I love hand knitted dishcloths. But I’m not a huge fan of the kind made from worsted weight cotton. Yes, they are better than store bought dishcloths, but they can get very bulky.
I noticed a friend of mine knitting a dishcloth from a single strand of crochet cotton. Of course I had to try my hand at knitting some, and I was well rewarded. The scrubbing power was wonderful, and they were closer to the size of a store-bought dishcloth.
But they took so long to knit.
Then, at a friend’s bridal shower, I was struck by a certain gift: dishcloths knitted from two strands of crochet cotton. Brilliant!
So, I created this pattern. It knits up much quicker than using a single strand, but it still has that lovely scrubbing action!
This pattern is a very good “mindless” knitting project. Grab yourself some crochet cotton and knitting needles, and take it wherever you go!
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Not Your Ordinary Knitted Dishcloth Pattern
Materials:
- 2 balls of size 10 crochet cotton in contrasting colors of choice
- 1 pair of straight knitting needles, US size 2 or 3, depending on how tightly you knit
Gauge:
Not critical
Directions:
Holding the 2 strands of crochet cotton together, cast on 3 stitches.
Begin increasing:
Row 1: knit.
Row 2: knit 1, yarn over, knit to end of row.
Repeat row 2 until you have 77 stitches, or until desired size is obtained.
Begin decreasing:
Next row: knit 2 together, yarn over, knit 2 together, knit to end of row.
Repeat this row until there are 4 stitches remaining.
Next row: knit 2 together, bind off all stitches.
Finishing:
Weave in all loose ends. Wash before first use.
© 2009 by Erica Lea
On the decreasing side do we decrease every row like is says? or every other row like the first half is done?
ReplyDeleteAfter the initial knit row, there is an increase on every row. Hope that helps!
DeleteI'll stick my oar in here and say, I think if you look at the directions again, you'll see that you DO increase EVERY row for the first half ("Repeat Row 2 until..."), as well as decreasing every row for the second half.
ReplyDeleteThanks! That's exactly what I meant in the pattern. :)
DeleteI really appreciate the idea of using the 2 strands of #10 thread! I have a bunch of it that I bought for a project long forgotten. I have been searching for something to do with it. Now I know!!
ReplyDeleteYay! Hope you enjoy!
DeleteCan these go in the drier? I was wondering about shrinkage. thanks...
ReplyDeleteThey will shrink up when you put them in the dryer, but I like that - it makes them more dense. I think you would prolong their wear if you line dried them, though. :)
DeleteDoes it take 2 whole balls of crochet cotton to make just one dishcloth? I have several balls (no idea how much is on them) of crochet cotton I would love to do something with. Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteSorry for taking so long to reply - I get so many spam comments that it's hard to weed through them. :) You shouldn't need 2 whole balls for a dishcloth. The original intent was to have the two yarns held together. That's the only reason for the 2 balls. Does that make sense? :)
Deleteisn't #10 very fine? can i use #5 instead?
ReplyDeleteIsn't #10 a very fine thread? can we use #5 instead?
ReplyDelete#10 is a fairly fine thread, but you hold two strands together to make a thicker thread. You could definitely use #5 - simply use larger needles.
Delete