Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Knit a Washcloth Inspired by Waffles

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Every month The Kitchen Sink Shop releases a dishcloth knitting pattern, and they seem to mostly have a food theme. This one, for example, is said to be inspired by the designs on waffle makers, thus the Belgian Waffle Dishcloth.

As an aside, I wasn’t sure I knew the difference between Belgian waffles and non-Belgian waffles, but they say the Belgian variety is denser, made with yeast and has a caramelized sugar coating. So maybe a little more like funnel cakes than waffles? Maybe I need to go to Belgium and find out!

Anyway, about the dishcloth. The pattern calls for a worsted weight cotton yarn, which makes a thick and durable washcloth. (This would be a great one for a yarn like Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton, because the yarn is mercerized, giving it a little shine that’s fun for a dishcloth.)

It has an easy lace pattern that looks like diamonds, or waffle iron prints if you will. The edges are worked in garter stitch and are just a little wavy. It looks like it would be pretty quick and easy to knit and a nice low pressure introduction to lace knitting if that’s something you haven’t done before.

This and all the future dishcloths of the month are available on Ravelry.

And speaking of using dishcloths and washcloths as a way to learn new skills, many years ago now I published some easy washcloth patterns here that you might want to try using two-color bias knitting, moss stitch in two colors (on of my favorites!), loop stitch, and working a circle from the center out.

Washcloths and dishcloths are ideal learning patterns because they’re small and they’re useful. We still use those washcloths (some in the kitchen, and some my daughter uses). They’re a fun way to play with stitches no matter your skill level.

[Photo: The Kitchen Sink Shop]

Have you read?

Add Mushrooms to Your Knits with these Fun Knitting Patterns

A few years ago I wrote a post that was full of patterns for knit mushrooms, but I don’t think I ever did a post that was knitting patterns with mushrooms on them, so today’s the day. 

I love the Fungi Beanie from Jacki Bean, which calls for worsted weight yarn and uses duplicate stitch to add the mushrooms and other details. I think the colors she used for the design are tonal/multicolor so it doesn’t use as many colors as it looks like, but you can use whatever red, green, brown and white yarn you have in your stash for those details. 

How about some mushroom socks? The Magic Toadstool sock form Stone Knits includes a ring of mushrooms around the leg, contrasting heel and toe and a little more colorwork at the toe for extra cuteness. As shown it uses four colors and comes in three sizes. 

Or there’s the Fairy Ring Socks from Katie Green, which have mushrooms of two sizes on the legs, plus a bit of wavy grass. They have a contrasting cuff, heel and toe and some colorwork flecks in the body of the sock as well. This one is available in eight sizes to fit everyone from a baby to an XL adult. 

This trippy cowl from Hunt Hand Knits looks like a lot of fun to knit. The Fungus Among Us Cowl is shown using four colors of DK weight yarn, though you can do it with as few as two if you’d rather. 

Stitch some mushroom mittens with this cute pattern from Holly C Watson. This design uses three colors, and it’s shown with a self-striping yarn on the mushroom caps, which makes the colors change without you having to do any work. The pattern is charted but it’s a pretty easy repeat. The mittens are one size. 

If you don’t feel like knitting mushrooms but still want to give your project a touch of the forest, the Toadstools Cardigan from Julie Taylor may be what you’re looking for. It’s stitched as a plain cardigan worked in DK weight yarn and sized for newborns up to 4 years old. The mushrooms are added with embroidery and the pattern includes the design, which you can trace onto water soluble stabilizer to stitch the mushrooms onto your sweater. Or anything else you want. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.