I hate swatching. Yes, I like knitting, but I like knitting and MAKING THINGS, not producing effectively-useless squares of questionable size! However, since I had to measure my gauge for the pattern-writing, I ended up with a curly bit of brown wool fabric.
With a couple seams, stockinette swatches could be turned into…
-Wrist rests for keyboards and mice
-Coin purses
-Condom amulets
-Scented sachets
-Cell phone/camera pocket
-Hot pads/cold packs
Basically, the goal is to use the curling to your advantage and create a non-flat object out of it.
Flat stitch patterns like ribbing and garter stitch could be any of the stockinette suggestions above, plus:
-potholders/dishcloths (good reason to do large swatches that lie less!)
-dish scrubbies
-coasters
-hot pads (if wool or other natural fibers)
-mug cozy (if you have a tall mug!)
-wallets (get creative with combining swatches)
So…there you have it. Exciting? Not really. But it’s nice for me to know that I don’t have to feel like I’m making a swatch – I’m making something else that just happens to be swatch-shaped right now! :)
