Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Knitted Dishrags

Good morning. Once again it is a hot and dry day in Northwest Ohio and what have I been doing, well knitting of course. As long as the ac doesn't leave me down, I won't put down my knitting needles and yarn. I'm sure a lot of you make your own dishrags (aka dishcloths) and I have made a few in the past myself.


The nice thing about them is they are heavier than the store bought counterpart and usually last a lot longer. In other words, they are the tough guy and hard to beat.


 I made several using the old standby pattern found on the label of Lily Brand crochet cotton which you can purchase most anywhere, JoAnn's, Michael's, Walmart just to name a few (you might even find some on Ebay just in case someone is cleaning out their stash of yarns). I made another strictly as an experiment using a basket weave pattern from one of my books that had knitting designs. I think this pattern will be a good choice for hand washing dishes because of the texture of the design.


Here is a close up of that pattern which is basically knit 4, purl 4 across the row and repeat this for a total of 4 rows, then you change to a purl 4, knit 4 for another 4 rows. You keep alternating these till you get your dishcloth the size you want. The foundation row is just to cast on how ever many you want for the width, using multiple of 4. I cast on 28 and worked across those 28 stitches until I had 11 rows of the alternating pattern. Does this make sense???? There will be 44 rows, but 11 rows of the basket weave pattern for the length. The best thing about this pattern is that it is on the reverse side as well :)


Okay, so I need to show you this because I am proud as a peacock to have finally been determined enough to try a pattern that I found here . Ronda K. White was so sweet to share her lovely pattern with all of us, but please note she does have a copyright. I balked at trying it for fear it was just too difficult, and because I didn't want to sit and be frustrated. But how do you learn something new if you don't at least try, right? And face it, this is not rocket science or brain surgery.


Isn't it just so neat??????? I do think it is turning out quite pretty. It is definitely NOT your run-of-the-mill, everyday, boring square or rectangular dishrag. It will be a lacy edged circle!! I am lucky enough to have a dishwasher, but we still need the ole dishcloth to whip off the table and counter tops......and there is always that one item or two that can't be put in a dishwasher and needs to be hand washed. I know, I know, knitters/crocheters have been making their own dishrags for years, and I am probably not telling you anything new......but some of us are late bloomers when it comes to our knitting skills and------> this gal (me) is one of them, ah ha  .........I don't like to hand wash dishes, but I do like pretty dishcloths. ♥

3 comments:

  1. Hi Sue, your dishrags are great! I love 'em too. They're the perfect portable project and I seem to always have one in progress. A belated happy 4th! So nice you had a lovely time with your family. xJosie

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've been making these too, Susanne. Must take a photo to share on my blog. I love knitted dish cloths...they are the BEST!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Susie, your dishcloths are sure pretty! I have tried and tried to knit. I cast on well ha ha .. I guess I need a good teacher with lots of patience. Maybe I should sit with you for a few days haha..

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
~WRITE IT ON YOUR HEART................
THAT THE ONES YOU LOVE ARE LIFE'S MOST PRECIOUS GIFTS~