The time came for some more diaper refurbishing--replacing the outer flannel layer of worn-out prefolds. (The center pads in prefolds last much longer, and can be re-used.) Their last re-covering wore out relatively quickly, after only a year or so, because I used fabric from a flannel blanket with a looser weave, instead of from flannel sheets or clothing. Still, the blanket I used was only $2 at the thrift store, had a pretty pink and white plaid pattern, and was a good buy, considering the use we got out of it.
So, I took a used flannel sheet, twin size, and cut it up for diapers. There was enough fabric to re-cover nine toddler-size prefolds. I have been slowly sewing these as I have time, and only have one left to do.
Another project I have been working on is knitting a towel, as an experiment. The idea came from a book, Flanagan's Smart Home, which lists basic household necessities for starting out or starting over. According to Flanagan, a simple waffle weave towel will dry you and itself faster than a standard bath towel. I have some nice cotton yarn from a sweater that I carefully unraveled some years ago. At one point, I started knitting a vest with it, but I'm not really a vest person. For the towel, I decided on a K2, P2 check pattern* as the easiest way to achieve a waffle-like texture. Because of the width, I am only knitting one or two rows at a sitting, so this project is going to take a while.
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*Knitting books almost never mention this, but to change back and forth between knit and purl stitches in the same row, you need to bring the yarn between the needles so that it is coming in from the right direction for the next stitch. So patterns with more switches between K and P stitches will take longer to knit. I chose K2, P2 rather than K1, P1 because it would create a similar effect, but would be faster to knit.
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