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

Welcome back to The Knitting Yarn! Thanks for coming back. If you haven't yet, be sure to stay updated with the latest posts and patterns by subscribing to my RSS feed and bookmarking each post. This way you'll never miss a pattern, even if you're too busy knitting to click in.

Adapting lace knitting instructions: How easy is it?

I used to think I was allergic to wool. Every time I used it, my fingers would itch and it felt very scratchy.

More recently, though I’ve found it’s not the wool: it’s the processing!  Some processed fibers still are too scratchy, but the lesser processed fibers work just fine.  Good thing too, or I wouldn’t have been able to finish my latest project.

Here’s what’s left of two balls of handspun that wasn’t dyed. It’s from Brown Sheep Mills mill end roving, and is very soft to knit.

It was a real pleasure to knit this yarn.

I decided upon a lace scarf.

As you can see, the lace pattern isn’t very prominent:

That’s because the handspun yarn “blooms” and fills in the spaces. It does, however, make a very nice warm scarf.

The original knitting instructions made a very wide scarf in this yarn. So, I ended up frogging a bunch of it, and re-knitting it in a narrower width.

And yes, knitting a swatch first helped me to decide the pattern, yarn, and needles worked well together.

The pattern comes with instructions on how to resize it. It’s The Columbine II Seamen’s Scarf in Stahman’s Shawls and Scarves: Lace Faroese-Shaped Shawls from the Neck Down & Seamen’s Scarves. This book has multiple levels of skill for the projects. I may just end up knitting several of the projects as I practice my lace knitting.

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

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

What’s with the Long-Tail Cast-on knitting instructions?

As a child, I learned to knit.

My knitting was a mixture of: what my mother taught me, what I learned from a knitting pamphlet, and my own invention. Amazingly enough, it worked. Actually, it worked quite well. That is, until I attempted circular knitting and lace.

They were much less forgiving than knitting, purling, and even cables.

Over the past few years I’ve been seeking new ways (for me) to cast on. In retrospect my original cast-on either never made it to the knitting manuals or I remembered it wrong. Which is probably why it was so difficult challenging.

When I learned a two needle cast on by knitting the stitches on, my heart leaped. Now I could cast-on by simply knitting stitches on the needle. How cool is that?

Recently, I found the long-tail cast-on in Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Workshop. Not only is it fast, it’s almost effortless to keep the stitches consistent and even. Once again, I’m in awe of Elizabeth’s knitting expertise.  Of course, she may not have invented this cast-on.

Its added bonus: with the cast-on, your first row of knitting is complete. Now that’s really clever!!

The pictures are a bit blurry, so the completed row may not be obvious. It’s there, though!

Here’s a video of the Long-Tail Cast-on knitting instructions.

And here’s a picture of a simple afghan square I made with the long-tail cast on:

Here’s the link for this simple afghan square’s free knitting instructions.

So, why are the long-tail cast-on knitting instructions popular?

• You can cast-on quickly.
• The stitches slip on and can be adjusted so all stitches are even without hours of practice!
• Once you finish your cast-on row, your first row is knit. So you can start with row 2: a real time saver!
• It can be started without the first stitch being a slip knot. Combined with the even stitches, this makes a very straight border.
• It’s easy to learn.

And yes, it’s already one of my favorite cast-on methods! My only question: Why didn’t I know about it before now?

Oh, and here’s my completed Log Cabin Afghan Square, and a second version.  It’s definitely faster to piece them for a quilt!

And these edges are all bind-offs, because the cast-on is for the center square.

If Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Workshop isn’t part of your knitting library, you should seriously consider it. See if you also find this small book a treasure of knitting information.

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

How do you adapt knitting instructions while knitting?

Do you closely follow knitting instructions?

Okay, I confess: my tendency is to knit the “perfect” item.

The first time.

Up tight knitter? Who me?

Sometimes I follow the instructions exactly. And sometimes I adapt them as I knit. Following the knitting instructions exactly is not as important to me as the finished project.

Ideally, I can try on a project while knitting, making adjustments as needed. Finishing a big project only to decide it doesn’t look right or doesn’t fit quite right — and can only be fixed by copious ripping and re-knitting — is not my idea of fun. Too much like wasting time.

There are some projects, like Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Surprise Jackets, that defy attempts to fit as you go. At least that’s my experience.

Adapting the Adult Surprise Jacket knitting instructions

A few weeks ago, I started my first adult surprise jacket (asj) using hand spun wool.

After completing two baby surprise jackets (bsj), I felt ready to tackle this project.  This link details my adventures with the knitting instructions for my first bsj.

I did the math, and decided to try the wider sleeves. I couldn’t find any examples of the wider sleeves, and it just “felt right.”  The wider sleeves added over 30 stitches to each row.

The surprise jackets are interesting and challenging simultaneously. I’m just beginning to understand how they are constructed as I knit.  Measuring seems to involve mostly math before starting — until you finish the increases.

This pattern is especially challenging to make adjustments as you knit. If you get partway done, it could be hard to change the size without starting over.  With long rows of knitting, that could indeed be frustrating.

Thankfully, I didn’t have that particular challenge.

What did I adapt?

1. When I completed the increases, I decided the sweater was long enough without the suggested additional rows. If you look closely you’ll see the mitered corner in the front ends at the bottom of the sweater.
2. Instead of adding sleeve length, I also decided I like the wider, elbow-length sleeve reminiscent of a kimono for working around the house, especially with a sweater underneath.
   

   ASJ knit with wider sleeve

3. I opted for an I-cord edge without buttons.So no buttonholes to calculate and no buttons to sew on!
4. I bound off the shoulder seams in a different color, and ended up doing some sewing to get it to look right.

With long rows requiring a 57 inch circular needle, it really doesn’t matter if the row is off by a stitch or two. Of course, it’s nice to have an exact count, sort of like winning at solitaire.

After some delays in the knitting which had nothing to do with the pattern, it’s finally finished!

Subscribe now to The Knitting Yarn to get your free knitting patterns.

Knitting instructions: How do you customize them for Christmas easily and quickly?

One of my earliest Christmas memories is my sister and I receiving identical knit hats from my Aunt Gerry.  They were red, with a face on the back, lovingly hand embroidered for children. Even to the google eyes. Hey, we were toddlers and thought them very cool!

Christmas is a great time to relive happy memories—and to create some new ones.

Yes, it’s great to be able to make a scarf, mittens, or even a sweater for a loved one. Especially if they actually like it!

Sometimes, though, other problems challenges crowd out the knitting time.  And even the fastest knitter needs more than an hour or two to hand knit a sweater.

This year is one of those times for me.  Even decorating is challenging.  My tree is up, and the lights are on.  And you know, for the first time in many years, it’s enough.  I’m enjoying the lights even without any ornaments.

Still, I like to add hand knit items to my Christmas—and that of those I love.

So, how can you easily create a hand-knit Christmas?

1. Knit some ornaments. They make a great addition to your tree, and can be a great way to use up leftover yarn, also being economical.  There are lots of free patterns on the Internet.  To get you started, try my free tiny mitten knitting instructions. Ornaments can even do double duty when you —
2. Knit a package decoration or even a package. Angels, stars, tiny stockings and mittens can be very cute on a package.  The recipient can enjoy them before the gift is opened, and afterwards they make a nice addition to their ornaments.  Small stockings can also be knit to fit a candy cane, roll candy, or lip balm.  A nice stocking stuffer or small inexpensive gift that still shows the recipient you took time to personalize it. Knitting Pattern Central is a great place to start looking for knitting instructions.
3. Knit dishcloths or washcloths in Christmas colors. They’re a reminder of the season, and even when not in use can make a kitchen or bath feel more like Christmas. They make a practical project for yourself, and a thoughtful gift for non-knitters.  Adding an I-cord border to some patterns is a quick way to add a second color. Cotton yarn at often less than $2 a ball remains economical, practical and easy.

Create your own ripple knit dishcloths with my Garter Ripple Kitchen Set.

Projects Update

free knitting pattern available from Wendy Knits.

Follow-up to this post.

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

You’ve completed the knitting instructions: now what to do with the leftover yarn?

Well, after 6 months — 4 of which they sat on a shelf waiting for me to be inspired to knit them again — I finally finished my knee socks!

They are my first very own hand knit knee socks, custom-made using several sock knitting instructions which I combined. I do like the toe-up knitting instructions, because the sock can be tried on as you’re knitting. That way, changes can be made immediately and — at least theoretically — keeps the frogging to a minimum!

The patterned sock yarn is: Austermann Step Sock Yarn in the Sunset Fairisle colorway. The Fairisle pattern is in the dyeing of the yarn, so it’s like a self-striping yarn: except better! It’s soft, treated with Jojoba and Aloe Vera extracts. While knitting I noticed how soft it is on the hands. According to the label, the extracts and softening power last through hundreds of washings. I’m thinking they’ll be very helpful in the dry winter weather!

The solid toes, heels, and cuff are Wildfoote Luxury Sock Yarn in Temple Turquoise. The Fairisle colors really seem to “pop” with the contrast of the solid yarn sections.

There’s enough yarn left over, that one skein of the Austermann Step Sock Yarn probably would have been enough without the contrast.  Wow! One skein for a pair of knee socks for size 10-1/2 feet!

So, when the knitting instructions are complete, what to do with the left over yarn? Options include:

• Saving the yarn for later because sometimes the right project just doesn’t immediately jump out. Especially after finishing a big project, sometimes another yarn is calling to be knit, yes?
• Starting a project, and adding yarn as you get it from future as yet unspecified projects. This option adds the risk of maybe having an incomplete project that will end up either incomplete for a long time, or possibly being unraveled. Of course, if you like to work this way, it’s something to consider. This also could run the risk of adding to your yarn stash if you end up buying yarn to finish a project you can’t stand to remain incomplete another minute.
• Finding a small project now. After finishing a big project, the idea of a project that can be completed in an evening or two before starting another larger project has a certain appeal.

Needless to say, I decided to start looking for a small project. And one found me:

A tiny mitten! Jumping in without a pattern is always an adventure in itself. After making enough mittens to have memorized the basics of a mitten, it was easy. The Fairisle yarn makes a lovely pattern in stockinette stitch, without a great deal of thought. And since the mitten needed to look like a mitten but not necessarily fit anyone or anything, it’s a very forgiving project.

Now what to do with it?

It could be a doll mitten, although I quit playing with dolls some years ago.

How about a Christmas mitten? It — or perhaps a pair with an attached cord — would make a neat homemade ornament for a Christmas tree. And, it could also be used on the outside of a package as decoration: to be used by the recipient as an ornament.

Would you like a copy of the pattern? Subscribe in the box on the sidebar to get your free knitting bag pattern immediately, and you’ll get my Tiny Mittens pattern a couple of days later.

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.

Adapting the knitting instructions for a lace purse

When I read about a bride’s purse in Knitting Daily, I knew I wanted to try its free knitting instructions.

However, I didn’t have enough white crochet thread, and the correct size needles were in use for socks I started a while back. I did, however, have a purse I’d started which was sitting on a shelf. Sitting alone because I found it too hard to knit. Not wanting to give up on crochet thread, the Knitting Daily pattern was just what I needed to try again.

I like the way the two colors of crochet cotton blended, and wanted to use them. The new purse started by ripping the “old” purse, and reusing the crochet thread.

So how did I customize the knitting instructions?

• By changing the colors
• By changing the thread from one strand to two and adjusting the sizes of the needles accordingly
• By stopping when I was satisfied with the size of the purse
• By creating my own edging
• By changing the crocheted cord to an I-cord

After ripping and winding crochet thread, I started my new purse. On size 3 double pointed needles since that’s what I had. When I needed a circular needle, I used my size 4 because I don’t have a size 3. And I wanted to make the purse now, not wait until I could purchase a circular needle.

So that’s what I did. Using the larger needles, because I have 2 strands instead of the one from the pattern. It also makes a larger purse, of course. My solution was to only do two repeats of the lace before adding my own edging.

And, I didn’t want to crochet the tie. Instead, I decided to try Elizabeth Zimmermann’s I-cord, from her book Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Workshop.

The result is a purse large enough for a cell phone, small wallet and keys. I added a lining made of two circles of fabric sewn rights sides together then turned and slip stitched in place. This has the right side of the lining peek through the lace and the right side of the lining also be inside the purse. The lining doesn’t show up well on my pictures.

Here is the final result:

For the edging, I made up my own. A close-up:

And, yes, that’s an I-cord cast off also from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Workshop.
.

Knitting with crochet cotton isn’t so hard. My earlier attempt at creating my own knitting instructions for a purse was complicated by knitting too few stitches on the circular needle.

All in all, it’s not so hard to customize the knitting instructions for a lace purse.

Want more detailed instructions for customizing a knit bag? Grab your free custom bag pattern by subscribing today!

Check out more fiber art blog posts at:

Next Page »