Fiesta Tunisian Short Row Dishcloth

This is a busy time of year for school fundraisers, and with my eldest a senior in high school and my middle one in kindergarten, I have quite a few that I am committed to over the next few months. One for the high school is going to be a coffeehouse evening with music, desserts and an extensive silent auction consisting of all kinds of prizes and gift baskets and restaurant certificates and the like. I've been quite taken recently with these cotton dish and face cloths, so I volunteered to make some for the Bed & Bath basket, the Kitchen basket and the New Baby basket. Here's one of my offerings...



You will recognize this pattern as the Tunisian Short Row dishcloth about which I shared a how-to video not too long ago. The big difference here is of course the color...Wow! Don't you just love the bright cheerful Fiesta cotton that I used on this one?


I think this would make a great face cloth to use first thing in the morning. It would really wake you up!

If you haven't tried Tunisian crochet yet, you can check out the video tutorials here at Hooked On Needles. Then grab a hook and a ball of cotton and give this dishcloth a try. It is fun and easy, and works up very quickly. I made this one in about 2 hours while relaxing in the evening.

This cough is still hanging on, so I have not yet been able to video the Hawaiian granny square, but I've been having fun with my graph paper and will have another Tunisian cotton cloth pattern to share with you shortly. I can do that without talking!

Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Stitching!

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Tunisian Crochet Duck Pattern

Who doesn't love a bright yellow rubber duckie? My cousin's upstairs bathroom inspired this next project, and it's a great way to practice your Tunisian crochet skills. Supplies needed are only two: a ball of yellow crochet cotton such as Peaches 'n Cream or Sugar 'n Cream available at such stores as Walmart, Michael's, AC Moore and the like, and a size K-10 1/2 afghan hook available online at Herrschner's or Mary Maxim, or perhaps at your local yarn shop.


Here's my dapper little yellow duckie all ready to give your face, or even your child, a nice scrubbie with all that fabulous texture created by the Tunisian Purl stitches which make up the duck design. Of course, the back of the cloth is all bumpy too because that's just the way the back of Tunisian crochet is! Perfect for a face cloth or a dish cloth, don't you think?



This finished cloth measures 9 1/2 inches wide by 10 inches long, which includes the border. When I finished the Tunisian crochet body of the cloth, I switched to a regular size K crochet hook and worked a single crochet border all around the cloth, then a simple decorative border of (skip a stitch, 3 single crochets in next stitch, skip a stitch, one single crochet in next stitch) all the way around.

If you would like to make one for yourself, here is the chart which you can click on, then print.


At the bottom of the chart, I have included the information for working the project. The beginning chain for this is 33. For each blank square of the chart, you work a Basic Tunisian Knit Stitch and for each X square on the chart, you work a Tunisian Purl Stitch. Remember that each row of Tunisian crochet is made up of the forward half of the row when you pick up all your stitches onto the hook, and the return half of the row where you work the stitches off the hook.

To follow this chart, you would begin at the lower right corner and work 5 rows of Basic Tunisian Knit Stitch. Then you would start the next row by counting how many Knit Stitches you need to work before starting the Purl Stitches. In this case it would be 11 Knit Stitches. Then count the number of X squares, which is 8, and work 8 Purl Stitches, then finish the row with Knit stitches, and work the return half of the row as usual. Continue following the chart upwards and from right to left until you have completed the entire chart. Work your border however you like, and you are finished.

I have designed some other patterns as well, and will be sharing them with you in the coming days and weeks. If you make something from this pattern, please send me a picture. I would love to see it, and maybe share it with my readers!

Happy Stitching!

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Tunisian Short Row Dishcloth Video Tutorial

Not too long ago, Merry of the darling Noah's Ark Crocheted Blanket fame, contacted me and asked if I could help her with a new project she had found on Ravelry for a Tunisian Short Row Dishcloth. Since I had not yet covered Tunisian crochet here at Hooked On Needles, I used that request as motivation to begin some tutorials on a few of the basic Tunisian stitches before jumping into the dishcloth pattern. I have had such fun with Tunisian Crochet since then and with this dishcloth pattern in particular. I hope you give it a try and see if you like it as much as I do.


Here are a few pictures of my first dishcloth which I made just to make sure I could do the pattern myself before offering to help anyone else with it. It was pretty easy to pick up the technique and I thought the result was very pretty and different.


The six wedges of this pattern are all crocheted in one piece using a method of Tunisian Crochet called Short Row, which means just what is says...short or incomplete rows of Tunisian Crochet. The pattern is an original of Khebhin Gibbons who posted it on Ravelry as a free pattern. I contacted him and asked his permission to include the pattern here to go along with the video, since not everyone has or wants a Ravelry account. He graciously granted permission for me to reproduce his pattern here on my site, so now you can try it too. You can find the pattern after the video at the end of this post. Please make sure you give Khebhin credit for this dishcloth pattern if you share it with anyone else.


This is the completed dishcloth that you will see from beginning to end in the following video tutorial. I used a solid color in the video just so the picture wouldn't be quite so busy. It is about 9 inches across the middle so it is a generously sized cloth. It took about 2/3 of a ball of Peaches 'N Cream cotton yarn and I stitched it with a size K or 10 1/2 afghan hook. The single crochet border was worked with the same yarn and a size K regular crochet hook.

Here's the video, which I will warn you is quite lengthy for a tutorial, running just shy of 18 minutes. I tried to cover all the major points of making this pattern so that hopefully even a beginner would be able to crochet it. If you have never done Tunisian Crochet before, you might want to start out with the Tunisian Knit Stitch tutorial so you have a basic understanding of the technique. Also when you watch the video, you might want to click the pause button just after starting the video and allow most of the video to buffer before playing it. This should allow you to watch it without any odd little glitches caused from the buffering.

Tunisian Short Row Dishcloth

You will need:
1 skein of dishcloth cotton-variegated preferred
size “J” afghan hook
yarn needle

*Note: all return rows are done as follows: Yo, pull through 1 loop on hook. **Yo, pull through two loops on hook. Rep from ** to end.

Chain 15.

First Wedge

Row 1: Pull up a loop in 2nd chain from hook. (2 loops on hook). Work return as shown in notes.

Row 2: Pull up a loop in next vertical bar. Pull up a loop in next chain st. (3 loops on hook.) Work return row.

Row 3: Pull up a loop in each of next 2 vertical bars. Pull up a loop in next chain st. (4 loops on hook.) Work return row.

Row 4: Pull up a loop in each of next 3 vertical bars. Pull up a loop in next chain st. (5 loops on hook.) Work return row.

Continue as established, pulling up a loop in next empty chain st after all vertical bars have been worked until you have worked all the chain sts and you have 15 loops on the hook. Work a return row. (1 loop remaining on hook.)

Wedges 2-6

Work as for Wedge 1, but using vertical bars on previous wedge instead of chain stitches.

After the sixth wedge has been worked off, slip stitch in each vertical bar across. Break yarn and thread yarn needle. With right sides facing, sew or whip stitch edges together. Using tail from original chain, sew center hole closed. Attach yarn to any stitch on outer edge and work 1 round of single crochet around entire edge. (That part is optional). Weave in ends and call it a day!

This Rainbow Tunisian Jacket designed by Dora Ohrenstein is a colorful example of using Tunisian Short Row for shaping a garment. It's a little more ambitious project than the dishcloth, but certainly something to look at and admire. I'm considering adding it to my wish list of projects to do someday!

Happy Stitching!

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Learn to Crochet - Tunisian Purl Stitch

I've been having entirely too much fun with Tunisian Crochet lately. After working up samples for the Tunisian Knit Stitch and the Tunisian Stockinette Stitch, I have moved on to the next logical stitch which is Tunisian Purl.

Just like in knitting, Tunisian Purl calls for the yarn to be held in front of the work for each stitch. Also similar to knitting, Tunisian Purl produces a row of little bumps, but it also retains the characteristic vertical bars of Basic Tunisian Knit Stitch. The fabric produced with Tunisian Purl is much softer than the other stitches we've covered so far, but the back side looks pretty much the same as the others.

It's a very pretty stitch as you can see in the picture...


This sample was worked onto the same piece as the Tunisian Stockinette sample which you can see at the bottom of the picture. Just like in knitting, Stockinette produces a vertical columns of 'V' shaped stitches and Purl produces horizontal rows of little bumps between which you can also see the vertical bars just like the Tunisian Knit or Afghan Stitch.

Here's a little video showing how to work Tunisian Purl. I hope you find it helpful.






Happy Stitching!

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Learn to Crochet - Tunisian Knit Stitch or Afghan Stitch

Tunisian Crochet has been around for a long time and is called by many different names. You may have heard of the Afghan Stitch, or Shepherd's Knitting, or Railroad Knitting. These are all names for the same thing, Tunisian Crochet. I am sure there are many other names for it as well.

It is generally thought to be a cross between knitting and crocheting, as there are many similarities to each. The needle used for Tunisian Crochet looks like a crochet hook on one end and a knitting needle on the other. Only one needle is used at a time as in crochet, but many stitches are held on the needle at one time as in knitting. As in both knitting and crocheting, there is a huge variety of stitches that can be formed using Tunisian Crochet. There is one main difference though, and that is Tunisian Crochet is always worked from the front. The work is never turned. Because of this, Tunisian Crochet always forms a fabric that has a definite front side and back side.

Tunisian Crochet is also prone to curling at the ends so it is highly recommended that pieces be blocked before being stitched together or finished into blankets or garments. This curling is caused by there being generally more bulk of yarn on the back side of the piece than on the front which forces the fabric to curl forward. It is almost always recommended to use a needle two or three times larger than what is suggested for the yarn that is being used. This helps to reduce the curling, but does not eliminate it.

Ok, enough talk about it...let's get down to business!


These hooks are what you would use for Tunisian Crochet. The first hook is small, size G, and it has a cable attached to the end, much like circular knitting needles have between the two ends. Notice the red circle which is the stopper at the end so the stitches don't fall off. This hook would accommodate a large number of stitches and would be suitable to use for a one piece blanket.

The extra large light blue hook is a size Q which is gigantic in diameter, but not very long and does not have a stopper at the end. This could be used for Tunisian Crochet when making something narrow such as a scarf, or panels for an afghan that will be stitched together later. This is the needle I used to crochet my very first afghan when I was about 12 years old! Unless the desired effect is very loose and lacy, two strands of yarn would be used with this hook.

The last two hooks are two different sizes of the same type of hook. You can see the stopper at the end just like a knitting needle, and the hook at the other end just like a crochet hook. Also notice that these hooks do not have the little flat part in middle like regular crochet hooks have where you rest your thumb and finger. This is because many stitches are held on the needle at one time and they need to remain consistent in size. The stitches also need to be able to move freely across the needle as in knitting.


This is a block stitched in Basic Tunisian Crochet, also called the Tunisian Knit Stitch, or the Afghan Stitch. The block is 6 inches square and has already been blocked. You can see that it still wants to curl on the top and bottom of the square.


The Tunisian Knit Stitch makes a very pretty design on the front which is a wonderful fabric for working cross stitch into for added color and interest in a piece.


The back of the Tunisian Knit Stitch looks very similar to garter stitch in knitting. It is thick and firm and provides a nice hiding place for the wrong side of embroidery stitches that might be worked on the front.




As mentioned in the video, there are quite a number of different stitches in Tunisian Crochet and the next one I am going to show you is called Tunisian Stockinette. My friend Merry from the Knittinghelp.com forum that I love to read has also asked for some help with a project that calls for Tunisian Short Row. I will be sharing a pattern for a lovely dish cloth that Merry wants to make and a video showing how you can make one yourself using your new skills in Tunisian Crochet.

Happy Stitching!

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