Author Archives: Coffee Tea Knits

Tutorial Series: How to Double Crochet

Posted in How to Double Crochet, Tutorial Series by

Another fundamental crochet stitch is the double crochet. It is taller than a single crochet and a half double crochet, but shorter than a treble or triple crochet. Fabric made with the double crochet stitch is less dense than fabric made with a half double crochet or single crochet. Below, you can find video and written instructions demonstrating how to make a double crochet for all the rows after the foundation chain when crocheting with your right hand.

How to Double Crochet (video in slow motion):


Written Instructions on How to Double Crochet in the rows after the Foundation Chain:

  1. After a double crochet in the last chain stitch of the foundation chain row has been worked, chain three and turn the work for the second and all subsequent rows.
  2. Wrap working yarn around the hook (counterclockwise), skip the first three stitches from the loop on the crochet hook and insert the crochet hook under both the strands of the next stitch
  3. Wrap working yarn around hook (counterclockwise), catch and pull yarn under and through both the strands of the next stitch in the row
  4. There are three loops on the crochet hook
  5. Wrap the working yarn around the hook (counterclockwise), catch and pull yarn through the first two loops on the hook. There are two loops left on the crochet hook
  6. Wrap the working yarn around the hook (counterclockwise), catch and pull yarn through the remaining two loops on the hook. There is one loop left on the crochet hook
  7. Wrap working yarn around the hook (counterclockwise) and insert the crochet hook under both the strands of the next stitch in the row
  8. Repeat steps 3 to 6
  9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 till the last stitch in the row
  10. For the last stitch of the row, repeat steps 3 and 6, chain three and turn
  11. Repeat Steps 2 to 9 to double crochet all the subsequent rows

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

The Braided Dishcloth Pattern

Posted in July 2024, The Braided Dishcloth Pattern by

Since July 2020, I’ve been sharing patterns, starting with the Seed Stitch Mitered Dishcloth Pattern. During the COVID-19 pandemic, knitting/crocheting and creating patterns became a healing and therapeutic activity for me. I used Premier Home® Cotton Yarn in the Jelly Dots colorway for this dishcloth and for eight more patterns (see image gallery below)*. I had bought this yarn from the now-closed A.C. Moore arts and craft store before the pandemic. Although the store is closed, I’m grateful that the pandemic is over. The Braided Dishcloth will be the last pattern I make with this yarn as I no longer have it. This yarn colorway quickly became one of my favorites, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed using it for the numerous dishcloths and other handmade items.

The Braided Dishcloth is crocheted using the brioche stitch pattern, which is also known as the double slip stitch pattern. The brioche stitch is reversible making this a versatile crochet stitch pattern. This stitch is worked similar to the half double crochet stitch but with a slip stitch instead of the third yarn over. The horizontal braids in the brioche crochet stitch reminds me of the Lateral Braid or Vikel Braid knit stitch pattern. The dishcloth is finished with a crochet moss stitch border and a hanging loop, measuring just over 7.5 inches in width and length after blocking.

Materials Needed for the Braided Dishcloth:
Yarn: Premier Home Cotton® Cone yarn in Jelly Dots (Colorway 1) and Colorway 2 – any solid color worsted weight cotton yarn for the border (I used some leftover Lily Sugar’n Cream yarn in Country Red that I already had) 
Tapestry needle to weave in ends
Gauge: 4.5 stitches per inch in brioche crochet stitch pattern
Crochet hook: US size 7 (4.5 mm) and US G-6 (4.0 mm) for the border edge

Crochet Skill Level: Basic level with single crochet, half double crochet (How to Half Double Crochet) and slip stitches 

Abbreviations:

  • sc: single crochet
  • […]: stitch pattern repeats

The Braided Dishcloth Pattern (text and images for personal use only)

Chain 32 stitches (or any number of preferred stitches) with US 7 (4.5 mm) crochet hook 

  1. Yarn over (wrap the working yarn around the hook counterclockwise) insert the crochet hook into the top strand of the second foundation chain stitch
  2. Yarn over (wrap the working yarn around the hook counterclockwise), catch and pull yarn through the top strand of the second chain stitch and through the two loops on the crochet hook
  3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for all the remaining foundation chain stitch including the last chain stitch of the slip knot end
  4. Chain one in the last stitch and turn for the second row
  5. For the brioche crochet stitch (see images below), yarn over and insert hook into the strand below the second regular crochet stitch and repeat step 2
  6. Yarn over and insert hook into the strand below the next regular crochet stitch and repeat step 2 for all the remaining stitches in the row
  7. Chain one in the last stitch of the row and turn
  8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for the preferred number of row in the brioche stitch pattern

brioche_photo1brioche_photo2

The completed Braided Dishcloth has 17 of the brioche “braids”. This dishcloth can be customized to preferred width and length.

Crochet Moss Stitch Border:

With G-6 (4.0 mm) crochet hook and Colorway 2 yarn, make a slip knot (watch video tutorial) and bring it under and through the V of the second to last stitch of last row on the right side of the dishcloth (see image below)

braideddishcloth_1
photo_braid

  1. Chain 1 and single crochet (sc) in the last chain stitch, chain 2, sc, chain 1 in the same stitch. Turn in counter clockwise direction 
  2. [Sc in the stitch between the “braids”, chain 1, skip the “braid”], repeat […] all down the front left side of the dishcloth till the last corner stitch (see image above)
  3. Sc in the corner stitch, chain 2, sc chain one all in the same corner stitch, turn in counter clockwise direction
  4. [Sc, chain 1 in the foundation chain stitch edge, skip the next stitch], repeat […] all along the cast on edge till the last corner stitch
  5. Repeat step 3 at the corner stitch
  6. Repeat step 2 going up along the front right side of the dishcloth
  7. Repeat step 3 at the corner stitch. 
  8. Repeat step 4 all along the last row edge of the dishcloth till the stitch at beginning of round 
  9. Chain 12 for the hanging loop 
  10. Slip stitch into the chain 2 space of the crochet moss stitch corner edge and pull yarn through

Weave in the ends, wash and block to finish the Braided Dishcloth

*Other dishcloth patterns with Premier Home® Cotton Yarn in the Jelly Dots colorway

A Seed Stitch Mitered Dishcloth
Toward Center Mitered Dishcloth
The Upside Down Dishcloth
Summertime Dishcloth
The Knotted Dishcloth
The Center Out Mitered Dishcloth
Suddenly It’s Summer Dishcloth
The Brick and Mortar Dishcloth
The Dotted Dishcloth

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

Tutorial Series: How to Half Double Crochet

Posted in How to Half Double Crochet, Tutorial Series by

Another basic stitch after a single crochet (How to Single Crochet) is the half double crochet. The half double crochet stitch is taller than a single crochet stitch but shorter than a double crochet stitch. The fabric made with the half double crochet stitch is also less dense than the fabric made with a single crochet stitch. The video and written instructions below demonstrate how to make a half double crochet from a foundation chain and for the following rows when crocheting with your right hand.

Half Double Crochet from a Foundation Chain:


Written Instructions on How to Half Double Crochet from a Foundation Chain:

  1. With a loop on the crochet hook, wrap working yarn around the hook (counterclockwise)
  2. Skip the first two chains stitch from the loop on the crochet hook and insert the crochet hook into the top strand of the third chain stitch
  3. Wrap working yarn around hook (counterclockwise), catch and pull yarn through the top strand of the third chain stitch
  4. There are three loops on the crochet hook
  5. Wrap the working yarn around the hook (counterclockwise), catch and pull yarn through all three loops on the crochet hook
  6. There is one loop on the crochet hook
  7. Wrap working yarn around the hook (counterclockwise), insert crochet hook into the top strand of the next foundation chain stitch
  8. Wrap working yarn around hook (counterclockwise), catch and pull yarn through the top strand of the next foundation chain stitch
  9. Repeat steps 4 to 6
  10. Repeat steps 7 to 9 for the rest of the foundation chain stitches including the last slip knot end stitch
  11. Chain 2 and turn to half double crochet the next row

How to Half Double Crochet:

Written Instructions on How to Half Double Crochet:

  1. Wrap working yarn around the hook (counterclockwise), skip the first two stitches from the loop on the crochet hook and insert the crochet hook under both the strands of the next stitch
  2. Wrap working yarn around hook (counterclockwise), catch and pull yarn under and through both the strands of the next stitch in the row
  3. There are three loops on the crochet hook
  4. Wrap the working yarn around the hook (counterclockwise), catch and pull yarn through all the three loops on the crochet hook. There is one loop left on the crochet hook
  5. Wrap working yarn around the hook (counterclockwise) and insert the crochet hook under both the strands of the next stitch in the row
  6. Repeat steps 2 to 4
  7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 till the last stitch in the row
  8. For the last stitch of the row, repeat steps 5 and 6, chain two and turn
  9. Repeat Steps 5 to 8 to half double crochet all the following rows

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

The Dotted Dishcloth Pattern

Posted in June 2024, The Dotted Dishcloth Pattern by


During a heatwave, knitting dishcloths with cotton yarn is practical both for personal use as well as for gifting. I knit dishcloths so I can explore and learn the different knit stitch patterns. Knitting dishcloths is also very therapeutic and calming amidst the chaos that sometimes happens in our personal lives. The Dotted Dishcloth is knit flat in the woven transverse herringbone stitch pattern with slip stitches for the herringbone shape. The dishcloth is finished with a slip stitch, chain one border edge.

An ad-free Dotted Dishcloth Pattern PDF is now available for download on Ravelry and Etsy

Materials Needed for the Dotted Dishcloth:
Yarn: Premier Home Cotton® Cone yarn in Jelly Dots (Colorway 1) and Colorway 2 – any solid color worsted weight cotton yarn for the border (I used a pink color cotton yarn that I had) 
Tapestry needle to weave in ends
Gauge: 4.5 stitches per inch in woven transverse herringbone stitch pattern
Knitting Needles: US #7 (4.5 mm) for knitting the dishcloth and US #9 (5.0 mm) for cast on and bind off.
Crochet hook: US size 7 (4.5 mm) for the border edge

Knitting Skill Level: Advanced beginner level – knit, purl and slip stitches
Crochet Skill Level: Basic level with chain one and slip stitch 

Abbreviations:

  • K: Knit
  • P: Purl
  • wyib S2: with yarn held back slip two stitches purlwise
  • wyif S2: with yarn in front slip two stitches purlwise
  • sm: slip marker
  • wyif S1: with yarn in front slip one stitch purlwise
  • wyib S1: with yarn held back slip one stitch purlwise
  • RS: right side
  • WS: wrong side
  • […]: stitch pattern repeats

The Dotted Dishcloth Pattern (text and images for personal use only)

Cast on 40 stitches with Colorway 1 yarn using US #9 knitting needles using any long tail cast on method. Transfer a stitch on a US #7 knitting needle, place a marker and transfer the rest of the stitches till the last one, place marker and transfer the last stitch onto the US #7 needle and begin knitting the Dotted Dishcloth

  • Row 1 (RS): K1, sm, [K2, wyif S2], repeat […] till last 2 stitches before marker, K2, sm, wyif S1
  • Row 2 (WS): K1, sm, P1, [wyib S2, P2], repeat […] till 1 stitch before marker, wyib S1, sm, wyif S1
  • Row 3: K1, sm, [wyif S2, K2], repeat […] till 2 stitches before marker, wyif S2, sm, wyif S1
  • Row 4: K1, sm, wyib S1, [P2, wyib S2], repeat […] till 1 stitch before marker, P1, sm, wyif S1
  • Row 5: Repeat Row 1
  • Row 6: Repeat Row 2
  • Row 7: Repeat Row 3
  • Row 8: Repeat Row 4
  • Row 9 (RS): K1, sm, [wyif S2, K2], repeat […] till 2 stitches before marker, wyif S2, sm, wyif S1
  • Row 10 (WS): K1, sm, P1, [wyib S2, P2], repeat […] till 1 stitch before marker, wyib S1, sm, wyif S1
  • Row 11: K1, sm, [K2, wyif S2], repeat […] till last 2 stitches before marker, K2, sm, wyif S1
  • Row 12: K1, sm, wyib S1, [P2, wyib S2], repeat […] till 1 stitch before marker, P1, sm, wyif S1
  • Row 13: Repeat Row 9
  • Row 14: Repeat Row 10
  • Row 15: Repeat Row 11
  • Row 16: Repeat Row 12

Repeat Rows 1 to 16 three more times

Repeat Rows 1 to 8 once more

Bind off row (RS): With US #9 knitting needles bind off all the stitches and pull working yarn through the last stitch

Slip Stitch, Chain One Border Edge:

With Colorway 2 yarn and US #7 (4.5 mm) crochet hook,

  • Make a slip knot (video tutorial) and insert the hook under the sideway V (>) of the second to last stitch of the bind off row (see image above), chain one 
  • [Insert hook into the bind off corner stitch, yarn over, pull yarn under the stitch and slip stitch into the loop on the hook, chain one], repeat […] once more
  • Turn counterclockwise, [skip one edge stitch and insert the hook under both the strands of the V of the next edge stitch on the left side of the dishcloth, yarn over, pull yarn through and slip stitch into the loop on the hook, chain one], repeat […] till the corner edge stitch
  • At the bottom left corner edge stitch, [insert hook into the left corner edge stitch, yarn over, pull yarn through and slip stitch into the loop on the hook, chain one], repeat […] once more
  • Turn counterclockwise, [skip one cast on edge stitch and insert the hook under both the strands of the V of the next cast on edge stitch, yarn over, pull yarn through and slip stitch into the loop on the hook, chain one], repeat […] till the corner cast on edge stitch
  • At the bottom right corner cast on edge stitch, [insert hook into the corner cast on edge stitch, yarn over, pull yarn through and slip stitch into the loop on the hook, chain one], repeat […] once more
  • Turn counterclockwise, [skip one edge stitch and insert the hook under both the strands of the V of the next edge stitch on the right side of the dishcloth, yarn over, pull yarn through and slip stitch into the loop on the hook, chain one], repeat […] till the top right side corner edge stitch
  • At the top right corner edge stitch, [insert hook into the corner edge stitch, yarn over, pull yarn through and slip stitch into the loop on the hook, chain one], repeat […] once more
  • Turn counterclockwise, [skip one bind off row edge stitch and insert the hook under both the strands of the V of the next bind off row edge stitch of the dishcloth, yarn over, pull yarn through and slip stitch into the loop on the hook, chain one], repeat […] till the beginning stitch of the first crochet edge stitch
  • Slip stitch into the beginning stitch and chain 12 for the hanging loop
  • Insert hook into the bind off corner edge crochet stitch, yarn over, pull through and slip stitch into the loop on the hook and pull the working yarn through the loop on the hook

Weave in the ends, wash and block the Dotted Dishcloth.

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

Tutorial Series: How to Single Crochet

Posted in How to Single Crochet, Tutorial Series by

Once a foundation chain (How to Crochet Chain) is made, a new crochet project with any crochet stitch pattern can begin. A single crochet stitch pattern is the shortest in length/height and creates a denser fabric compared to double and triple crochet stitch patterns. The video and written instructions below show how to make a single crochet from a foundation chain and all the rows for right handed crocheting.

Video in slow motion: Single Crochet from a Foundation Chain

Written Instructions for How to Single Crochet from a Foundation Chain:

  1. Skip the first chain stitch from the loop on the crochet hook.
  2. Insert the crochet hook into the top strand of the second chain stitch
  3. Wrap working yarn counterclockwise around hook (yarn over), catch and pull the loop through the top strand of the second chain stitch
  4. There are two loops on the crochet hook
  5. Wrap working yarn counterclockwise around hook (yarn over), catch and pull loop through the two loops on the crochet hook
  6. Repeat Steps 2 to 5 for the rest of the foundation chain stitches till the slip knot end
  7. Chain one and turn to single crochet the next row

How to Single Crochet:

Written Instructions for a Single Crochet:

  1. Skip the first stitch from the loop on the crochet hook
  2. Insert the crochet hook under both the strands of the next stitch
  3. Wrap working yarn counterclockwise around hook (yarn over), catch and pull the loop through both the strands of the next stitch
  4. There are two loops on the crochet hook
  5. Wrap working yarn counterclockwise around hook (yarn over), catch and pull loop through the two loops on the crochet hook
  6. Repeat Steps 2 to 5 till the last stitch in the row
  7. For the last stitch of the row, repeat Steps 2 to 5, chain one and turn
  8. Repeat Steps 1 to 7 with single crochet stitch pattern for all the subsequent rows

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.