Knitted Dishcloths

Greetings, seekers of the simple life. How about a simple project that is not expensive, is relaxing, and creates a useful household item? I'm talking about knitted dishcloths. These cotton beauties are durable and attractive. The patterns are forgiving, and who cares if you mess up a stitch when you know that you are contributing to sustainable living by making a washcloth instead of buying one woven in China or some other place! Those may be cheap, but making these dishcloths and using a US or Canadian produced cotton thread helps to keep jobs here on this continent.

I won't ask you to grow your own cotton and spin the fibers into something that resembles a worsted weight wool, although some self-sufficient types have a thing or two to teach me about that basic aspect of the cotton fiber. You can get lovely cotton thread anywhere you can buy wool or fabric. I'm using the Peaches and Cream worsted weight cotton. It is perfect for the job.

If you are a beginning knitter, these are good learning projects for you. The first is a simple checkerboard/basket weave patterned dishcloth.

Basket Weave Face Cloth

Use size 8 knitting needles. If your tension is too loose, try a smaller needle.

Cast on 40 stitches
Rows 1 - 4: Knit
Rows 5 - 10: K4 *K4,P4* 4 times, K4
Rows 11 - 16: K4 *P4,K4* 4 times, K4
Repeat Rows 5 - 16 until desired length
Knit 4 rows
Cast off
Use a crochet hook to weave any extra threads into the cloth.

Since rows 5 - 10 make 8 squares to a row besides the garter stitch edging, I just made an 8 x 8 square.


To be continued......