Help Mom Relax with These Knitted Spa Patterns

I don’t know a mom who couldn’t use a little pampering, and there are lots of ways we can make that happen with the help of knitting. Why not whip up a scrubber or a soap sack and throw in some great soap, lotion and bubble bath? That’s a present I could get behind for sure (as well as the time to actually use them uninterrupted).

Here are some projects to make mom’s (or anyone’s) day a little more relaxing.

The Spa Scrubby and Soap Packet from Lion Brand Yarn are a great pair, and one of the best uses of bobbles I’ve ever seen. The Seamless Spa Mitt from Shelby Knits is another cute one that’s really useful, too.

Mary Anne’s Back Scrubber is the perfect thing for someone who can’t quite reach their own back, and the spa bath mat by Black Cat Designs is a great combination of yarn and pattern.

Alice Dillon has a great Spa Turban that’s perfect for wearing while in the tub or any other time you want your hair out of your way. Dot on the Run’s Spa Socks are a great way to try two-at-a-time socks, and they also have a fun textured pattern that will keep you interested. And speaking of socks, a pair of pedicure socks is always a great idea for a mom who likes that activity; this one is from Yarnspirations.

If you want to add some soap to your gift, a soap sweater like this one by Cynthia Hall is a great choice that can be embellished a ton of different ways. There’s also my soap sack, which is easy and reusable because the top opens.

A pretty washcloth can be a fun addition to a spa gift, too. Check out Kat Mcab’s Shell Spa Washcloth, Cindy Taylor’s Knitted Flower Washcloth, the adorably named Tribble (which I guess is acutally more of a scrubbie) from Abigail 1870pearl and the fun Rose Spa Cloth, which combines knitting and crochet and is also scrubby like since it’s shaped like a rose (it comes from Knitting Heaven on Earth).

Next Pattern:

Stitch dictionaries are a fun way to learn new-to-you knitting stitch patterns or to take a deep dive into a particular technique. Debbie Tomkies offers 100 cable stitch designs and thoughts on how to incorporate them into projects in her Cable Knitting Stitch Dictionary.

Each stitch pattern is shown in a large swatch photo and with written and charted instructions. Any special stitches are included on the page. The stitches are rated on a difficulty scale of 1 to 3, and the pattern notes also indicate how many extra stitches you should add to a project if you’re going to work this cable (since cables pull the fabric closer together you need to compensate for that) as well as how many stitches and rows are in the repeat if you want to design a project yourself.

The cables are arranged into sections: classic cables, combinations, all-over panels, creative cables, motifs and panels and cabled edges and borders.

It’s fun to flip through the designs to think about projects you can add a single cable or two to or make with an allover cabled design. Or you could make swatches of different cables and sew them together into a pillow cover or a throw.

At the back of the book there’s a section on general cable knitting techniques, reading charts, working swatches and avoiding errors (though it mentions working the wrong number of rows between cable turns, it doesn’t share how to count rows between cables to avoid this mistake).

It also talks about how to design your own cables, combine cables in a project, choose the right yarn and needles and determine how many more stitches you need to cast on when working cables instead of stockinette stitch. There’s also a glossary of symbols and abbreviations you may find in cable knitting and other patterns.

The book provides a good overview of things you can do with cables, as well as some fun things you might not have tried like infinity cables and horizontal cables. It’s a great book for a designer who likes to work with cables or a knitter who wants to play with different stitches in their projects.

About the book: 176 pages, paperback, 100 stitch patterns. Published 2024 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $26.99.

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