Beyond the knitting instructions: How do you customize a dishcloth knitting pattern?

I’m a fan of hand knit dishcloths. Every time I use one, I’m amazed at how long they last.  And how much better they are at scrubbing than manufactured dishcloths.

Although they can be fancy with embossed-looking images, they don’t have to be. They can be as simple as garter stitch. I just finished knitting one in about three hours.

I used a pattern that’s been around for years. It’s called Grandma’s or Grandmother’s Favorite Dishcloth.

Its name suits. It’s a quick and easy knit. All you need to know is how to: cast on, knit, yarn over, decrease, and cast off.  That’s it.

It can be customized if you get tired of the basic pattern, as explained later in this post.

Grandma’s Favorite Dishcloth

Materials: Approximately 1 ounce of cotton worsted weight yarn and 1 pair of knitting needles in appropriate size.

So what’s an appropriate needle size? Whatever size you want to make the knitting as tight or as loose as you want. I knit loosely, and usually use size 5 or 6 needles. Many knitters use size 8.

Instructions:

Row 1: Cast on 4 stitches.

Row 2: Knit 2 stitches, yarn over, knit to end of row.  Turn.

Repeat Row 2 until you have 44 stitches on your needle.

Next Row (Decrease Row): Knit 1 stitch, knit 2 together, yarn over, knit 2 together, knit to end of row. Turn.

Repeat this row until you have 4 stitches left. Cast off.  Break yarn, and pull it through last stitch to knot. Weave in yarn ends.

Knitter’s Tip: If the dishcloth doesn’t look quite square, try gently pulling it into shape. It’s not unusual for the first and second halves to look different when the dishcloth first comes off the needles.

So what are some easy variations?

• Crocheting a Hanging Loop
  You can add a look by not breaking yarn when you get to the last stitch. Using a crochet hook, chain 8, attaching the chain to the last stitch or corner or next to the last stitch. Break yarn and weave in ends as above.
• Adding a Slipped Stitch Edging
  You can make a lovely slipped stitch edging by slipping the first stitch of each row as if to purl.  My video gives you the slipped stitch edging knitting instructions.
• Knitting in Reverse Garter Stitch
  If you want practice purling or just like to purl more than knit, you can knit the entire dishcloth in reverse garter stitch instead of garter stitch.

  To knit Grandma’s Favorite Dishcloth, the basic instructions become:
  Row 1: Cast on 4 stitches.
  Row 2: Purl 2 stitches, yarn over, purl to end of row.  Turn.
  Repeat Row 2 until you have 44 stitches on your needle.
  Next Row (Decrease Row): Purl 1 stitch, purl 2 together, yarn over, purl 2 together, purl to end of row. Turn.
  Repeat this row until you have 4 stitches left. Cast off.  Break yarn, and pull it through last stitch to knot. Weave in yarn ends.
  This post gives you more detailed reverse garter knitting instructions.

• Changing the size
  Want a larger or smaller dishcloth? Then increase to 46 or 42—or whatever sizes you want—before decreasing.
  You can even make square dishtowel by enlarging the pattern. You may however need more than one ball of yarn.
  Knitters tip: Hand knit dishtowels seem to absorb water better than store-bought ones.
• Using your imagination to customize—
  If you want to knit in colors, you can knit stripes. You may either find you have a lot of ends to weave in, or if you carry the yarn from row to row you may want to crochet a border of single crochet or knit an I-cord border to cover the yarn loops.
  If you change colors after either 2 or 4 rows the yarn carried will be short lengths. You can also make wider stripes of more rows, breaking the yarn between stripes.

So now you have the basic instructions and five easy variations.

Another variation of the garter stitch is my Garter Ripple Kitchen Set, based on an easy lace stitch called Feather and Fan.

It’s a great way to brighten up your kitchen or to practice lace knitting on a small project:

Disclosure: I have a marketing connection to a brand, topic or product herein. Through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made. cmp.ly/5/kf4rlc

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Easter knitting instructions: Have you checked out these free knitting patterns?

The past few months, I’ve been knitting more socks.

Including my latest one:

Knitting socks includes using various knitting techniques — and different sock knitting instructions. My own adaptions, of course.

Sock knitting does lead to odds and ends of sock yarn. Too small for a large project. I just can’t bring myself to toss out perfectly good yarn. Even if it is only an ounce or less.

Periodically, I look for ways to use my stash of leftover yarn.

After a long cold winter, when the colors outside are mostly browns and grays it’s nice to pull out some colorful yarn. And spring seems the perfect time to declutter, doesn’t it?

Recently I looked at my yarn, trying to decide what to do with leftover sock yarn.

For inspiration, I checked out free Easter knitting patterns online.

The result? My article describing free online Easter knitting patterns.

I found patterns where most of the knitting instructions are for beginners or intermediate knitters.

So what are some of the advantages of knitting your own Easter basket?

• Using your stash. Always a plus, whether you’re de-cluttering or saving money. Or both!
• Saving money by making items that can be saved and reused next year. Rather than tossed in a landfill. Plus, if you’re using your own stash, you’re also saving money by not buying more yarn. At least not for this project.
• Knitting a keepsake: making happy memories now that can be relived in years to come, whenever the eggs or birds or basket are used.
• Knitting a small project can give you a break from larger or more intricate ones.
• It’s fun and colorful!

And you don’t have to knit the whole basket at once. It could be adding one or two handmade items each year can grow the basket until its completion.

Of course, you could knit an egg tree if you’re so inclined:

My preference was to start off smaller:

Happy Easter!

And happy knitting!

What are easy fingerless mitten knitting instructions?

I’m typing while wearing one fingerless mitten.

Why?

Well, my fingers were cold and I decided to experiment. I was curious to know how fast I’d notice a difference between the two hands, I decided to try just one.

In less than 10 seconds I noticed an improvement in the hand wearing the mitten. Wow! What a surprise! I always thought they’d warm the hands but not the fingers. Now if I could just knit that fast.

While I like mittens and gloves, fingerless ones are better sometimes. For example, when you’re working at a keyboard, wearing regular mittens make typing impossible. Most gloves are cumbersome — at best. If your fingers don’t slip off the keys while wearing them, gloves are often bulky or just don’t feel right.

Fingerless mittens or gloves solve these problems.  They allow you to use the keyboard or mouse on a computer comfortably and don’t get in your way.

What’s the difference between fingerless gloves and fingerless mittens? While I don’t have an official answer from the Fashion Gurus, my take is that fingerless gloves have four openings for individual fingers. Their length can be as short as one or two rows, or go all the way to the fingertips.  Fingerless mittens, on the other hand, have a single opening for four fingers. And they’re definitely faster to knit!

While fingerless glove knitting instructions can be complex and best suited for an experienced knitter, fingerless mittens can be quick and easy. Yes, for beginners, too!

So what are the steps for knitting Easy Garter Stitch Fingerless Mittens?

1. Check the gauge. The gauge for this pattern is 3.5 stitches per inch in garter stitch. I used Caron’s One Pound Yarn in Sunflower (yellow) and Royalty (blue). It’s a worsted weight acrylic and knits up soft. I used size 9 needles.

2. Measure your hand. Using a tape measure or even a piece of yarn, measure around your palm above the thumb.

3. Cast on:

• 6.5-inch hand = 22 stitches
• 7-inch hand = 24 stitches
• 7.5-inch hand = 26 stitches
• 8-inch hand = 28 stitches
• 8.5 inch hand = 30 stitches

Knitting Tip: Check the size as you knit. It’s amazing how many times the knitting can vary once you actually cast on the rows.  Although mittens are fairly forgiving, it’s still easier to make adjustments early in the knitting rather than after the mitten is almost finished.

4. Knitting pattern:

Row 1: Slip first stitch as if to purl. Knit across rest of row. Turn.

Repeat Row 1 for desired length from cuff to top of mitten.

Change colors to add stripes if you wish.  I changed colors on the wrong side after four rows of blue and two of yellow:

Slipping the first stitch as if to purl makes a slipped edge garter stitch, which I’ve explained further in my free video knitting instructions.

5. Bind off loosely with your favorite method. Break yarn.

6. Sew up the side seam, leaving an opening for the thumb. (Hint: Trying on the mitten after sewing up part of the seam helps you place the thumb opening, customizing its fit!)

7. Weave in the yarn ends.

While you can add color by knitting stripes, another easy method is called mosaic knitting.  You carry only one color at a time and can make interesting patterns with it:

This particular pattern makes a thicker mitten. Which is probably why I decided to make a pair!

My PDF pattern for Easy Two-Color Mosaic Fingerless Mittens is now available on Ravelry.

Disclosure: I have a marketing connection to a brand, topic or product herein. Through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made. cmp.ly/5/kf4rlc

Projects Update

free knitting pattern available from Wendy Knits.

Follow-up to this post.

Participating in Wordless Wednesday.  Well, it’s almost wordless!

How easy is it to customize knitting instructions for a dog sweater?

Recently I bought a book on knitting dog sweaters, glanced at it, and set it aside.

When you live in the South — and it’s the middle of summer — it’s hard to get excited about knitting sweaters, even for dogs!

Then I learned a dear friend recently became suddenly critically ill. It was quite a shock to learn of her crisis, even after she’d started her recovery.  I knew she had a dog that she calls her “baby.”  So, I casually asked her if her baby could use a new sweater.  The answer was a very excited “Yes!”

Well, I figured that was as good a reason as any to try out a new knitting pattern. Not that I need to look that hard for an excuse to knit — or to try out knitting instructions. So, after she sent me her color preferences and her baby’s measurements, I started looking at the patterns.

The book, Dogs in Knits: 17 Projects for Our Best Friends had good reviews. This book, unlike some others, gives different sizes and gauges for each pattern.  That’s a big help when you need patterns that actually fit a variety of dog breeds and sizes.

Surprisingly, the sizes of the sweaters seem large. The smallest is for a dog with a 14 inch chest. No sweaters for tiny dogs!

If you’re expecting 17 sweaters, though, you’ll be disappointed. There’s an afghan, a blanket, a pillow topper, and a Christmas stocking. The book provides lots of ideas, and I think I’ll get use out of the book.

As I was looking at patterns, I decided to try the Peruvian-inspired coat. Of course my friend’s baby is shorter than the smallest pattern, although the chest circumference was right. And my knitting gauge, as usual, is okay for the stitches per inch but I have fewer rows per inch. If I followed the pattern as written, it would be way too long.

I decided to start knitting anyway, and figure out how to adjust the pattern along the way.

The original pattern has alternating large stripes with dogs and narrow stripes of color.

So, how easy was my solution?

• Very easy: just take out the narrow stripes!

Still, I wouldn’t recommend starting out trying to customize a three dimensional sweater for a dog. Because I’ve knit sweaters for people — as well as for a few dogs — I had no problem sizing the pattern to fit my friend’s baby.  However, this sweater is definitely not for a beginner, although others in the book are. The color stranding is at least intermediate, and it’s knit on circular needles.

As my sister — the dog expert — suggested, I also put the ties on the top of the sweater not underneath the chin as the pattern shows. Why? Because on the dog’s back they’re less likely to drag on the ground and are harder for the dog to chew.

Here’s my final version:

Epilogue: After my friend and her baby received the sweater, she called to thank me.  Even her baby said his thank you over the phone!

It’s very rewarding to have people (and pets) truly love something you had fun designing. I can hardly wait for a picture and to share it!

For more inspiration, check out Dogs in Knits: 17 Projects for Our Best Friends by Judith L. Swartz.

Combining knitting instructions for a knitting project

A couple of days ago, my cotton worsted yarn was calling.

Instead of the usual dishcloths, I decided to knit  washcloths. You know, the kind that are often referred to as spa washcloths. Many patterns for spa washcloths use garter stitch, which makes a good scrubbing surface.

However, it’s not as fancy as I wanted.

I like the two colors of a Ballband dishcloth. And making one the opposite or negative of the other economically uses 2 small balls of cotton yarn almost completely.

In looking closely at some of the dishcloths I’ve made from the Ballband knitting instructions, they looked unfinished. This one is a dish towel adapted from the Ballband knitting instructions.

The top and bottom have a nice border, but the sides look irregular and unfinished.

The knitting instructions give an option for crocheting a border. Part of me has always wanted to find a satisfactory knitted border option.  Somehow the crocheted border still looks unfinished to me. Or maybe sometimes I just like to make a 100% knitted item. Just because. 

I’ve been reading Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Workshop. And her I-cord instructions seemed just right. She even provides instructions for how to turn an outside corner!

So, I combined the knitting instructions: putting an I-cord border on a Ballband dishcloth.

And the result is a spa washcloth:

Knitting instructions: How do you cast on loosely?

When are knitting instructions like a puzzle?

It’s with some amusement I made my first Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ).

Most knitting patterns let you see the garment as it’s being made. Sometimes, as in the case of knitting a hat on circular needles, socks from the toe up, or even a sweater in flat pieces you can try on the garments as you work, customizing as needed. Even when knitting a sweater in flat pieces, you can still check your measurements as you go.

The BSJ though is different.

It’s more of a puzzle than most knitted garments. And it uses one of my favorite stitches, garter stitch. Here you can read garter stitch knitting instructions.

Here are my results of following the pattern:

It hardly looks like a jacket in progress. I stand awe of Elizabeth Zimmermann’s genius. Both in creating the BSJ, and in writing its knitting instructions.

As I followed her simple yet complete instructions, I kept checking to be sure I was right. You see, the original knitting instructions are, well, brief. They’re not given line by line. Which can be a bit disconcerting if you’re used to more complete instructions. By the way, line by line knitting instructions for the BSJ are available through a new printing of the pattern by Schoolhouse Press.

You may find, like me, the easiest way to keep the stitches straight is to simply count the symmetrical stitches on each end. As you can see, the folded jacket worked:

After knitting this far, it was apparent I’d run out of purple before I could finish the jacket. So, I ripped out most of the last stripe and redid it. As sometimes occurs, I also modified the pattern. Instead of buttons, I opted for no buttons or buttonholes. My buttons just didn’t look right.

Currently, I’m considering a zipper down the front. Of course, I’m reserving the right to go frogging, and redo the last few rows with buttons. Should I find the perfect ones, of course!

And while, yes I can be precise with instructions, I also enjoy the opportunities for exercising creativity in less precise instructions. How about you?

Check out more fiber artists and their projects at Fiber Arts Friday.

Knitted muff pattern: thrumming alternative

If thoughts of warm, fleece-lined winter clothing bring back fond memories … or feelings of nostalgia, you’re  not alone.

Whether it was the cold weather … the unusually high snowfalls in many areas … or the economy, the past few months fleece-lined patterns were popular.  Especially knitting with thrums.

No, that’s not a typo. Thrum is correct.

This winter everywhere I looked, it seemed thrumming was the latest trend.

So what exactly is thrumming?  According to dictionary.com, a thrum can be any waste thread or yarn.  Or the bits and pieces left when a cloth is cut off a loom.

Thrumming in knitting then involves knitting these pieces along with the yarn used for the mittens … hat … muff … or whatever.  Today, most patterns seem to call for using fleece or roving rather than left over pieces of yarn.  Because the thrum is knit with the yarn, it is secure in the piece, and shows through on the right side.  That can lead to some interesting patterns.  And if several different colored thrums used, quite an intricate pattern can be created.

Can you use the thrums without having them show through on the right side?

Yes, you can.  And it may be simpler than you think.

I made this fleecy muff from Caron One Pounder and fleece.  And, yes, the inside is fleece-lined:

It’s warm, and soft.  And more importantly, two of them have made two elderly ladies I know very happy.  Both use them indoors and out.  One even carries hers everywhere with her, and woe the person who tries to take it away from her!

Both ladies suffer from cold hands.  While it’s an inconvenience to someone who touches their hands, cold hands are uncomfortable and sometimes painful.  Of course, if there’s a medical condition causing it, a doctor should be consulted.  Mittens and gloves can be uncomfortable to wear in the house, and cumbersome to repeatedly take on and off.  Especially by someone whose cold hands may be associated with a decrease in nimbleness of her fingers and hands.

On the other hand, a muff easily slips on and off, and is light enough to be carried.  The one in the picture weighs about 5 ounces.

Perhaps you know someone specific who could use it, or just like the thoughts of nostalgia or happy memories carrying a warm, fleece-lined muff can bring.  If you’d like the pattern, I wrote instructions and include pictures.  Knitted fleecy muff is available as a Ravelry download which you can buy now.

Danish shawl-again

I’ve completed my latest Danish shawl.

The pattern is from Dorothea Fischer, and also was published in Spin-Off Magazine.

This time, I used Lion Brand Homespun Yarn in their Harvest shade.  The yarn is soft, and self-striping.  So, not as many ends to weave in! This is the second project I’ve made from this yarn.  The first, a poncho, was impractical where I live.  I saw it gathering dust.  Now I have yarn left over for at least one more project.  Yeah!

The shawl is comfortable, and I suspect I’ll mostly wear it indoors.  I may wear it under a coat in the winter, but don’t see myself working outside in it.  The yarn is softer than singles wool.  I used larger needles, and basically ignored the knitting gauge.  I knew from my last shawl about how I wanted it to work up.  And the Homespun yarn is a heavier yarn than the suggested singles.

Even so, it was light to knit.  And, as I noted in an earlier post, I was pleasantly surprised the yarn was easy to work with.  With my poncho, I had trouble with the yarn clinging to my needles.  In retrospect, it was probably my needles.  This time, I used my Denise needles and had no problems.  Both patterns had increases, so I don’t think it was the pattern.

Instead of the corded edge finish, I opted for a simpler single crochet around the shawl.  The ties were made as I made the edging.  At the two corners, I chained 60 stitches, and then came back doing single crochet in the chain loops.  I skipped some of the loops to make ties that will straighten completely.

What do you think?

The original Danish shawl pattern appeared in Spin-Off Magazine. Click here to buy now!

The links to Spin-Off Magazine in this article are affiliate links. Spin-Off Magazine did not provide me with the pattern or issue.

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