The Ingenuity towel takes its name and inspiration from the 2021 Mars Rover landing, in which Perseverance escorted Ingenuity to the planet, enabling Ingenuity to roam and study the planet’s surface. These everyday heirloom towels celebrate the exploratory spirit and tenacity of this feat but don’t require a degree in rocket science or nearly as much time to land. In addition to providing a metaphor and inspiration for knitters, each of these towels can be completed with one skein of cotton yarn. Practical and economical, rustic and humble, they make down-to-earth gifts.
The Ingenuity towel explores textures based on slip stitches and variances in gauge. Knitters who don’t have a lot of patience for knitting swatches will be glad to know that a precise gauge is not critical for this project. Variances in gauge among the stitch patterns will add to the charm of this towel, and adjustments can be made by changing needle size.