Almost two years ago I wove a blanket out of a rag strip cut from an old piece of stretch velvet. Unfortunately, the fabric just wasn’t suitable for this treatment. After using it as a knee rug for two winters the weft was all loopy and the warp bunched up. I had another ball of the velvet rag strip sitting around waiting for me to think of a use for it, too.

During the workroom tidy-up, I picked up that spare ball and, having just culled my knitting needles and wondered if it would be easier on my hands to knit with the huge rocket needles, decided to try knitting the rag strip.

I liked how it knit up. The velvet strips formed a nice cushy fabric. And there’s something endlessly amusing about working with big needles.

It was less work for my fingers, but a bit more work for the wrists. I found it most comfortable to tuck the right needle under my arm and do most of the movement with my left hand.

So I finished knitting the first ball, and un-wove the blanket to get more. Un-weaving is a LOT more fiddly than frogging. But un-weaving rag is easier than un-weaving yarn. Soon I had a second ball of velvet rag strip, and a few days later I had this:

It’s squishy and cosy and, though my inner knitting snob scoffs at something so simple and chunky, I love it.