Introduction: Easy Knit Dishcloth / Washcloth
I've recently become obsessed with knitting dishcloths and washcloths. I've been experimenting with creating my own designs but then thought I should try something simple. This is a very basic knit dishcloth pattern that is great for beginners. It doesn't require a lot of knitting knowledge to do and can be pretty soothing to make.
Try it out and see what you think.
If you aren't into knitting, try out my Easy Crochet Dishcloth pattern!
Step 1: Supplies and Stitches
This is the easiest dishcloth pattern out there and you aren't going to need much to make it.
Supplies:
- Cotton yarn of choice - since this is a dishcloth/washcloth, you want 100% cotton, mercerized cotton should work as well; both single and variegated colors work for this pattern
- Knitting needles size 7 (sizes 5 - 7 should work, the end size of your washcloth will depend on the needles you have, how tight or loose you want the stitches, and how thick or thin your yarn is)
- Counter (optional) - this can be helpful with keep track of stitches or rows. I didn't use it so much for this pattern, but there are future patterns I plan to make where this can be handy to have
- Yarn Needle (not pictured)
Stitches you need to know:
- Cast On (CO)
- Knit (K)
- Yarn Over (yo)
- Knit 2 Together (k2tog)
- Cast off (CO)
Step 2: Pattern
This pattern is pretty easy. You only need to know how to do a couple rows and then you pretty much repeat the rest of the time.
With the counts below, I ended up with a dishcloth that is about 6½"x6½". If you want a bigger one, just continue to increase until the sides are your desired dimensions.
Pattern:
- CO 4
- K 4
- K 2, yo, knit to end
Repeat step 3 until you have 45 stitches across (or however many you want, it will depend on your needles and yarn size, as you can see in the pictures above, mine ended up having about a 9" diagonal with 6.5" sides).
- K 1, k2tog, yo, k2tog, knit to end
Repeat step 4 until you are down to 4 stitches
- CO
When you are done, just put the end of the yarn through your last loop, tighten it, and then hide both your ends.
How this pattern works is, each time you yarn over you are creating that "hole" along the edge of the dishcloth while also increasing each row by 1 stitch.
The reason you knit 2 together twice as you decrease is so you can continue to do the yarn over and continue the "hole" border while also decreasing 1 stitch for each row.
Step 3: Make 'em and Use 'em
Or give them as gifts. Everyone needs dishcloths and washcloths.