Double Knit Dishcloths
Faith Schmidt
Dishcloths, a perennial favorite among knitters, are a great way to learn new stitches
and techniques. These dishcloths are quick, all can be made in under two hours, and
make great gifts. This pattern includes five designs, ranging from very easy to more
advanced. So, pull out your knitting board and make some dishcloths today. Designs
include Stockinette with a Twist Dishcloth, Mini Braid Dishcloth, Honeycomb Dishcloth,
Twisted Stitch Dishcloth, and Simple Cable Dishcloth.
Knitting Board: Small gauge double sided knitting board with at least 22 pegs set at
standard (1/2”) spacer setting. The 10” Authentic Knitting Board was used in the
sample.
Yarn: 1+ ounces of worsted weight 100% cotton yarn—you will need a little more than
an ounce for each dishcloth. Sugar’n Cream and Lily Elite Cotton were used in the
sample.
Notions: Tapestry Needle, Knitting tool, Crochet hook, Stitch markers, Row counter,
Cable hook (optional)
Gauge: Not important
Pattern Notes:
When making these dishcloths, the knitting will be a little loose. It is supposed to
be this way. They will firm up a bit when the cotton shrinks after washing and
drying the first time.
Copyright © March 2007 by Faith Schmidt. All rights reserved.
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When you are knitting the dishcloths they will look long and thin as they come off
the board. After they are bound off, they will be more square in shape.
While not necessary, these are a couple of things I’ve found very helpful to have.
The first is “Wafer-Thin Stitch Count Markers” by Susan Bates. They are nice
and thin, come in assorted sizes and work great on the knitting board to mark off
stitches for cables and other stitch patterns. I also really like the “Knitting
Counter (Mini Kacha-Kacha)” by Clover. You can wear this around your neck on
a cord (no more losing the counter!) and has a lock to keep the stitch count from
getting changed when not in use or by curious little fingers.☺
When referring to the “front board”, this is the board nearest you when it is lying
flat and is where the working yarn is when you start to wrap. The “back board” is
the board furthest from you when lying flat, and is where you attached the slip
knot when you cast on.
Here are a few tips to keep your edges even. It may seem like a lot of work, but
it quickly becomes a habit. When you begin wrapping and are going up to the
first needle to be wrapped on the back board, place the yarn between the first
and second needle, go around the first needle, and then continue to wrap as
usual. When you’ve
completed the circular and
are at the last needle to be
wrapped on the front board,
take the yarn to the outside of
that needle and around it.
(See the picture right.) Wrap
the first few needles more
tightly, and the last few, at the
opposite end of the board,
more loosely. When hooking
over, start hooking at the
opposite end of where you
started wrapping. Hook over
both end stitches and then hook down the front board. Now, starting back at the
opposite end again, hook down the back board. I also keep tension on the
working yarn when hooking over. Gently pull down on the knitting. Don’t do this
while casting on, just on the rows of knitting.
The Stockinette Cast On is used on all the dishcloths.
Don’t forget to check the “Internet Links” section for links to tutorials and
instructions on how to do some of these stitches and techniques.
Be creative! Any of these dishcloths can be enlarged. If you do enlarge them,
take into account any patterns in the knitting. Knit these squares in acrylic yarn
and make a blanket by knitting a number of them and sewing them together. The
stitches and techniques can be used for other projects too. Scarves, blankets,
and shawls are just a few of the projects they could be used on. These would
also make beautiful face cloths and are great gifts. Enjoy making these
dishcloths.
Copyright © March 2007 by Faith Schmidt. All rights reserved.
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Instructions
Stockinette with a Twist Dishcloth
This is a simple dishcloth that will knit
up quickly. Make it in a variegated
yarn for more visual interest.
Twisted Stockinette stitch: Wrap
the board as usual for the stockinette
stitch, but go to the far side of each
needle and wrap around the needle.
Wrap the end needles, on the opposite end from where you start, in the normal manner,
do not wrap around them as you did the others. (See picture below.)
1. Cast on 22 stitches
2. Knit 25 Rows in the Twisted
Stockinette Stitch
3. Bind off the stitches on the
board and anchor yarn
4. Weave in the yarn tails
Mini Braid Dishcloth
Make this dishcloth in a solid color so
that the braids will really stand out.
1. Cast on 22 stitches
2. Rows 1-4 Knit in St st
3. Rows 5-21 Knit in Open Braid
stitch
4. Rows 22-26 Knit in St st
5. Bind off the stitches on the
board and anchor yarn
6. Weave in the yarn tails
Honeycomb Dishcloth
Copyright © March 2007 by Faith Schmidt. All rights reserved.
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Making eyelets is an easy and fun technique. Give it a try today.
Place stitch markers on needles #6 and #17. You will be making your eyelets between
the markers on both the front and back board.
Eyelet Row: Before wrapping the
row move stitch #7 onto needle #8,
move stitch #10 onto needle #11,
move stitch #13 onto needle #14, and
move stitch #16 onto needle #17 (See
picture right). Do this to both the front
and back boards. After moving the
stitches, wrap as usual and hook over.
On the needles that have three loops
on them, hook the bottom two over the
top one. On the needles that just
have one loop, do not hook over.
When you are done with this row, you
should have one loop on each needle.
1. Cast on 22 stitches
2. Rows 1-7 Knit in St st
3. Row 8 Eyelet Row
4. Rows 9-10 Knit in St st
5. Row 11 Eyelet Row
6. Rows 12-13 Knit in St st
7. Row 14 Eyelet Row
8. Rows 15-16 Knit
9. Row 17 Eyelet Row
10. Rows 18-25 Knit in St st
11. Bind off stitches on board and anchor yarn
12. Weave in yarn tails
Twisted Stitch Dishcloth
Twisting stitches is simple and gives a
pretty design and texture to this
dishcloth.
Copyright © March 2007 by Faith Schmidt. All rights reserved.
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Before casting on, place stitch markers on needles 3 and 20. You will be twisting the
stitches between the two markers, starting with needle 4 and ending with needle 19.
Think of the stitches between the two markers as pairs of stitches. So, 4 and 5 are a
pair, 6 and 7 are a pair, 8 and 9 are a pair, etc. There will be eight pairs. When doing
either a left or right twist, do it to each pair. After you have done the twist, wrap the row
as usual and knit over. You will only be twisting the front board.
Left Twist: Before wrapping the row,
lift the stitch on the left needle off the
needle and hold it with your fingers.
Move the stitch directly to the right of
the empty needle onto the empty
needle. Now, place the stitch in your
fingers onto the just vacated needle on
the right. The stitch on the left needle
should be below the stitch on the right
needle (See picture—this the left twist.
The right twist will look just the
opposite).
Right Twist: Before wrapping the row, lift the stitch on the right needle off the needle
and hold it with your fingers. Move the stitch directly to the left of the empty needle onto
the empty needle. Now, place the stitch in your fingers onto the just vacated needle on
the left. The stitch on the right needle should be below the stitch on the left needle.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Rows 1-4 Knit in St st
Rows 5,7,9,11 Left Twist between stitch markers
Rows 6,8,10,12 Right Twist between stitch markers
Rows 13-15 Knit in St st
Rows 16,18,20,22 Left Twist between stitch markers
Rows 17,19,21,23 Right Twist between stitch marker
Rows 24-27 Knit in St st
Bind off stitches on the board and then on the anchor yarn
Weave in the yarn tails
Simple Cable Dishcloth
Knitting this dishcloth is a great
introduction to cables.
Before casting on, place stitch
markers on needles #8, #9, and #14
on the front board, and needle #16 on
the back board, counting from the left.
Copyright © March 2007 by Faith Schmidt. All rights reserved.
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You will be twisting the cable between needles #9 and #14. The other markers are to
tell you when to switch from stockinette stitch to ribbing stitch and back.
Stockinette/Ribbing Wrap: In this pattern, when directed, you will be wrapping part of
the row in stockinette and part in
ribbing. To do this, wrap in stockinette
until you reach the first stitch marker
(#8). Wrap around #8 needle and
then skip two needles on the back
board and continue wrapping every
other needle until you reach the stitch
marker on the back board (#16). This
will cause you to wrap at an angle.
Wrap around #16 and then skip two
needles on the front board and begin
to wrap in stockinette again. Wrap to
the end of the board. Turn board and
wrap back, wrapping all the empty needles, making sure not to skip either of the two
empty needles that are next to each other. (See picture above.)
Cable Twist: (See picture right) To
make the cable, before wrapping the
row, move the stitches on needles #10
and #11 to the needles directly behind
them. You may need to keep your
fingers there so that they won’t fall off.
You could also slip them onto a cable
hook. Move stitch #12 to the empty
#10 needle and move stitch #13 to the
empty #11 needle. Now, move the
stitch that was on needle #11 to the
empty needle #13 and the stitch that
was on needle #10 to empty needle
#12. It is important to move the stitches in the right order. Make sure not to wrap too
tightly the needles that will make up the cable.
1. Cast on 22 stitches
2. Rows 1-3 Knit in St st
3. Row 4 and all even rows do the cable twist between the markers (needles #9 and
#14), wrap with the stockinette/ribbing wrap and hook over.
4. Row 5 and all odd rows wrap with the stockinette/ribbing wrap and hook over.
5. Rows 23-25 Knit in St st
6. Bind off the stitches on the board and anchor yarn
7. Weave in yarn tails
Copyright © March 2007 by Faith Schmidt. All rights reserved.
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Internet Links
http://www.decoraccentsinc.com/StockinetteCastOn.pdf (This is a PDF file of the
stockinette cast on and stitch. Step by step pictures.)
http://65.61.171.117/stitch_castingon.pdf (This is a PDF file of the stockinette
cast on and stitch. Step by step pictures.)
http://65.61.171.117/stitch_ribbing.pdf (This is a PDF file of the ribbing stitch.
Step by step pictures.)
http://65.61.171.117/stitch_openbraid%20_4_.pdf (This is a PDF file of the open
braid stitch. Step by step pictures.)
http://www.knittingboard.com/Articles.asp?ID=131 (This is a video of how to do
cables on a knitting board.)
http://65.61.171.117/stitch_bindoff.pdf (This is a PDF file of how to bind off. Step
by step pictures.)
Knitting Board Resources
All these sites contain knitting board information that you may find helpful.
www.loomknit.com
www.dalooms.com
www.knittingboard.com
www.frameknitting.com
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Faith is a home schooling mom of seven. In the summer of 2006 she picked up a one
dollar spool knitter. From there, she graduated to the larger round looms, and then
double sided knitting boards, her favorite type of loom. At the beginning of 2007, she
began designing her own patterns, which she finds very rewarding. When she’s not
loom knitting, she also likes to read, crochet, and knit with needles.
Copyright © March 2007 by Faith Schmidt. All rights reserved.
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