Dear Ann,
Don’t get me started on the notion that knitting is seasonal and that its season is not summer. That’s crazy talk. I don’t understand how a person who likes to knit could stop doing it for an entire season. As a mammal, I understand that hot temperatures and cuddly-cozy animal fibers might not be compatible. Yesterday, when New York suddenly came over all muggy, I started to really feel the alpaca content as I knit the last rows of my Tokyo Shawl. There was an unpleasant pelt-like weight to the heaping helping of shawl in my lap. But there was no reason to throw out the baby (knitting) with the alpaca’s bath water! Summer is the season of porches, iced beverages, and long air-conditioned car rides, and there is plenty of knitting to be enjoyed.
Today I’d like to remind everyone of the humble dishcloth, and what great summer knitting it is. I started thinking about dishcloths when I looked in my dishrag drawer and saw this:
All but my most recent dishcloths have holes in them. They have done their service. It is time for them to be put out to pasture in the rag bag. It is time to knit new ones.
A great thing about knitting dishrags is that you can take them anywhere. They are impervious to sand, seawater, dead hermit crabs laid upon them by children, sno-cone drippings and French’s mustard. They are dishrags: if they get dirty, you wash them. And if you like the pattern, and have more or less memorized it, it’s very pleasant to sit in a beach chair, or an adirondack chair, or even a hammock, and pull new colors of dishcloth cotton out of your bag. The rate of exchange is straightforward: one day at the lake or in the car = one dishrag for your drawer. You don’t have to count stitches or worry about keeping track of decreases or losing the pattern. It’s delightfully carefree.
Dishcloths are a solution if you’ve done the unthinkable and gotten yourself out on the Interstate without any knitting. Google up one of the big chain craft stores or a mart of some kind, run in and pick up a couple of balls of dishcloth cotton and a pair of needles, and you’re all set. If there is no pattern on the ballband, you can use this one. That’s what I do.
Behold what’s left of my once-legendary dishcloth cotton supply.
It may look like the island of misfit dishcloth cotton remnants, but just seeing this jumble on the windowsill has me putting together excellent dishcloth color combos.
I know: a dishcloth is not a sock. Socks are also terrific summer knitting, being small and portable. I encourage everyone to knit socks.
But if you’re looking for a sock alternative, try dishcloths. If you need more information and a new pattern or three, I have written a few posts about dishcloths.
Happy summer, Northern Hemisphere!
Love,
Kay
I’ve never actually knitted dishcloths but you lovely colourful drawer of these pretty clothes…well they’ve changed my mind! I’m going to knit some! They look like a fun project to whip up over the weekend!
Thanks!
I love a good knitted dishcloth, but I have to ask – how on earth do you keep yours from fading to a dingy shadow of their former glorious colors?? I never use bleach when washing them but they still fade like crazy.
I, too would like to know how you keep them so bright. The one I made years ago,a beautiful texture called,I think Chinese Wave, faded from cheery yellow to dingy beige after *one* washing. No bleach. That’s why it’s the only one I made. 🙁
They are quite faded in reality. I didn’t do anything to the photo, but the camera really intensified the colors. They fade, and they fade fast.
I’m desperately in need of some new dishcloths too. Most of mine are pretty ratty, but they still work!
Uh Oh. Looks like someone needs to BUY MORE dishcloth YARN.
I designed a little dishcloth dress years ago inspired by your swiffer cover. I’m more of a summer sock type, but really, I knit all summer no matter what. That’s what fans are for.
Damn straight that’s what fans are for.
I like sitting down with a stitch dictionary and learning new stitch patterns when I make washcloths.
That’s what I did to better understand the process of designing patterns! It came in handy when I was asked to teach a beginners knitting class.
Me too! I’ve found some of my favorite stitch patterns for socks by experimenting with a washcloth 🙂
Um, people, it’s dishcloths. They fade. After the bridal shower, dishcloths are no longer fashion statements, they’re workhorses. I keep one tucked in its project bag in the pocket of my driver’s door for waiting room and drawbridge delays; it takes longer to make one that way but I always have mindless knitting for those few minutes of downtime. I look forward to the day when I need to buy more dishcloth yarn, right now I have two milk crates of the stuff. Time to double-down on the dishcloth and tea towel knitting–just as soon as my second Turkish Bed Sock is finishes. #OneSockKAL
Barbara, what do the knitted tea towels look like? Would you he able to point me in the direction of a pattern?
There are a number of nice looking towel patterns on the Knit Picks website and I’ve made the hanging towel from the Modern Daily book. Check on Ravelry and you’ll find seven pages of free patterns alone and about twenty more pages of patterns of patterns to buy. Good hunting!
Thanks! Will do.
“finished.”
Crochet and dish cloth (or wash rag) go together well, too. For Mother’s Day, I made my mom a fresh batch, but I used linen (Sparrow) instead of cotton. They have a sturdy, slightly exfoliating-like texture. I will be interested to see how well they wear as compared to cotton.
Kay, how are your socks coming? ☺️
Back when Pisgah announced they would no longer be making Peaches & Creme there was much gnashing of teeth in the knitterly world. How would we live without it? All other yarns were imposters, etc etc etc. In order to delay the apocalypse that was surely coming, I ordered a huge carton of the stuff that now sits in a corner of my office. I think I might have over-ordered.
It was so cheap at the end. I ordered a huge carton of their double worsted, on cones, knowing that no one else makes dishcloth cotton in this weight. I also found out from a Ravlery group that one of the dollar store chains had the Peaches and Cream worsted in their stores for , yes, a dollar, and I drove to several stores loading up on that, too. I’m set for life.
Summer Love = knitting dishcloths: ABSOLUTELY!
As to the fading: mine do. But not Kay’s? Why? How?
I haven’t knit a dishcloth in a while (mainly because I’m well stocked and the cotton yarn is a bit hard on my hands), but you’re absolutely right — they are ideal summer knitting. I don’t use my dishcloths for actually washing dishes, but I’ve found that they’re great for wiping up wet counters. I also find they make great housewarming gifts (along with some fancy soap).
I recently made a bunch of Ballband and Linoleum dishcloths, eschewing my usual bright colors for black, gray, white with accents of red for a bride’s kitchen. Even if you are set with dishcloths, you may need (or justify the need for) some new ones because the kitchen palette is changing to fit attire of black, gray, white, etc. And I found the stores where you buy Peaches and Creme to be bending to this new palette and amply stocked with these monotone shades.
In a truly dire circumstance, where one has no pattern, and possibly lacks the focus to follow any pattern, dishcloth knitting can be reduced to the absolute bare minimum. Cast on some stitches. Knit till the yarn is almost gone. Cast off. Sometimes that’s all the knitting one can face.
I lost my job a few years ago, and through that depressing and scary time, I cranked out a big Trader Joe’s bag full of warsh rags. I have given many away as gifts and used a few, but the bag is still pretty full.
My glass is back to being half-full now, but I’ll be crocheting up a few dish cloths over the summer—the big dishcloth exchange group over on Ravelry will be swapping again this August after a lengthy break. I love a good dish cloth exchange—it feels like such a 1930’s thing to do.
A coworker just told me she guessed I was about done knitting since beach time had arrived; trust me, I set her straight with the dishcloth solution!
I like dish clothes because they are so quick to knit–instant gratification (almost). I know what you mean about animal fibers in the heat — when I was in the super hot humid Eastern Caribbean during my recent 2 years in the Peace Corps I could only stand to knit with cotton or bamboo … And I knit a few dishcloths — cuz I needed them– then I knit shawls — to wear when I found myself ( rarely) in an air conditioned building for some event or Peace Corps training.
I knit shawls out of nice drapey bamboo mix of a yarn and one of lightweight cotton …
I use mercerized cotton for my ballband dishcloths because the colors are prettier and they last through washing. The cotton is supposed to be a little less absorbent, but I’ve never really noticed. It’s a dishcloth.
I did knit a black and white dishcloth out of regular cotton recently. Mistake!! The black dye bled and now the white is ugly gray.
Okay, you want crazy talk? Here’s some crazy talk. I have never tried one of your dishrags, but now I want to.
Uh-oh. No cotton yarn. Solution: Go over to the hardware store in Westhampton Beach, where they have a small knitting section with Peaches and Creme (like the old “variety” store). Uh-oh. No pattern–the link you show is not working and my copy of your book is in my NYC apartment. Solution: The local library has a copy!
I’m going to try this later. Maybe I’ll start an Instagram hashtag for those of us who are not participating in the Sock KAL.
A Google search for ballband dishcloth pattern brings up “Canadian Living”. Once on that site, use the search box to get the pattern. Enjoy!
Thanks. Super helpful. Here is the link.
http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/knitting/knit_a_ballband_dishcloth.php
Hey, even better, I found some YouTube instructions for the Brick pattern. I’m off to the hardware store now.
Re: fading in the wash. Check the chlorine content of your water supply. I found my town, which used surface water, had more chlorine in the water than was needed for a swimming pool. My jeans were fading, t-shirts disintegrating. Solution: a charcoal water filter, a big one, to remove some of the excess chlorine. The real solution was to move. I have my own well now, chlorine-free. My washcloths don’t fade.
I try to lean to the dark side for dish clothes (and for hanging hand towels, which I knit more of than dish clothes, but under many of the same circumstances discussed above). They don’t get dirty looking quite as fast, and they look okay after washing. I use the lighter colors for accents. And when they look too awful, I throw them away. Not many knitting projects I can say that about (or am willing to do that with…).
Oh, and if one is caught out without a pattern, there is always the diagonal thing – start in one corner, increase a stitch on each side to desired size, then decrease one stitch each side until the stitches are all gone.In garter stitch this results in a square. One can use yarn overs a few stitches in to make an eyelet edge for general fanciness. Just sayin”.
The ballband dishcloth is the most fun dishcloth that I have knit so far. I think it’s because of all of the endless color combinations, intarsia variations, etc. The thing is, most of the time when I give them away, my friends say they are too pretty to use (except for the one person who gave me a 15 minute+ lecture on how the dishcloths I made for her were too thick to wash her mother’s good glasses set, and what I should do to rectify the situation). I offered to take them back, but she declined to hand them over…
I need a like button for this posting.
I’m definitely in the sock camp, but your dishcloths look very pretty! xx
Are these meant for washing dishes or drying them? Or both?
I also use them for washing me. Hand knitted warshrags are great face cloths and super in the bath. Pah on terry cloth, give me a nice cotton homemade cloth and I feel clean.
Washing, but enlarging the pattern to the size of a dish towel is easy. There are also many free dish and/or hand towel patterns out there.
Nine years ago we were camping in the Big Horn mountains in Wyoming. The supermarket/dime store (remember dime stores?) had the biggest selection of Sugar & Creme I had ever seen, and I took complete advantage of that sucker. http://kmkat.typepad.com/kmkat_and_her_kneedles/2007/06/vacation_part_t.html
Even after knitting countless dishcloths and baby bibs I still have a LOT of S&C left. Probably a lifetime supply…
My goodness! Such a lot of gorgeous colors!
The link is not good. The website is under construction, whatever that is.
Other suggestions? I love this dish cloth. A friend has made some for me in the past.
See above. Someone posted another link.
Hmm, you’ve given me an idea for some quick-knit presents for my daughter and daughter in law. And a good use for both all the Rowan Handknit Cotton I’ve acquired over the years, and the Mission Falls 1824 cotton stash, whose brightest colors are used up (adorable ruffled sundresses for little girls). You’ve been tempting me to make these for some time.
But I just caked some linen yesterday for a summer version of my much-loved Inner Peace. Would that the day had more hours!
Oh oh… I have just looked up after starting my first-ever ball band washcloth, and I see that some considerable time has slipped past. I Am worried that my color choices train has totally left the tracks, as I am seriously considering using blockbuster musicals as inspiration for dishcloth colors this summer. What colors would best express “Hamilton fever” do you suppose?
Easy – red, white and blue!
I just came back on line to say this is a great gift for friends with a beach house ( who are, themselves, a great gift!).
Green, the color of money.
Is your dish cloth drawer really that tidy and spare? Or did you “stage” if or the blog? Mine is a crammed mess. But the dishcloth, of which I have knitted lots, are intact.
In my post-KonMari era, that is my actual dishrag drawer. I took the sponges out of their plastic wrapper for the photo.
Wow! You win the Kon Mari award! Brava!! Mazel!
After buying your first book i was so good about the dishrag knitting and the washcloth knitting s d the bob knitting and gifting and keeping. Then somehow it stopped. ???
Your post today reminded how much Ilike having them. Fortuitously my postman (yes, he is a man) put a coupon fir JoAnn’s in my box today. Happy about my future knitting! But please don’t ask about that one-sock KAL. Which i would feel far guiltier about if you’d knit yours.
The emojis softened and humored up that last line. Too bad they didn’t show up.
— not a duplicate comment. Really! The emojis softened and humored up that last line. Too bad they didn’t show up.
There’s something special about new dishcloths, the bright colours and interesting patterns brought out by the frequent immersion in water by using a fresh one each day. But there is also a satisfaction in seeing the colours fade and the cotton stretch and finally start to break down. I have been knitting dishcloths already this spring, and they are perfect for a quick project, and one that doesn’t take a lot of concentration (like a sock sometimes does). One was the ballband pattern, that morphed into garter stitch near the end as I became annoyed at the fact that I couldn’t keep the pattern in my head. It is still beautiful (another plus – dishcloths don’t need utter perfection).
I’ve knit the ball band dishcloth so many times, all I need is a brief review of the pattern and off I go. Such a fun pattern, only 4 of the 12 row repeat are purl rows and what fun with color I have.. I just finished 5 as a wedding gift for a friend.
I don’t use dishcloths and my feet can’t tolerate handmade socks, so I turn to other summer knitting, although I really don’t mind continuing with my regularly scheduled knitting. Some other things I like are mittens, squares or strips for afghans, jewelry.
Handknit dishrags make great gifts! People love receiving them!
Combine knitting dishrags with ideas in Cecelia Campochiaro’s SEQUENCE KNITTING book and you will never run out of ideas!
I wasn’t able to find the dishcloth pattern at the link above. Looks like the http://www.peachesandcreme.com site no longer exists. I did, however find that same pattern at:
http://www.yarnspirations.com/patterns/brick-stitch-dishcloth.html. My LYS is having a call for dishclothes for donation, so I’ll be making some of these.
I can’t thank you enough for sharing your love of dishcloths all those years ago in your first book. When I first read it I thought you were insane, but within a short amount of time I had put in a huge order for Peaches and Creme cotton and starting knitting like a loon. I still hoard what is left of my stash of “original” Peaches and Creme cotton… 🙁
You are correct – it’s perfect summer knitting. I also keep an on-going-dishcloth next to the computer because it’s the one thing I can knit without thinking and without a pattern. It’s amazing how much knitting you can get done with those in between moments or waiting on the phone. I also use it to play with colors I’d otherwise never use – yellow for example. I’m knitting a summer dishcloth in yellow and white and it’s making me so happy right now!
Thanks for sharing. I always feel transported back to that depression-era farm kitchen when I knit them and it did relieve me of “precious knitting” syndrome (whatever you called it!) and I actually USE them!
Perfect summer knitting. Cotton. Portable. Fun colors.
My, your drawer is tidy! Lovely colors, too.
I knit all year round, and I stock up on dishcloths in the summer months. I not only use them myself but give them away. Wrapped in a cute wrapper that you can print right at home, they make the perfect little hostess gift! And people love to get gifts!! I am glad to see you knitting dishcloths again. They are great fun. Enjoy your summer knitting!!
You totally inspired me, Kay. I went off to JoAnn’s this weekend and bought a bag full of dishcloth cotton and started a Ball-Band Dishcloth last night!