have a solution post for one of our very first Pinstrosity posts ever! Woo! 

Nearly 4 years ago now (4 years?!?! This blog may make it out of toddlerhood!) I decided that I was going to try to make this super cute dish mop:

http://missabigailshopechest.blogspot.com/2011/02/vintage-design-ruffled-crocheted.html

The crocheting instructions were easy, and it came together quickly. All went well at first...until I realized this was taking on Great Hulk proportions. Yet, I continued on and finished it, wondering why mine was different.

Well...this was mine. Not so cute (as is our goofy first logo).

So in my analysis, this is what I came up with (and was spot on about): 

What went wrong? 

I didn't read the directions close. Had I done so, I would have gathered the right supplies. The directions are very well written, I just failed to read them completely.   

• I used size 4 yarn, not 3. 
• I just grabbed one of my crochet hooks, not checking to make sure I had the right size. I used a 5mm instead of a 2.5mm. 

By the time I got to row 4, I knew this was already way too big. So I skipped rows 5 and 6. I can't imagine how over-sized this would be had I done all the rows in the pattern. 

How to fix this:

• Read the directions and use the suggested materials. 
• A smaller hook with the same size of yarn would have made it smaller, but not as small as the pattern makes. 

There's not much I can do to the dish mop I just made to fix it. So now I've got a Crocheted Ruffled Dust Mop.

But now there is a new solution! The pattern has been reworked to fit "regular" worsted weight yarn! Kathleen says in her post that the worsted weight (medium weight) yarn allows the dish mop to dry better so it doesn't mildew or sour as easy! So that's an added plus!

photo and tutorial from Miss Abigail's Hope Chest

I never did try out the original pattern with the right sized yarn, but I did do this new pattern with the right sized yarn for it!

Here's how mine turned out! Yea!!

I'm not a particularly fast crocheter and this was still a fast project for at just under 30 minutes. Not bad!

Go check out Miss Abigail's Hope Chest for some beautiful patterns, great resources for Hope Chests, and some positively cute ideas!