Have you already seen ‚Grünschnabel’, my pattern for a little soap cozy?
I wrote this pattern back in 2021 after I started (more or less) banning plastic from my bathroom. You can read about it here.
I have just revised the pattern and the new version is ready for free download on my ‚Patterns’ page.
The size ( 9,5 x 10,5 cm – 3,75 x 4,25 inch) is big enough for a soap bar of about 7,5 x 7,5 cm ( 3 x 3 inch). But in the new pattern version I have also added some notes on how to adjust the size if needed.
The soap cozy you see in the picture above is made with Schachenmayr Catania in the colour # 130, Creme with a I-cord in # 399, Malve. It is worked with 18 starting chains and 18 rounds. As I used a different yarn and a bigger hook (2,75 mm) the size is similar to my green ‚prototype‘.
I have spent the last days with translating the Mere Curiosity pattern into German. Oh dear! Since German is my mother tongue I actually thought this was a good idea. Well … I hadn’t considered how long it had been since I had worked with a German pattern! In some places it was really difficult for me to find the right terms. I hope I have done it well! Any feedback is welcome!
However … To check the German instructions I made a new square. Originally I had planned to use four colours. After 10 rounds it looked too much like 70s for me, so I decided to add another colour. So now there is a new colourway available using 5 colours!
I used yarn from my stash, the brands are a bit mixed.
Uschi Wolle is a German brand and unfortunately I only have the colour number and no name. I’d call it ‘Lachs’ which means ‘salmon’ in English. It is a little bit lighter than # 427 Scampi from Catania.
If you are interested you can download the new colour chart here.
Phew, I finally managed to set up the Ravelry store and Mere Curiosity is uploaded! I am really excited!
The pattern is now available here. As already mentioned, we will donate the proceeds for the Ukraine aid to Unicef.
You will find some more details about the Mere Curiosity Square either on Ravelry or in my previous post.
Although all special stitches used are explained in the pattern: if you are not familiar with some stitches or e.g. the technique of working in the 3rd loop, have a look at the ‘Good to know’ section. I have put together some explanations there in the last few days.
What was your biggest crochet adventure last year? Besides testing all these lovely patterns mine was Mere Curiosity!
In the last year Pam Knighton-Haener from A Yarn of Serendipity has started a design group within her group of testers. Late last summer, I finally started to develop a design together with her. The result was Mere Curiosity.
What an adventure and what fun! Each of us designed a few rounds and then passed on the design to the other to continue. Most of the work – I knew that already – was writing down the pattern with all it’s details like abbreviations, stitches used etc. Finally the pattern was tested in Pam’s test group in December. I’m just making the last little changes and then the pattern will be available in my Ravelry store, stay tuned! We will donate the proceeds from the sales to Unicef to help Ukraine.
The finished square has 39 stitches per side and fits to Pam’s other squares. The final size of course will depend on the yarn and hook size you use.
For our samples we had the following results
Pam’s square from the pattern
Aran / Worsted Weight / #4
4,5 mm hook
24 cm / 11”
My sample from the pattern (the blue one)
DK / Light worsted / #3
3,5 mm hook
24 cm / 9,5”
The two samples shown below
Sport weight / #2
3 mm hook
21 cm / 8,5”
Fingering weight / #1
2,75 mm hook
20,5 cm / 8”
Mere Curiosity in Colourway 1
is made with Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4 , a 2,75 mm hook and measures about 20,5 cm / about 8”.
Colour A – Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4 – # 64 Dark Powder Rose Colour B – Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4 – # 50 Light Coral Colour C – Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4 – # 02 Natural White
Mere Curiosity in Colourway 2
Is made with Schachenmayr Catania, a 3 mm hook and measures about 21 cm / 8,5”.
Colour A – Schachenmayr Catania – # 427, Scampi Colour B – Schachenmayr Catania – # 263, Soft Apricot Colour C – Schachenmayr Catania – # 437, Sunkissed Colour D – Schachenmayr Catania – # 402, Reseda
For this square I followed Pam’s colourway and only swapped colours C and D for rounds 7 and 8.
Some time ago I started banning plastic from my bathroom. At least as best as possible.
Among other things I now do completely without normal hair shampoo, conditioner and shower gels. Instead I use soap and shampoo or conditioner bars. And I love it! It not only saves plastic but also space in my bathroom.
This only thing is, when the bar of soap is getting smaller it is hard to deal with. So I got the idea to crochet a little soap sack to use with all the smaller pieces. It works very well!
After I finally found the time to write down the pattern I can now present my first own design.
I called it Grünschnabel.
Grünschnabel is a German word and is pronounced [ˈɡʁyːnˌʃnaːbl̩]. A Grünschnabel is a young or inexperienced person, a rookie or greenhorn in English. I thought that could be a suitable name for a first, green design.
The yarn is also a German brand, Camilla from Woll Butt. It is a sports weight (#2) cotton yarn, similar to Scheepjes Catona or Schachenmayr Catania.
My finished soap cozy measures about 9,5 x 10,5 cm (3,75 x 4,25 inch) and is big enough for my 7,5 x 7,5 cm ( 3 x 3 inch) soap bars.
It‘s a quick and easy pattern. If you like to make one for yourself you can download the pattern here.
Please note: this is not only the first pattern I have ever written down, it is also not tested yet. So if you spot any errors or have questions, please don‘t hesitate to contact me!
Hooked on Häkelmaschen 