Pattern Update: Waffle Time Washcloth

I got an email this weekend asking about my Waffle Time washcloth pattern. The knitter’s in-progress washcloth didn’t look anything like the washcloth in the photos. She asked if maybe the K3 needed to be outside the asterisks?

I published Waffle Time in 2016 and haven’t really touched it since. So, I started knitting a swatch to get the pattern fresh in my brain. Surely, the instructions would work. There were 15 finished projects on Ravelry that looked just like the original sample… and there was one that didn’t. Huh. I spent hours trying to get the stitch pattern to work as written. Different stitch counts and different numbers of repeats. No matter what I tried, my swatch didn’t look like the original washcloth either. Ugh. What did work was pulling the K3 out of the asterisks, just as she suggested.

Thanks to her message, the pattern has been corrected, and I updated the layout since I was fiddling around with the file anyway. You can download the updated pattern below and have yourself a lovely new washcloth in no time. I might dig out a ball of cotton and knit one for myself too since I gave the original cloths away.

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Free Pattern: Waffle Time Washcloth

After knitting more washcloths and kitchen towels than I care to count, I have some very definite opinions about washcloths. The stitch pattern doesn’t have to be reversible, but it should look good on both sides. Garter stitch borders are a plus. Cloths with a bit of texture are perfect for scrubbing. And any washcloth much larger than a 7” square is unwieldy and too big. 

I wanted to make a few washcloths as gifts and couldn’t find a pattern that I matched all my criteria. So I picked a scrubby stitch pattern and went from there. The cloths were quick to knit, and they’ll be sweet gifts with some lotion and a nice bar of soap.

If you share any of my opinions on washcloths, you can get the pattern below. Happy knitting! 

Very Green Garterlac

The last lingering work in progress* is finished! I cast on for this kitchen towel way back in April, knit a good chunk of it, and put it down to work on other things. Part of the reason I stopped working on it was because I wasn’t sure if I liked the extra square and width I’d added. Turns out, yes. The other reason was that I had other things I wanted to knit and do over the summer. So garterlac, as addicting as it is to knit, went on the back burner for awhile. 

When I eventually did start knitting the towel again, I was hooked. I was sneaking in squares any time I could, and keeping my hands busy during tv shows and movies. Now that the Very Green Garterlac is finished, it’s become one of my favorites. From cast on to bind off, it's 17" and 9" wide. The yarn and the pattern are the perfect pair. The fabric is thick and textured which makes it excellent for drying hands and picking up hot pans. Plus, I really like the colors.

I’ve got plenty more cotton stashed away in a lot more colors. At least a few yards are going to turn into more garterlac. Probably going to stick with washcloth sized versions though. But don’t hold me to that. In the mean time, I’m enjoying knitting scarves, shawls, and socks for colder weather. 

Pattern: Garterlac Dishcloth by Criminy Jickets

Yarn: 191 yds Peaches & Creme Ombres - Ivy League

Needles: US 6 - 4mm straights

Dates: April 8 - September 2, 2016

Full Mods @Ravelry

*Well, there are other lingering WIPs, but they’ve been hanging around for years. 

The Perfect Face Washcloth

There are plenty ofthings I should have been doing yesterday: cleaning, designing, making phone calls, etc. Instead of doing any of those things, I cast on for something fun, the Mini Almost Lost Washcloth. The pattern popped up in my Pinterest feed and was too cute too resist. I’ve been on the hunt for a good face washcloth for a while and this seemed to fit the bill.  Plus, it was small so that meant it would go fast, right? 

I pulled out my leftover balls of cotton & my favorite washcloth needles, picked out a color, and cast on. This pattern is the definition of potato chip knitting. Each of the wedges goes so fast that I have to knit the next one, and next one, and the next one. Even better, one wedge uses up exactly one color repeat which makes this knitter very happy. You’d think I’d planned this, but it just a happy accident and a perfect use for my last bit of discontinued Dishie Multi.  

I ended up making a few mods as I went. One, I used the long tail cast-on which I won’t do again because it puts the tail in the wrong place to cinch up the center. Two, instead of binding off and sewing the ends together, I picked up stitches from the cast-on and closed it up with the three needle bind-off. The bind off took the place of the last knit row which made the join almost invisible. 

All said and done I used about 15 yds (about 8g) of yarn and the finished cloth is about 4.25” from point to point. It hasn’t gone through the wash yet though. I ended up getting exactly what I wanted in a face scrub: quick to knit, scrubby texture, and just the right size. I’m going to be making a whole stack of these…after I finish my to-do list. 

Pattern: The Mini Almost Lost Washcloth by Sandy Tieman

Yarn: 15 yds (8g) Knit Picks Dishie Multi - Nettle

Needles: US 6 (4.0mm)

Date: June 6, 2016

@Ravelry 

Pattern: Mosaic Sisters

I am thrilled to finally share the Mosaic Sisters! Why sisters? Because each mosaic design, though unique, shares several traits. They all have wide stripes, are knit in garter stitch, and have geometric designs. The pattern is a set 3 three different designs that can be turned into kitchen towels, washcloths, and coasters. Or anything else your needles desire. Mosaic knitting makes the cloths the perfect thickness and texture to be useful in both the kitchen and the bathroom. Since the basis of the patterns is garter stitch, the cloths won't twist or curl. Since they're all sister designs, you can make them in as many or as few colors as you want. Make a whole set in 2 colors or mix and match for maximum rainbow. 

If you're nervous about working mosaic knitting for the first time, I wrote a few tutorials to help. Mosaic Knitting 101 will show you the basics, and the next tutorial shows how to carry yarn up the side of the work. To cast on, I recommend the long-tail cast on - it's great with cotton.

I had the idea for the Mosaic Sisters years ago. At the time there was only one cloth, the oldest sister of course, and it had a different name. I knit the first sample, wrote the pattern, and made the chart. For one reason or another I never published it. Years later I saw a call to submit designs for home related patterns. The oldest sister came to mind, but I knew I couldn't just submit one - that's when the middle sister came along. Spoilers - the submission wasn't accepted. Now two designs were hanging out on my hard drive. Once the sting of disappointment wore off, I looked at them again and decided to add a third pattern to the set, the youngest sister. I've been swatching, charting, knitting, and putting the pattern together ever since. It's been a long road, but I'm glad that the sisters are finally getting their debut. 

To celebrate the Mosaic Sisters release, the pattern is free until Sunday, December 6 11:59 PM PST. Afterwards, it'll go to it's regular price of $5. No coupon or Ravelry account required. Happy knitting! 

Mosaic Sisters

Sizes: Kitchen Towel - 8.5" x 14"; Washcloth - 8.5" x 8"; Coaster - 4.25" x 4"

Gauge: 5 sts = 1" in pattern

Needles: US 6 (4mm) straight or circular needles 

Yarn:  Worsted Weight Cotton Yarn in 4 colors

Shown in Knit Picks Dishie - Swan, Azure, Crème Brulee, and Tranquil

For the kitchen towels: 37g / 70 yds each color

For the washcloths: 20g / 39 yds each color

For the coasters: 7g / 14 yds each color

All Washed Up Is All Finished

When I went to add this kitchen towel to my Ravelry page, I found out that I’d knit the pattern in 2012 as a gift. Glad I kept the pattern in my queue instead of deleting it after shipping it off to its new home. The pattern repeat is easy to knit, memorize, and read which was just what I needed for last weekend’s trip to Ikea. We went looking for a couch, an ottoman, and a couple of things to spruce up the new apartment. Yes, we did have to unpack the couch to get it in the back seat. It only hung out one of the back windows. 

Once the couch was set up, sans slipcover but protected by a blanket, I sat down with my knitting to assert my dominance. Seems to have worked. The couch didn’t eat either of my needles nor did it forcibly eject my yarn to the floor. Didn’t finish the towel that night but I made my point.

Now that the towel is bound off, I love it. The variegated yarn and the pattern worked wonderfully together. There was pooling but it repeated well and pooling yarn doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. The towel is just the right thickness for wiping up spills, drying hands, and acting as a trivet in a pinch. Good size too. This cloth is definitely going in the rotation and the workhorse pattern is definitely staying in my queue for a long time. 

And one more thing. Now that it’s finished, we’re officially moved in.

Pattern: All Washed Up by Jill Arnusch

Yarn: 1 ball Pisgah Peaches & Creme Ombres - Desert Sunset

Needles: US 6 (4 mm) needles

Dates: September 18 - 22, 2014

@Ravelry

The Tradition Continues

It’s been a long week since my last post. I spent my last few days in LA packing, cleaning, and putting stuff on a truck. Then The Bearded One and I spent too many hours in a car and slept way too little. Once we were in San Francisco, everything happened in reverse. Take stuff off the truck. Clean. Unpack. Now that the internet is swiftly flowing, the apartment is officially home base and I can once again talk to all of you lovely people out there. 

Now that the bulk of the work is done, I have some room in my head for knitting. I hadn’t picked up the needles in a week and none of my current WIP’s were calling. Needed something I could cast on and bind off a couple of days later. Gladly, I’ve already unpacked the yarn stash so I had a few balls of cotton to choose from and my favorite washcloth needles. Then the Ravelry queue came to the rescue with a washcloth/kitchen towel pattern. 

Seems like I’ve made washcloths and kitchen towels since I first learned to knit. They’re small, quick, and relatively cheap. Without meaning too, I knit a new one every time I moved whether it was a new dorm room, apartment, or house for the past 9 years. Making that towel, or 3, makes that new place more welcoming. Sounds like a tradition to me. Yesterday, I cast on for the All Washed Up cloth and the apartment already feels more like home.