A Knit Turkey Dishcloth Might Make Cleanup More Fun This Thanksgiving

The worst thing to me about big holiday meals is cleaning up after. There are always more dishes than can possibly fit in the dishwasher (or you used the good china that can’t be washed in the machine), not to mention serving platters that are too big for the machine, all the pots and pans…

Maybe having a novelty dishcloth would make some of the cleaning a little more fun?

I don’t know. But the Turkey Day Dishcloth from One Crafty Mama might bring a little smile to your face while you’re elbows-deep in suds.

Dishcloths are generally quick and easy, finish in a weekend or a couple of evenings kinds of projects, and this one is even better because the textured design is simply worked in Garter Stitch on a field of Stockinette and the instructions are written out row by row, no chart-reading required.

This is a great choice for a newer knitter who wants to make something a little more involved but still perfectly easy, or for a knitter with more experience to whip up in a flash.

[Photo: One Crafty Mama.]

Why use dishcloths? Dishcloths are re-useable and save on kitchen waste. Most dishcloths are made using cotton yarn and can be thrown into the washing machine when dirty. This makes them very hygienic, especially when compared to kitchen sponges, which sit on the sinks for days if not weeks. Another great thing about dishcloths is when it comes to knitting the knit up quickly and are great for gift giving. Everyone needs a dishcloth. For gifting, It’s not something that has to be in fashion or a certain colour for the recipient to like it, though there are so many great dishcloth pattern designs out there.

Looking for Thanksgiving projects to knit? Check out these patterns we found on Etsy.

For the past few years I’ve taken part in a Christmas in July blog hop that encourages people to get a jump on their making for holiday gifts.

I love to use yarn I already have for these projects in the hope that people will consider what they already have that they can use to make projects for themselves or to give as gifts.

This year it was a couple of knit baskets made using partial balls of yarn left in my stash from other projects.

They use the same basic pattern but the first one is made with two colors of bulky yarn, and the second used two strands of worsted weight yarn held together, which made the gauge about the same, but I cast on fewer stitches to make a smaller version.

The bottom of the basket is square, though you can make them rectangular if you’d rather. Then I just knit up the sides in rounds until I was about to run out of yarn. This gave both baskets rather short sides — maybe more like a tray than a basket — but you can keep knitting as long as you like to make the sides of your basket as tall as you want.

They’re worked in seed stitch, which keeps the edges from curling and adds a nice texture to the baskets.

Of course this also allows you to use even more odd balls from your stash. I’d love to make a big one someday combining lots of different yarn. I mean, I’d probably use it to store more yarn, but that’s a fine thing to do.

As it is, these little trays are great for sitting on your desk or bedside table to hold little things that always seem to appear there. I like to use one to hold the supplies for whatever project I’m working on, things like little scissors, my tape measure, a crochet hook, etc.

And they would make good gifts on their own or as a container to hold some other goodies if you like.

You can find the free pattern for these stash busting baskets over at Our Daily Craft.

Have you read?