Knitted Dishcloths and Washcloths

The Mt. Redoubt Homemakers' Club is taking part in the annual holiday bazaar the weekend following Thanksgiving, and we have already run out of dishcloths, so I volunteered to make some more. Some of the projects I work on take days or weeks to finish, but dishcloths are deliciously quick and easy. It feels so good to be able to make several in an evening!

Everyone has their own pattern for knitted dishcloths, but I'll give you mine. It's the one my husband's grandmother used for the hundreds of dishcloths she made for everyone through the years.

For two dishcloths, you'll need one ball of 100% cotton yarn (such as Lily's Sugar and Cream) and size 8 needles. Using a long tail cast-on, cast on 4 stitches.

Knit two, yarn over (making an increase), and knit the remaining stitches on the needle.

Repeat this row (making one yarn-over increase per row) until you have 40 stitches on your needle.

Now begin decreasing:

(Knit two stitches together) twice, yarn over, and knit the remaining stitches on the needle.

Repeat this row until you have four stitches on your needle again, and bind off. Weave in ends.

I've seen patterns where the knitters prefer to start with 5 stitches, prefer different sized needles, etc. There's no wrong way. It's not a grand piano, it's something to wash your dishes with, so any and all variations are perfectly fine. In fact, the dishcloth in the photo is a variation of my usual pattern - I only have one stitch, not two, on the outside edge of the yarn-overs. And I think I might like it better that way.

The photo shows an assortment of dishcloths on their way to the holiday bazaar, a bar of my own homemade soap, and a Kraft Cheese Brick box that's been in my family so long I don't remember ever not having it.