Mini Knit Dish Scrubbies
Like many knitters, cotton dish cloths were among my first real projects as a beginner. I chose the Waffle Knit Dishcloth pattern by Debbie Andruilli to practice my stitches on, and I still use the heck out of those dish cloths even now, though never in my kitchen. Instead, they reside primarily in the bathroom because although I can appreciate a good, full-sized washcloth in the shower, I find all that fabric too cumbersome when trying to scrub dishes in the kitchen sink.
Recently, I pulled out the very last cleaning sponge from a bulk pack, and instead of ordering more, I decided to try something new. I wanted to make dish cloths that could take the place of sponges in terms of size and functionality, but I had to make enough of them that I could grab a fresh one each day or have enough for single use jobs (like cleaning eggs) before tossing them in the wash, and not have to worry about running low at the end of the week before the clean laundry was sorted again.
So I’ve been making these dish cloths en masse, and although they are dead simple to knit, it took a few tries before I landed on my favorite method, so I thought I’d jot down a few notes here in this post to reference for later.
Right now, I’m enjoying making these scrubbies in sets of three, where each set contains a seed stitch, garter stitch and basketweave stitch cloth. I’ve been making a set of three anytime I sit down to watch a show lately, and It’s just enough variety and instant gratification to keep things interesting. Plus, it’s a light, portable project to work on in these summer months, and would make a great gift idea for the holidays or a housewarming present.
Lindsay’s Favorite Mini Knit Dish Scrubbies
Note: I’m using size US9 (5.5mm) needles, but choose your needle based on your gauge preferences.
Hold three strands of worsted weight dish cotton together (I’m using Knit Picks Dishie cotton)
Cast on 12 stitches
Choose which stitch pattern you want to knit, and continue below
For Garter Stitch
Knit 20 rows, or until the cloth reaches your preferred length
Bind off all stitches and weave in ends
For Seed Stitch
Row 1 (Right Side): *Knit 1, purl 1; repeat from * to end of row.
Row 2 (Wrong Side): *Purl 1, knit 1; repeat from * to end of row.
Repeat Rows 1-2 until you have complete 14 rows, or until cloth reaches your preferred length
Bind Off all stitches and weave in ends
For Basketweave Stitch
Step One (rows 1-3): *knit 3, purl 3, repeat from * across
Step Two (rows 4-6): *purl 3, knit 3, repeat from * across
Repeat step one and step two one more time until you have twelve rows
Bind Off all stitches and weave in ends
That’s it! Pile them up in a basket near your kitchen sink, or bundle them up to give away as gifts.
