Chicken Soup Designs: August 2015

Dozens of Dainty Dishcloths

We are getting ready for a big, cross-country move... and I wanted to leave a little something for each of my wonderful friends. I thought about socks... but my sock knitting ability wasn't up to knitting 17 pairs in a short 30 days... so what to do? And then it hit me.... DISCHLOTHS. Humble... I know; but oh-so-practical! And so many pretty designs and beautiful colors. I also learned a thing or two along the way about each pattern that I used, which I will pass along :).

First up: Grandmother's Favorite by Traditional Design.

I think this might be the VERY first dischloth pattern that comes up on Ravelry when you type in "easy" and "knitted dishcloth" - and for a very good reason! This is a mindless pattern that you can do just about anywhere. Also, because it is knit on the diagonal, you don't lose your sanity in endless knit rows with no variation. These are the first ones I started with. Simple, no frills, and absolutely practical!

Next up: The Almost Lost Washcloth by Julie Tarsha.

These little beauties are fun to knit, and provide almost an endless variation in color! It is supposed to be knit flat, and then seamed at the end, but I quickly started doing a provisional cast-on (via a 16-18 stitch crochet chain) and grafting them together at the end with a garter Kitchener stitch. Easy Peasy. I also used the German short row method (love this!) It makes an almost invisible short row turn - and makes these cloths look very finished!

For a little added challenge, I also tried the Dash Cloth by Renee M (in two different color schemes):

And the Circle Cloth by hakucho:

As well as this cute Pumpkin Dishcloth by Kathleen (with bonus chart for those of you that prefer charted directions like I do!)

And have you tried illusion knitting yet? What a fun technique! The arrangement of purls and knit stitches makes a wonderful design that only pops out when you are eye-level with the piece! Like this: Illusion Snowflake by Emily Byrd Adams