Tag Archives: knitting blog

The Hydrangea Dishcloth Pattern

Posted in July 2025, The Hydrangea Dishcloth Pattern by


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 

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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
  • WS: wrong side
  • Sc or sc: single crochet (Tutorial Series: How to Single Crochet)
  • […]: stitch pattern repeats

Knitting Skill Level: Advanced beginner – knit, purl, and slip 2 together
Crochet Skill Level: Basic level with chain one and slip stitch

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

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When life gave me yarn revisited

Posted in July 2025, When life gave me yarn revisited by

It’s been five years since the March 2020 post “When life gave me yarn“. At that time a stay at home order was in place for a couple of weeks due to the coronavirus.

What yarn meant to me then:

March 2020

When life gave me yarn, I became an avid knitter.
I started a knitting blog and embarked on a journey paved with intricate designs, colors, and textures.
Thoughts of becoming a fiber artist crossed my path several times.
On this path I also picked up the yarn related crafts of crocheting and weaving.
All throughout the journey recurring dreams of someday designing my own yarn related items beckoned me towards more and more yarn.
Now, despite my efforts to the contrary, the yarn in my life keeps growing and growing.
So, tell me my friends, is this yarn in my life just a temporary haven or is the yarn calling me?

coffeeteaknits.com


And what yarn is to me now:

July 2025

When life gave me yarn, I became an avid knitter and crocheter.
On this journey paved with intricate designs and texture, I discovered the strength of prayer and manifestation.
The meditative rhythm of fiber related crafts soothed me during coronovirus pandemic and health issues.
While on this path I became immersed in creating video tutorials.
Recurring dreams of someday designing my own yarn related items led to publishing fifty two patterns and more yarn.
Now, I’m grateful for the abundance of yarn in my life.
So, tell me my friends, is this yarn in my life here to stay? If so, I must answer.

coffeeteaknits.com

The image in the background above is a cloth I wove using the rigid heddle loom. The yarn Home Cotton® Cone Select Colors in Vineyard Dots colorway for the warp and Jelly Dots colorway for the weft.


Thank you to the fiber related crafts community, subscribers and readers of this blog for your feedback and encouragement all along my journey with yarn.

~coffeeteaknits.com

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

Tutorial Series: The Basic Knit Bind Off

Posted in June 2025, The Basic Knit Bind Off by

The live stitches on a knitting needle of a knitted piece are secured with a bind off row. This is also the last row. There are many bind off techniques. Some examples include the basic knit bind off, the stretchy bind off and the crochet bind off. Other examples include the picot bind off, the Icelandic bind off and so on. The basic knit method is the most common bind off method. In this technique, the first knitted stitch on the right knitting needle is passed over the second knitted stitch. This basic knit bind off is my favorite for blankets, dishcloths etc. since I can easily pick up the stitches to make a more decorative crochet or knitted border edge. I use knitting needles a size or two larger for the basic knit bind off. This makes the stitches easier to pick up for a border edge. The video and written instructions below for the basic knit bind off method are for right-hand knitting.

The Basic Knit Bind Off:


Written instructions for Basic Knit Bind Off Method:

  1. Knit (Tutorial Series: Knit and Tink) the first 2 stitches at beginning of the row
  2. Pass the first stitch knitted over the second stitch on the right hand knitting needle
  3. Slip the passed stitch off the right knitting needle (one stitch remains on the needle)
  4. Knit the next stitch on the left knitting needle
  5. Pass and slip the remaining stitch over the newly knitted stitch on the right knitting needle (one stitch remains on the right knitting needle)
  6. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 till the end of the row
  7. Break yarn and pull the working yarn through the last remaining stitch

~coffeeteaknits.com

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

Tutorial Series: K1tbl and P1tbl

Posted in K1tbl and P1tbl, Tutorial Series by

A knit (Tutorial Series: Knit or Tink) or a purl (Tutorial Series: Purl or Un-Purl) stitch is created through the front loop of the stitch. A variation of the the knit or purl stitch is created through the back loop of the stitch. Knitting or purling through the back loop (K1tbl/Ktbl or P1tbl/Ptbl) twists the stitches. It looks quite different from the knit and purl stitch. K1tbl and P1tbl makes the knitted fabric more dense and is sometimes used in ribbing or as a design element.


The video and written instructions below show how to K1tbl and P1tbl for right-hand knitting.

Knit 1 through the Back Loop (K1tbl):


Written Instructions for Knit 1 through the Back Loop (K1tbl):

  • Insert the right knitting needle front to back through the back loop of the stitch on the left knitting needle.
  • Take the working yarn around the top of the right needle and wrap it between the two needles on top of the first stitch
  • Catch and pick up the working yarn loop (the new stitch) with and onto the right needle
  • Slip the remaining stitch off the left needle

Purl 1 through the Back Loop (P1tbl):


Written Instructions for Purl 1 through the Back Loop (P1tbl):

  • Insert the right needle from back to front through the back loop of the stitch on the left knitting needle
  • Wrap the working yarn around the inserted right needle
  • Catch the loop made made by the working yarn (the new stitch) with the right needle
  • Slip the loop (the new stitch) onto the right needle and the old stitch off the left needle

~coffeeteaknits.com

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