My mother-in-law makes these marvelous dishcloths, and I'm the lucky recipient of several of them. They're my first choice; I pick one if there's a clean one left in the drawer! When they come in holes, I patch 'em up because they're so good!

Here's her pattern.

Notes: Since they are 100% cotton, they will shrink in the wash, so you might want to make them a little bigger. Instead of 47 stitches, I'd suggest about 60 stitches. If you want a wider margin, knit 3 before the y/o. Also, since you'll want to wash these in hot water and bleach to get them really clean again for kitchen use, light colors are best for utilitarian purposes, but the multi-color cloths are so much fun and are so cute in a gift! She gave me a Christmas one such in 1998, and another time I got one that has colors like my Tahiti @ badge! You must use cotton. Synthetics make lousy dishcloths!

Here's Gram:

Use worsted-weight *cotton* yarn which comes in small balls. Sometimes you can get large large balls, but that limits your color choice a bit.

Use size #8 knitting needles.

Cast on 4 stitches.

Row 1: Knit.
Row 2: Knit 2 stitches, y/o, knit 2.
Row 3: Knit 2 stitches, y/o, knit to end of row.
Continue this pattern until there are 47 stitches on the needle. Now it's time to decrease.
Row 4: Knit 1, knit two together, y/o, knit 2 together, knit to end of row.
Continue to decrease until there are only 4 stitches remaining.
Bind off. Finish tails.

copyright 1999, Martha Beth Lewis
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