What is special about Merry Heart?
Besides being cute, fast and gift-able.
Merry Heart is knit bottom up in one piece. The ribbed border on the heart is pushed around by increases and decreases, including:
- Assia Brill’s T-increase and p T-increase.
- My new Knit Bowl increase and Rib Bowl increase that mirror the multiple slipped stitch decrease.
- All four of the lifted increase family. I filmed a video about working lifted increases on top of lifted increases without puckering the rows.
- (k1, yo k1) in one stitch.
- The usual k2tog, ssk, p2tog ssp and their triple stitch kin.
All of these increases and decreases were chosen for their decorative qualities. Since both sides of a washcloth come to hand, I wanted it as reversible as I could get it. I didn’t manage identical, but both sides are so tidy! But not so tidy that I got lost because I couldn’t tell if I was on a RS or WS row: the stockinette of the heart was knit on a RS and purled on a WS, so I kept track. I did need to put a sticky note on my chart though.
Before blocking, Merry Heart doesn’t look square on the needles and the heart balloons out. But after blocking, all that is fixed like a magic trick. Well, you know, a magic trick where you pull on your knitting a bit, but still…
What did my testers think about Merry Heart?
They also suggested some tweaks and clarifications, so I acted on them.
Yarns for Merry Heart
The gauge will be a bit smaller, and the cloth a little larger in worsted than in DK yarn.
1.5 ounces, 45g of dk or worsted weight cotton some suitable yarns include:
• Sample shown in Cotton DK from Paintbox Yarns [100 percent cotton; 137 yds, 125 m per 1.76 ounces, 50 gram skein]
• Sugar’n Cream Solids [100 percent cotton; 190 yds, 174 m per 3.99 ounces, 113 g]
• Dishie [100 percent cotton; 190 yds, 174m per 3.53 ounces, 100 g]
• 24/7 Cotton [100 percent cotton; 186 yds, 170m per 3.53 ounces, 100 g]
• Sudz [100 percent cotton; 80 yds, 73m per 1.76 ounces, 50g]
• Everyday Cotton Solids [100 percent cotton; 120 yds, 110m per 2.50 ounces, 71g]
• K and C Essential [100 percent cotton; 180 yds, 165 m per 3.53 ounces, 100g]
There are so many cheerful cotton yarns in happy colors. No need to stick to pinks and reds like I did.
The charity of Merry Heart
Merry Heart is a triple pun: is is decorated with a heart, it’s published on Valentine’s Day, and it’s to benefit the new cardio/thoracic unit at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya. I was listening to Dr White speak in my church about the new unit on Valentine’s weekend two years ago, and thought of this pattern. My Mom suggested that I name it, and the other patterns in this series, after hearts in the Bible, so this one is Merry Heart after Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.” (New King James Version).
For each washcloth pattern sold, I will donate $3.00 for equipment for the building, Account #35270
I hope knitting this cheerful cloth makes your heart merry.
Thank you
My test knitters were: Bookqueen, Anne S, Barbara R, Scavenger1492, susan B, Maureen M, Kimberly B, angelina C, Nancy C, Lindsay L, Cat T, Donna M, Birgit B, Angelina N, Demophobe, Barbara R, and Susan B
My Technical Editor was Corrina Ferguson
Thank you!