I participated in another KAL (Knit Along) for May with my facebook knitting group.  This month the project was for knit dishcloths.  I have knit one or two in the past and also crocheted a few but never really got into making them.  Well, that all changed this month because I have been cranking out these dishcloths regularly for the last two weeks.  Let me tell you they become addictive to make and are so much fun.  I really like the fact that they can be knitted in a day or two and you feel like you have accomplished something that is useful.

Another fun (and addictive) thing about knitting these dishcloths is going to the store to pick out the yarn.  I made all of mine with the LIly Sugar and Cream yarn.  There are so many fun colors, prints, stripes and ombres to choose from at Hobby Lobby and Michaels.   So, I now have a new stash of the cotton yarn for dishcloths.

Below are some photos of the dishcloths I recently made.  I am also including the pattern link to some of them as there are tons of free patterns all over the internet and on Ravelry for dishcloths.

This pattern for Grandmother’s Favorite Dishcloth is very easy and fun to knit.  It is knit on the diagonal and you increase to a certain number of stitches and then go back and decrease for the other side.  I have knit two of these so far – both only took a day to make of just knitting here and there or while watching an evening TV show.  You could also make it larger by adding more to your increases if you wanted a baby blanket or a lap throw.   My finished dishcloth was approximately 9 inches by 9 inches – a good size.  I believe I knit this one on size 8 needles.  The link to the pattern is here:  Grandmother’s Favorite Dishcloth Pattern 

The one above is the Waffle Knit Dishcloth  <click on link for the free pattern.  This is another one of my favorites and I really like the yarn I knit this one with which I think was called natural stripe.  This one I knit on a size 7 needle and with 40 stitches.  I really like the size of this one, too.

When shopping for more cotton yarn a couple of weeks ago I came across this cute dishcloth book from Leisure Arts at Hobby Lobby.  There are 16 different dishcloths in this book and so far I have knit three of them.  I like the book but I have had to adjust my needle size down and even lower my stitch count to get the cloths to be more square.  The first two I knit were more rectangles than squares – which is okay but it said they were to be square.  I also tend to knit with a slightly loose stitch so that might be another issue.  I really like the book a lot and below are a few of the designs I knit from it:

The two in the top photo I sent to my mother-in-law as I thought the colors would go with her kitchen and she likes green.  The bottom one in the browns and tans I kept for our kitchen as my counters are kind of that color.

I really like this little red, white and blue one and knitted it in a star stitch pattern.  It is another free pattern I found on Ravelry – Star Stitch Dishcloth.  This one is a little small – only about 7 by 7 inches but I like it.  I got it done in time to use for Memorial Day weekend so I am saving it for that.   The pattern is a 4 row repeat and very easy to do.

The pattern above was for a flower type of design called the Almost Lost Dishcloth Pattern.   You can click on the highlighted text for the pattern from the Simply Notable blog.    It was a lot of fun to knit and very simple, too.  I made this one in a day.  I decided to use it as a table decoration under my flower arrangement for now.  Maybe after Memorial Day and the 4th of July I will use it as a dishcloth.  This one was knit in the Lily patriotic print cotton yarn which I found at Michaels.

This other flower dishcloth was called the Petal Dishcloth.  It was very similar to the Almost Lost pattern but with a few extra stitches so it is a little bigger.   It is fun to use a flower shaped dishcloth versus the traditional square one.

I am enjoying knitting, and using, all my new dishcloth designs.  These dishcloths are also great for an on the go project since they are small they are easy to take with you and take out and work on if you have to wait somewhere.  They also make great gifts and I plan to knit more up and set them aside to have some available to give away.  One thing I have noticed with them though is that they work a lot better after they have been washed a couple of times.  They kind of need to be broken in and then they wipe off your counters and wring out better.

What projects are you currently working on?  I have started another project for a shawlette for an Art Yarns KAL.  I had wanted to start it sooner but the yarn I ordered for it was on back order and I just got it a couple of days ago.  I will be sharing that in June when I get it finished.

Have a great day!

Kimberlee