Knit a Washcloth for Halloween

It might be getting a little late to knit a Halloween costume, but there’s still plenty of time to knit something festive to decorate or use in your home for the holiday. Themed washcloths or dishcloths are a lot of fun, and here’s a great collection of ideas if you want to knit a washcloth with a Halloween motif.

Over at About I have a pumpkin washcloth that’s pretty simple and cute. Michelle Strait has an adorable intarsia pumpkin cloth as well. Kelly Daniels knit a pumpkin that looks like Mickey Mouse into her dishcloth; both of those are Ravelry downloads. Kelly also has a cute cat washcloth on her site, One Crafty Mama.

Ravelry user Maku Flo has a great collection of charts that can be used for a dishcloth or hot pad in single or double knitting. Check out her spooky tree, Frankenstein and witch patterns.

Speaking of Frankenstein, Brian McGaunn has another cloth with the head of that particular monster featured.

If you like skulls, there’s an eyelet skull washcloth over at Silvercharmster’s Blog and one worked in garter stitch on a field of stockinette called Skully at Blackrayne.

Smariek Knits has a lovely eyelet bat pattern, and you can use the ghost from a set of Pacman washcloths for a bit of Halloween fun from Tea and Cakes.

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 to knit more dishcloth patterns ? Check out these dishcloth patterns on Etsy

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Knitwear designers can get inspiration from almost anything when it comes to re-creating a color scheme, an image or a texture in stitches. Sometimes the inspiration isn’t always obvious in the finished project, but sometimes it’s more literal.

That’s the way it is with the Tin Ceiling Blanket from Purl Soho. Not just because the inspiration is in the name, but if you’ve ever seen one of these old ceilings you can see that the design of the blanket is quite similar to the pattern of the tin tiles.

This is also a good example of the idea that you don’t have to use fancy stitch patterns or lots of color to make a big impact with your knits. This single-color blanket (designed by Gianna Mueller and inspired by a washcloth and towel set designed by Sandi Rosner) is made completely with knits and purls, other than slipped stitches at the beginning of rows to make neater edges.

The pattern is written out row by row, but there’s also a chart, which means this project is a great opportunity to practice reading a chart where you can check your work against the written pattern if you need to.

It comes in two sizes, a crib blanket and a throw. The yarn used in the sample is an organic cotton sold by the cone, which is a great way to get a large quantity of yarn and have fewer ends to weave in. In fact, you can knit either size of the blanket with just one cone of yarn, which isn’t inexpensive but makes you a great, sturdy, heirloom quality but still washable blanket you’ll use for years to come. (Of course you can use any sport weight yarn you like to make this blanket.)

Check out all the details and grab the free pattern from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

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