Five years ago I posted my first pattern “A Seed Stitch Mitered Dishcloth“. It was a time of social distancing and staying at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since we couldn’t go out much the yard and the flowers became our outdoor retreat. At that time the Hydrangeas were in full bloom (June-July) and I took a picture of these flowers with the “Seed Stitch Mitered Dishcloth”
A Seed Stitch Mitered Dishcloth
It’s five years later, and the hydrangeas are in bloom again.
Hence, the name of the dishcloth pattern for the month is the Hydrangea Dishcloth pattern. The Hydrangea Dishcloth is a mitered square dishcloth with a double vertical decrease and a 1×1 mistake rib stitch pattern. Two stitches are decreased using the double vertical decrease technique. I prefer this technique to the K2tog and SSK techniques I used in the Seed Stitch Mitered Dishcloth. The SSK does not form a straight line like the K2tog or the double vertical decrease.
The Hydrangea Dishcloth is then finished with a round of the wrapped single crochet stitch. Crochet chain stitches are added end of the round for the hanging loop.
Materials Needed to knit the Hydrangea Dishcloth:
Yarn 1: Peaches & Crème in Panorama colorway Yarn 2: Lily Sugar’n Cream in Country Red colorway Gauge: 4.5 stitches per inch in 1×1 mistake rib stitch pattern Knitting Needles: US #7 (4.5 mm) and US #8 (5.0 mm) Crochet hook: G-6 (4.0 mm) Tapestry needle to weave in ends
Knitting Skill Level: Advanced Beginner to Intermediate level – knit, purl, slip stitches, and familiarity with reading knitting patterns Crochet Skill Level: Basic level with chain one and slip stitch
Advertisements
Abbreviations:
K: Knit
P: Purl
sm: slip marker
pm: place marker
wyif S1: with yarn in front slip one stitch purlwise
RS: right side
s2kp: slip two stitches on the left knitting needle as if to knit 2 stitches together onto the right knitting needle, knit the next stitch on the left knitting needle, and then pass the two slipped stitches on the right knitting needle with the left knitting needle over the knitted stitch (see photo tutorial below*)
s2kp with a stitch marker: slip 2 stitches as if to knit 2 stitches together onto the right needle, remove stitch marker, K1, pass the 2 slipped stitches over the knitted one, place the removed stitch marker back on the right knitting needle
In knitting patterns there is a right side and a wrong side for a row or a round. It does not mean that the wrong side (the inner side) pattern can’t be reversed and be on the right side (the outer side). I sometimes like the reverse side of the pattern just as much as the right or outer side. The Comfy Hat Patterns are an example of patterns with both the right side and wrong side as the outer side of the hats. When I completed knitting the Spring is in the Air Dishcloth last month, I liked how the two different colors of yarn gave a striped textured pattern on the reverse (wrong) side of the dishcloth (pictured below). The striped textured pattern on the wrong side led to the Reverse Side Dishcloth pattern.
The Reverse Side Dishcloth pattern is the reverse side of the linen stitch pattern in two different yarn colorways. In this pattern I used Capri Eco Cotton™ by Loops and Threads® yarn made from recycled cotton in two different colorways. Stitches are cast on, the round joined and the dishcloth is worked by knitting towards the center with decreases every other round till 8 stitches remain. It is then finished with the duplicate crochet stitch running diagonally beginning at each corner and moving towards the center. Reverse single crochet stitch pattern is used as an edging for the border.
The Reverse Side Dishcloth Pattern (text and images for personal use only)
Yarn: Capri Eco Cotton™ by Loops and Threads® yarn in Yellow (Colorway 1) and Pewter (Colorway 2) Knitting Needles: US #10 for cast on and US #8 circular needles to knit the dishcloth Crochet hook: US size 7 or 4.5 mm crochet hook Tapestry Needle to weave in ends Gauge: 5 stitches/inch Abbreviations:
K: Knit
P: Purl
K2tog: Knit the first two stitches on the left needle together
ssk: slip slip knit (slip 2 stitches to right hand needle then insert the left needle in front of the two slipped stitches and knit them together
pm: place marker
sm: slip marker
BOR: beginning of round
wyif: with working yarn in front
*…*: pattern repeats within a section
[…]: repeat pattern for each of the 4 sections within brackets
With US #10 knitting needles cast on 148 stitches with Colorway 1 (Yellow) yarn using the long tail cast on or the thumb method. Transfer all stitches to a 16 inch US #8 circular needles, place a BOR marker and join round to knit the following making sure the stitches are not twisted.
Setup Round 1: With Colorway 2 yarn (Pewter): [P1, pm, ssk, (*K1, slip1 wyif* repeat *…* 16 more times), K2tog, pm] repeat […] 2 more times, P1, pm, ssk, (*K1, slip1 wyif* repeat *…* 16 more times), K2tog, slip BOR marker – place all the yarn tails on the right side of the knitting (pictured below)
Round 2: With Colorway 1 yarn (Yellow): [P1, sm, *K1, slip 1 wyif* repeat *…* till marker, sm] repeat […] 2 more times, P1, sm, *K1, slip 1 wyif* repeat *…* till BOR marker, slip BOR marker
Round 3: With Colorway 2 yarn (Pewter): [P1, sm, ssk, *slip1 wyif, K1* repeat *…* till 2 stitches before marker, K2tog, sm] repeat […] 2 more times, P1, pm, ssk, *slip 1 wyif, K1* repeat *…* till 2 stitches before BOR marker, K2tog, slip BOR marker
Round 4: With Colorway 1 yarn (Yellow): [P1, sm, *slip 1 wyif, K1* repeat *…* till marker, sm] repeat […] 2 more times, P1, sm, *slip 1 wyif, K1* repeat *…* till BOR marker, slip BOR marker
Round 5: With Colorway 2 yarn (Pewter): [P1, sm, ssk, *K1, slip 1 wyif* repeat *…* till 2 stitches before marker, K2tog, sm] repeat […] 2 more times, P1, pm, ssk, *K1, slip 1 wyif* repeat *…* till 2 stitches before BOR marker, K2tog, slip BOR marker
Round 6: With Colorway 1 yarn (Yellow): [P1, sm, *K1, slip1 wyif* repeat *…* till marker, sm] repeat […] 2 more times, P1, sm, *K1, slip 1 wyif* repeat *…* till BOR marker, slip BOR marker
Repeat Rounds 3 – 6, seven more times. There are 20 stitches left on the needles after these repeats. For the next two rounds knit the following:
Cut the working yarn (yellow – colorway 1) and pull it through a tapestry needle. Remove the BOR marker and insert the tapestry needle through the remaining eight stitches and pull them tight to close the gap and secure yarn on the right side of the dishcloth.
The Duplicate Crochet Stitch*:
With size 7 (4.5 mm) crochet hook and colorway 1 (yellow) yarn make a slip knot and chain one.
Insert crochet hook from top to bottom and pull the chain 1 stitch through the corner stitch.
Duplicate stitch crochet by inserting hook top to bottom and pulling the yarn up and slip stitching it with the loop (stitch) on the hook.
Insert the hook for the duplicate crochet stitch in the colorway 1 (yellow) knit stitch and skip the colorway 2 (pewter) knit stitch. Continue with the duplicate crochet stitch till you reach the center, break yarn and pull it through the last stitch.
Reverse Single Crochet Edging and hanging loop* (Optional):
Reverse Single Crochet edging: Starting at the cast on edge and on the left of the center duplicate crochet stitch (see picture below),
pick up the cast on stitches and reverse single crochet in a clockwise direction with size 7 (4.5 mm) crochet hook all around the dishcloth edge with Colorway 1 (yellow) yarn. Slip stitch into the first reverse single crochet border stitch and crochet 12 chain stitches. Slip stitch into the reverse single crochet stitch on the other side of the center duplicate crochet stitch.
Weave in the ends, wash and block the Reverse Side Dishcloth.
* Several video tutorials for the duplicate crochet stitch and reverse single crochet are available on YouTube
Somehow the birds chirping, the bright blue sky, the showers, warmer days, new leaves on trees and the vibrant Spring flowers refresh and lighten my mood. I get motivated to declutter, clean and of course start new knitting projects appropriate for Spring and Summer. As the weather gets warmer, I start knitting more with cotton yarn. Spring is in the Air Dishcloth reflects this cheerfulness that comes with warm weather. The dishcloth was knit in the linen stitch pattern with two different colors of cotton worsted yarn. It was knit in the round moving towards the center through a series of decreases every other round. The knitting technique for this dishcloth is similar to The Toward Center Mitered Dishcloth but was knit alternating two different colors of the cotton worsted yarn in each round.
Spring Is In The Air Dishcloth Pattern (text and images for personal use only)
Yarn: Any Cotton Worsted Yarn in 2 different colorways – I used some Lily Sugar’n Cream yarn in White (Colorway 2) and Yellow (Colorway 1) Knitting Needles: US #10 for cast on and US #9 circular needles to knit the dishcloth Crochet hook: US size H- 8 or 5.0 mm crochet hook Tapestry Needle to weave in ends Gauge: 4 stitches/inch but is not needed for this project Abbreviations:
K: Knit
P: Purl
K2tog: Knit the first two stitches on the left needle together
pm: place marker
sm: slip marker
BOR: beginning of round
wyib: with working yarn in the back
wyif: with working yarn in front
*…*: pattern repeats within a section
[…]: repeat pattern for each of the 4 sections within brackets
With US #10 knitting needles cast on 140 stitches with Colorway 2 (White) yarn using the long tail cast on or the thumb method. Transfer all stitches to a 16 inch US #9 circular needles, place a BOR marker and join round to knit the following making sure the stitches are not twisted.
Round 1: With Colorway 1 yarn (Yellow): [slip 1 stitch wyib, pm, K2tog, (*K1, slip1 wyif* repeat *…* 15 more times), K2tog, pm] repeat […] 2 more times, slip 1 stitch wyib, pm, K2tog, (*K1, slip1 wyif* repeat *…* 15 more times), K2tog, slip BOR marker
Round 2: With Colorway 2 yarn (White): [K1, sm, *K1, slip 1 wyif* repeat *…* till marker, sm] repeat […] 2 more times, K1, sm, *K1, slip 1 wyif* repeat *…* till BOR marker, slip BOR marker
Round 3: With Colorway 1 yarn (Yellow): [slip 1 stitch wyib, sm, K2tog, *slip1 wyif, K1* repeat *…* till 2 stitches before marker, K2tog, sm] repeat […] 2 more times, slip 1 stitch wyib, pm, K2tog, *slip 1 wyif, K1* repeat *…* till 2 stitches before BOR marker, K2tog, slip BOR marker
Round 4: With Colorway 2 yarn (White): [K1, sm, *slip 1 wyif, K1* repeat *…* till marker, sm] repeat […] 2 more times, K1, sm, *slip 1 wyif, K1* repeat *…* till BOR marker, slip BOR marker
Round 5: With Colorway 1 yarn (Yellow): [slip 1 stitch wyib, sm, K2tog, *K1, slip 1 wyif* repeat *…* till 2 stitches before marker, K2tog, sm] repeat […] 2 more times, slip 1 stitch wyib, pm, K2tog, *K1, slip 1 wyif* repeat *…* till 2 stitches before BOR marker, K2tog, slip BOR marker
Round 6: With Colorway 2 yarn (White): [K1, sm, *K1, slip1 wyif* repeat *…* till marker, sm] repeat […] 2 more times, K1, sm, *K1, slip 1 wyif* repeat *…* till BOR marker, slip BOR marker
Repeat Rounds 3 – 6, six more times. There are 20 stitches left on the needles after these repeats.
Round 31: Colorway 1 (Yellow): [slip 1 stitch wyib, sm K2tog, K2tog, sm], repeat […] 2 more times, slip 1 stitch wyib, sm K2tog, K2tog, slip BOR marker
Round 34: Colorway 2 (White): Knit all stitches removing all markers except the BOR marker (8 stitches remaining)
Cut the working yarn and pull it through a tapestry needle. Insert the tapestry needle through the remaining eight stitches and pull them tight to close the gap. Secure yarn on the reverse side of the dishcloth.
Single Crochet Edging and hanging loop:
Crochet edging: Starting at the cast on edge to the right of the center knit stitch (see picture below), pick up and single crochet with H-8 (5.0 mm) crochet hook all around the dishcloth edge with Colorway 1 (yellow) yarn. Slip stitch into the first single crochet border stitch and crochet 12 to 15 chain stitches. Slip stitch into the single crochet stitch on the other side of the center knit stitch.
I have wanted to knit the knot stitch pattern ever since I came across it and also because the first post in my previous blogsite was titled “To knit or to knot”. Although this knot stitch pattern is not nålbinding/nålebinding, it is a lovely pattern that I’ve wanted to knit. Being more of a product knitter, a dishcloth with this stitch pattern seemed a perfect project for me to learn more about this knot stitch pattern.
The Knotted Dishcloth Pattern is knit flat with a two row pillared knot stitch pattern. The knots are made by purling, knitting, and then purling the same three stitches together. The edge stitches around the Knotted Dishcloth are picked up with another yarn colorway and bound off using a two stitch I-cord bind off in the round method (several tutorials available on YouTube). I like the crochet look of this stitch pattern and the dense or open lacelike fabric it creates depending on the knitting needle size. Making these knots may cause some hand fatigue if the yarn is held too tightly. By pulling out more yarn while making these knots seemed to reduce some hand fatigue for me.
Yarn: Any cotton worsted yarn. I used Premier Home® Cotton Cone Yarn Colorway: Jelly Dots and a solid color for the I-cord edging Knitting Needles: US #7 and US #9 (for cast on and bind off only) Gauge: Not needed for this project Abbreviations:
K: Knit
P: Purl
*makeknot: Purl three stitches together, then knit the same three stitches together and then purl the three stitches together again
ssk: slip slip knit (slip 2 stitches to right hand needle then insert the left needle in front of the two slipped stitches and knit them together
pm: place marker
sm: slip marker
wyif S1: with yarn in front slip one stitch purlwise
RS: right side
WS: wrong side
[…]: stitch pattern repeats
The Knotted Dishcloth Pattern (text and images for personal use only):
Loosely cast on 47 stitches using the long tail cast on with US #9 knitting needles
With US #7 knitting needles knit the following pillared knot stich pattern
Row 1 (RS): K1, pm, K1, [*makeknot, K1] repeat […] till 1 stitch before last, pm, wyif S1
Row 2 (WS): K1, sm, purl to marker, sm, wyif S1
Row 3 (RS): K1, sm, K1, [*makeknot, K1] repeat […] till 1 stitch before last, sm, wyif S1
Row 4 (WS): K1, sm, purl to marker, sm, wyif S1
Repeat rows 3 and 4 twenty more times and then bind off loosely in pattern with US #9 knitting needles in the last row (WS)
2 stitch I-cord in the round bind off edging:
Starting from top left corner of the dishcloth, pick up stitches all around the dishcloth with US #7 knitting needles. Yarn over at each corner for a rounded corner edge.
Knit the first two stitches, return the two stitches to the left hand needle knitwise.
Knit the first stitch on the left needle, then ssk the next two stitches. Return the two stitches back to the left hand needle. Repeat this till 4 stitches remain on the left hand needle. This will be around the top left corner of the knitted piece.
For the hanging loop (optional) knit a 2 stitch I-cord fifteen times then ssk to the same bottom stitch and continue with I-cord in the round till last 2 stitches on the right hand needle.
Graft the two stitches to the beginning two I-cord stitches (several tutorials on this are available on YouTube)
Most summers my sweater knitting with wool or other yarn slows down. I usually weave more or try to knit with cotton yarns during this season. Although this season is more a time for yarn and a loom for me (more details in the next post), I have knitted a few dishcloths including these Summertime Dishcloths. Summertime dishcloths are knit flat from bottom up in a combination of garter stitch and twisted seed stitch pattern.
The Summertime Dishcloths Pattern (text and images for personal use only)
Yarn: Loops & Threads Capri in Apricot colorway for the dishcloth 1 Yarn: Premier Home Cotton in Jelly dots colorway for the dishcloth 2 Knitting Needles: US #8, and US #10 circular needle for the dishcloth 1 Knitting Needles: US #7, and US #9 circular needle for the dishcloth 2 Crochet hook: 4.5 mm for the dishcloth 1; 4.0 mm for the dishcloth 2 Gauge: garter stitch pattern – 18 stitches/ 4 inches for the dishcloth 1; 17 stitches/ 4 inches for the dishcloth 2
Abbreviations:
K: Knit
RS: right side
WS: wrong side
wyif S1: bring working yarn to the front before slipping the next stitch (in this pattern slip the last stitch)
K1B: Knit one stitch below the stitch that is on the left needle
[….]: repeat of stitch pattern within a row
Cast on 31 stitches with US #10 needles for the dishcloth 1 or US #9 for the dishcloth 2. Then with US#8 knitting needles for the dishcloth 1 or with US#7 knitting needles for the dishcloth 2 knit as follows:
Row 1 (WS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row 2 (RS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row 3 (WS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row 4 (RS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row 5 (WS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row 6 (RS): K2, [K1B, K1] till 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row 7 (WS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row 8 (RS): K1, K1B, [K1, K1B] till 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Repeat Rows 1 to 8, 7 more times ending with Row 8
Row (WS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row (RS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row (WS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row (RS): Bind off loosely in knit stitch pattern with a US #10 knitting needle for the dishcloth 1 or US #9 knitting needles for the dishcloth 2
Insert a 4.5 mm crochet hook for the dishcloth 1 (or 4.0 mm crochet hook for the dishcloth 2) in the last remaining stitch and single crochet all around the dishcloth.
(Optional) – For the hanging loop, chain 15 and slip stitch into the next single crocheted stitch on the crocheted border. Finish the dishcloths by washing, blocking and weaving in the ends.
Coffee Tea Knits 