3-Way Washcloth Swap

It's no secret that I love to make and use crocheted cotton washcloths. I've shown more than a few to you here at Hooked On Needles. I also enjoy swapping with others in organized, themed swaps hosted on this or that website. On my sidebar are listed swaps that I have joined or that I think others might be interested in.

A few months ago, a website that I follow was hosting a washcloth swap, so naturally I wrote in a comment asking to join. The hostess kindly informed me that it would be for local swappers only, and since I'm in the US, I wasn't local. I noticed a couple other US names in the comment section, one I knew from the kitchen swap I had participated in a while ago. So I contacted the other two prospective washcloth swappers, and we agreed on a 3-way washcloth swap using the same rules as the original swap. Here's the result...


These little fabric baskets, complete with a Tunisian Short Row crocheted cotton washcloth, a little foot scrubbie with a brush on one side and a pumice stone on the other, and a little tube of foot cream, are the gifts Joy and Adrienne received from me.


This pretty little collection of pink is what I received from Joy.


Joy sent two washcloths made from 1920-1930 feedsacks on the floral side and cozy pink fuzzy terrycloth on the other. She also included a pretty pink nail file, some delicious jam and a cake of handmade soap, also pink. What a lovely pink package from Joy!


And here's what Adrienne sent me...very cute and clever notecards with fabric shapes sewn onto them, including envelopes, a wonderfully scrubbie cotton washcloth that she crocheted herself, and a bar of handmade soap all wrapped up in a pretty ribbon.


Here's a close-up of the soap and the washcloth. I'm hoping if you see it close enough that you will be able to smell it...it really smells GOOD! Another package of thoughtful, and useful, gifts from Adrienne!

Thanks so much, ladies, for a fun swap!

Next up will be the English version of the Crocheted Pin Cushion pattern which I showed a few days ago. Liselotte was kind enough to allow me to publish it here on my website.

Happy Stitching!

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Correction on Magic Number for Tunisian Short Row Dishcloth

Back in March, I experimented with the original pattern for the Tunisian Short Row Dishcloth. I was looking for the largest number to use for the beginning chain so as to use up as much of a 2 ounce ball of cotton as possible without running out of yarn.

I thought 17 was it since there seemed to be so little left after my experiment that I was sure adding another stitch, which would mean 6 more long rows on the dishcloth, would surely cause me to run out of yarn. I was also quite satisfied with the size of the larger cloth compared to the original size cloth I had made at first.

But I decided to give it one more try, using this Sugar 'n Cream cotton called Baby Stripes. I love using the self-striping yarn on these cloths. The color patterns are always fun and different for each one.


Don't you just love how the color sections make the design on the cloth so much more interesting?


So here it is, the latest version of the Tunisian Short Row Dishcloth, made with a beginning chain of 18. This cloth is a full 11 inches across at its widest point which is a very generous size for a wash cloth.


I had enough yarn to work the first round of single crochet on the border, and then one round of reverse single crochet to finish off the edge nicely. When that was complete, there were only about 2 yards of yarn leftover. I'd say that is about as close as it gets for using up but not running out of a 2 ounce ball of yarn!

So now I stand corrected. 18 is the new magic number for me, using a size K hook and a 2 ounce ball of cotton. You may get different results because of your tension, hook size and choice of yarn. The solid colors are usually 1/2 ounce larger than the variegated or self-striping, and other brands may be different as well.

I think this one will be sent off to my niece who is expecting her first baby very shortly. Wouldn't this be lovely as part of a gift basket with all kinds of bath things for a new baby? Think about giving it a try for the next little bundle of joy coming into your life.

Happy Stitching!

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More Crocheted Red, White and Blue

In honor of our country's birthday, and because I can't seem to get enough of crocheting these cotton dishcloths, here is my patriotic version of the Tunisian Short Row Dishcloth.

I'll call it Cleaning Up in Red, White and Blue...


This self striping yarn is so unpredictable when used for these Tunisian Short Row dishcloths, and I would guess when used in any other kind of project too. That's the fun of using them!

This dishcloth was crocheted with a starting chain of 17, which I have found makes just about the perfect size cloth. Those made with only 15 to begin seemed just a bit too small for my liking, and I'm not quite sure one ball of cotton would be enough to finish one starting with 18, although I have not yet tried that. Perhaps I should next time I'm looking for a quick little project.


This cotton yarn is a Sugar 'n Cream self striping 2 ounce ball in a color appropriately called American Stripes. I really like the way the blue and red are not completely solid, but show a little bit of the white. I think that gives the crocheted fabric more of a casual denim type look to it.

Speaking of denim, I still have piles of old jeans to recycle and that is going to be my project this summer, if we ever get that too-hot-and-humid-to-do-anything-productive kind of weather that New England is famous for. So far we've been lucky with cool weather, especially considering I had to get that Sweet Liberty afghan finished on time! But I know the uncomfortable weather will be here at some point, and I am always so grateful that my sewing room is in the cool basement and I can enjoy lots of productive sewing time down there while staying cool and not so cranky at the same time. What good planning that was!

So I'll work on more aprons and clothes pin bags and anything else I might dream up to make use of all that cozy, broken-in, sturdy, useful denim that was destined for the trash.

What are your plans for handwork in the hot weather?

Happy Stitching!

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Crocheted and Knitted Cotton Dishcloth Collection

I've been busy cutting up more jeans and other things and have completed another apron that I was going to show you in a rather long tutorial type post, but I'll be lucky if I can get this published before we lose power since we are in the middle of a whopper of a thunder and lightening storm. So I am opting for a quick peek at my collection of cotton dishcloths.

I am taking a trip later this week with my oldest daughter to Kansas to celebrate my mother's 75th birthday, and I wanted to have something to give to all my siblings and nieces and sister-in-law and other nice people I'll run into while I'm traveling. I thought of bringing homemade jellies, but they don't travel well, especially in light of all the airline restrictions for baggage these days. Since I was so caught up in making these anyway, I thought what better way to thank everyone for their hospitality or just offer a little gift than to give them a handmade cotton cloth for their kitchen or bathroom.

So this is the collection I'll be bringing with me to share:


There are 21 in the picture altogether, and I have another still on the hook which I should finish tonight, and I may whip up another one or two before we leave. I think that will be enough to go around. I hope so anyway!

I also made my mother a little something for her birthday gift which I will show you after she sees it in person. I don't want to spoil the surprise for her. I know how much she LOVES surprises!

The storm is getting closer, so I will be signing off now. I will have that other apron up for show and tell in the next day or two so be on the lookout for that.

Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms and Mom-like women out there, especially my own. Take a look at this Mother's Day post on a blog that I read regularly and find inspiring. I thought it was so sweet and I think you'll enjoy it too.

Happy Stitching!

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Giveaway Prize Ready to Go!

Another giveaway prize package is on its way! This one is heading all the way to Queensland, Australia to Kerry who won my 300th post giveaway a few weeks ago. Here's what she will be receiving...



The prize was actually a choice between a set of 4 dish/wash cloths, or 2 cloths and 2 woven hotpads. Kerry chose the mix and since her requested color was not available, she said that green would also be a good color. I decided to go with the Tunisian Short Row pattern that I have been using a lot lately since it shows off variegated and self striping yarns so nicely. And the woven hotpad is just a fun pattern to make anyway. You can read how I came about that pattern HERE. Thanks again to P&P for pointing me to it!

The yarn I used is Sugar'n Cream Lime Stripes. It almost looks like the color changes on one of the cloths happen exactly at the beginning of each wedge of the cloth. That is purely coincidental and was a fun effect to discover the first time I used the self striping yarn on this pattern. I have since made several more with other self striping yarns and the same thing seems to happen more often than not. Very interesting!

Happy Stitching!

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Sunny Plaid Crocheted Dishcloth - Super Easy!

If you're like me, sometimes you just don't feel like following a pattern or paying attention to stitch counts or designs. You just want to crochet! That was exactly my mindset the other day when I made this Sunny Plaid Dishcloth. Of course I had no idea it would turn out to be plaid, since variegated yarns tend to create their own designs as you stitch. I was quite pleased with the way this one turned out though.


I'm still working on the cone of Peaches 'n Cream cotton I purchased recently. I keep making things and it just doesn't seem to want to run out! It was time to put down my long afghan hook that I use for the Tunisian Short Row cloths and just use my regular little size G crochet hook for a quick project. The cloth you see above is the result.


Just look at all that scrubby texture!

To crochet this cloth, I started with a chain of 41. Working in the back loops only, I worked about 46 rows of single crochet. Actually I crocheted until the piece appeared to be square, which happened to be about 46 rows, but you could make yours any size you want by adjusting the starting chain and the number of rows. When I was finished with the rows, I worked one round of single crochet around the cloth and that was it! No counting, no patterns or charts to follow, and the result is a very generously sized (about 11 inches square) and wonderfully textured plaid dishcloth!


I just love how these ridges form in the crocheted fabric by working only in the back loops of the stitches. This is the same technique used in the Mitered Squares Baby Blanket that I made last summer. It's what my grandmother and my Auntie always used when making their famous ripple or zig-zag afghans too!

If you need a refresher on how to work in the back loop only, you can view my single crochet video tutorial and patiently sit through about the first 4 minutes. Then you'll see a quick demonstration of working in the front loop and working in the back loop of a stitch for crocheting.

Happy Stitching!

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Free Pattern -- Knitted Apple Dishcloth

Have you ever had an idea that seemed so simple at first, but then when you tried to execute it, you discovered that it was much more involved than you thought? That's exactly what happened when I decided the Tunisian Crochet Apple Dishcloth pattern was going to be the one I would convert to a knitting pattern.

This is how my final sample turned out, still not quite what I wanted, but certainly better than the first sample I made which is shown further on.

For the knitted design of this apple pattern, I included a garter stitch border knitted right into the pattern so I would not have to crochet a border on the cloth after the knitting was complete. To accomplish the garter stitch border, I simply knitted the first two rows to begin, then knitted two stitches at the beginning and end of every row. At the end I knitted the last two rows before binding off.

The apple part of this pattern was not quite so straight forward! Here's what my first attempt looked like, worked directly from the chart for the crocheted version:


It was clear pretty early on in the knitting process that the proportions would not be right using the crochet chart for the knitted cloth, but I had to finish the whole pattern anyway so I could see just how far off the measurements were and know how much adjustment was necessary. You can see here that the cloth only measures about 5 inches from top to bottom, not nearly enough for a nice cloth even with a generous border added. Besides the 'apple' looks more like a squished tomato! That would never do!

So after some measurements and figuring, it was determined that for every 3 rows of the crochet pattern, I had to add 2 more rows for the knitted pattern. I went back to my chart and reworked it, adding the appropriate number of new rows and filling in the design where necessary. I also added the garter stitch border to the final version after realizing on the 'tomato' version that it would be a nicer finish to the cloth. The apple dishcloth you see in the first picture is the result of those adjustments.

Now that it is finished and I can get a good look at it, I have decided that the sides of the apple are too straight and the bottom half of the apple is too square. I did not have any more red cotton to knit yet another cloth, and I'm such a slow knitter that this would have had to wait another week for posting, so I have made what I think will be just the right adjustments to the chart below to produce a more rounded and properly shaped apple.


If you click on this chart, you will see a larger version of it which you can then print from your browser toolbar. You can see that I have included instructions at the bottom of the chart for the number of stitches to cast on and how to read the chart. This is the type of project where I find my magnetic board invaluable in keeping track of which row I am working at any given time. I have also marked the right side of the chart with the odd row numbers and the left side with the even row numbers. You will work each row from the side where its number is as indicated at the bottom of the chart.

If you decide to make a dishcloth from this chart, I would truly appreciate receiving a picture of it and your feedback about how you liked working the pattern from this chart. If I make this pattern with the updated chart, I will be sure to share it with you too.

Happy Stitching!

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Free Pattern -- Tunisian Crochet Apple Dishcloth

The luscious, red, juicy apple seems to have a reputation for causing trouble from way back. My own red apple is no different! Of course I'm talking about my latest design for a crocheted dishcloth. Actually the crocheted version was no trouble at all. It was converting the pattern so that it would work for knitting that was the problem. But we'll cover that story in another post. Today I'll just focus on the lovely dishcloth with the beautiful red apple on it.


Doesn't that almost look good enough to eat? Apples come in all shapes, sizes and colors and are available here in New England fresh off the trees in the fall. In fact, Johnny Appleseed was born right here in my own little city, so we have apples in every form imaginable. Now we even have an apple dishcloth!


Depending on the variety of apple you are used to seeing, this one might not look like it has the proper proportions. I assure you that there are apple varieties that look just like this, but of course they taste a whole lot better!

Here's the pattern for the apple dishcloth for use with Tunisian Crochet. Just click on the chart and then print it.


If you need a refresher on how to work Tunisian Crochet, just click on 'Crocheting' at the top of the sidebar under Hooked On Needles Links and you'll find links to videos showing how to do many Tunisian Crochet stitches.

In the next post, I'll share with you my adventure of taking this crochet chart and making it work with knitting. It was fun, frustrating and educational all at the same time and I'm glad I finally did it. I hope you will be too!

Happy Stitching!

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I Love a Bargain! Do you?

It's shaping up to be another busy week here, but I wanted to pop in quickly to let you all know that I am working very hard on revamping my Tunisian Crochet dishcloth patterns so they will work out with regular knitting. It's not quite as easy as it sounds, and when my final sample is complete, I'll tell you about the entire process!

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you a sale I found at Mary Maxim, which is one of my favorite yarn sources. Caron Simply Soft Baby yarn is on sale right now for only 97 cents for a 2 ounce skein. It comes in 6 soft, luscious colors perfect for your next baby project. This is a worsted weight yarn in baby colors, not a lightweight fingering weight yarn as the name might imply.

If you need some ideas for patterns to use with this yarn, you can check out the Caron website where they share a few patterns specifically for their Simply Soft Baby yarn. Two are blankets, one knitted and one crocheted, and one is a crocheted sweater. All are just darling! Or you can use any pattern that calls for a medium worsted weight yarn.

If I can knit fast enough, I am hoping to have my knitted dishcloth complete and photographed by tomorrow evening. Wish me luck!


Happy Stitching!

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Sunny New Crocheted Dishcloth Pattern

The sun is shining and it is a beautiful Easter Monday here. As you may know, I've been having lots of fun with worsted weight crochet cotton yarn lately, making lots of dishcloths in various patterns. I recently found an alternative to buying the cotton in small 2 or 2.5 ounce balls and I wanted to share that with you, along with a new design I made on a sunny Easter Sunday.


Our local Walmart carries Peaches & Creme brand cotton in the smaller balls, but select colors in a larger 14 ounce cone as well. I knew I would be making quite a few cloths for various fundraisers and gift occasions, so I went ahead and purchased one of the cones. You see it pictured above in the very cheerful Daisy Ombre variegated. I would guess that I have used up not quite half of the cone making the three cloths you see in the picture. I like this alternative to the small balls because I don't have to worry about running out of yarn before finishing a design, and I don't end up with lots of leftovers.

The price is right too. For a 2 ounce ball, I paid about $1.50. For the 14 ounce cone, I paid about $7.00. If you do the math, the cone is a much better deal. It's like getting 2 balls free. That's my kind of deal!


Here's my latest design for a Tunisian Crochet dishcloth -- a bright warm Sun pattern! I love how the variegated yarn works out its own design with the left side of the sun being mostly white and the right side being the two shades of yellow. However, I do think that a solid yarn is more conducive to showing off the design stitched into the cloth. I just had to try it, though, in this very happy color combination. It just seemed the appropriate thing to do!

After I finished following the chart using Tunisian Crochet, I switched to my regular crochet hook in the same size (I use size K for mine) and worked 4 rounds of single crochet around the cloth to finish it off. You can work any kind of border you like around your cloth. Lots of border patterns can be found on the Crochet Page.

This cloth pictured above turned out a little too rectangular for my liking, so in the pattern below, I added 3 rows on the top and 3 rows on the bottom and adjusted the little sunbursts in the corners accordingly. According to my measurements of the finished cloth, this should allow my next cloth (or yours!) to come out more square.


For more Tunisian Crochet cloth charts, check the Crochet page under Crochet Patterns where you will find a chart for a Duck cloth, a Shamrock cloth and a pattern for a Mystery cloth. I have a few more charts finished that I will be sharing with you soon. And I am still working on adjusting these charts to use for knitting too, since a few of my faithful readers have expressed an interest in knitting these cloths with the designs in them.

Happy Stitching!

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Magic Number for Tunisian Short Row Dishcloth

Using 15 stitches for the beginning chain of the Tunisian Short Row Dishcloth with a size K hook made a cloth that was just a bit on the small side, and left far too much leftover yarn, but not enough to make another whole cloth.

So I tried 16 stitches. That made the cloth just a bit bigger, but still did not achieve my goal of using up almost all of the ball of yarn. There was still too much leftover.

So I tried 17 stitches. You can see where this is going, I am sure! Here is the result...


A cloth noticeably larger than the original size, by about a whole inch and a half. And not enough yarn leftover from a 2 ounce ball to add another stitch to the beginning chain and be able to complete the cloth.

So 17 is the Magic Number! To work this pattern using 17 as the beginning chain, you follow the exact same instructions, except when the number 15 is mentioned, just change it to 17. Give it a try and see if you like the bigger size better.


Don't you love the soft blues in this Denim cotton yarn? A set of cloths in this color, or any color of your choice, could be yours if you win my 300th post giveaway! Click HERE and read the rules for this great giveaway, but don't wait too long. #300 is coming up fast!

Happy Stitching!

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More Tunisian Short Row Dishcloths

I'm officially HOOKED! I admit it! I can't get enough of this worsted weight cotton yarn! It feels good to work with. It comes in such pretty solids and variegated combinations. These cloths work up so fast and pretty. They are the perfect take-along project. And they make the perfect little gift for any occasion. Right now I am making some for the high school PTO fundraiser that is coming up next week, but then I will be making more for other fundraisers and gift giving occasions.

Here's what I made last night while sitting through the high school band booster meeting for updating the by-laws...I was glad I had something to keep my hands busy!


The cloth on the left is made with Sugar'n Cream Green Twists yarn which is a 4 ply yarn made up of 2 plies off white, 1 ply very pale mint green, and 1 ply sage green. I love the look of the twist yarns. That is the one I made during last night's very tedious meeting. At least I was productive!


The cloth on the right is made using Sugar'n Cream Country Side Ombre which is a variegated of blue, purple, sage green, and grey. It looks kind of dark, but is really quite striking in person. I like it.

The solid ball of yarn pictured with the two cloths above is Sage Green, which is one of my favorite decorating colors. I am going to make two of the Tunisian Short Row dishcloths out of this color, one to go with the Green Twists and one to go with the Country Side Ombre. Then with the leftovers of each color, I am going to make one of the woven hotpads combining the Green Twists with the Sage Green, and one combining the Country Side Ombre with the Sage Green. So I will have two sets, each with two dishcloths and a woven hotpad. Those should look nice tucked into the kitchen gift baskets for the auction.


This is the cloth I started working on last week when I had to bring my daughter to get her finger x-rayed. She actually did break it and she must keep it in a simple splint for 4 weeks so it can heal. No time off school or work for her though! She just keeps on plugging away! She even continues to work on her own crochet project each evening and is making great progress on a full size zig-zag afghan that she is making for herself. I'll show pictures of that soon.

You might recognize the yarn I used for this cloth as one of the variegated yarn leftovers I used up when making my first woven hotpad the other day. It's called Daisy Ombre and it is just two colors, bright sunshine yellow with bright white. Very cheerful!

Now I must get busy with my cotton and my crochet hook. It's been about 10 hours since I worked my last stitch, and I do believe I am experiencing the beginnings of withdrawal! As addictions go, I suppose this one is not really SO bad!

Happy Stitching!

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Two Short Stacks, Coming Right Up! Of Crocheted Dishcloths, that is!

This weekend is another busy outdoor one for us, cutting down trees and burning. It is such beautiful weather to be outside, but at the same time, it is always sad to see such beautiful trees falling to the ground. Our fall foliage season this year won't be nearly as colorful as it has been the past eight years we have lived here with all those lovely maple and birch trees sitting in neat piles waiting to be split.

But inside I do have some piles of colorful things that I wanted to share with you. Some you have seen already, but a few are new. I'm on such a cotton dishcloth kick right now that I just can't stop myself! I love how portable these little projects are too. I brought my bag with me yesterday when I had to spend some time with my oldest daughter at the hospital after she broke her finger in the cash register at work! I got one almost finished there, but sorry to say I haven't had a minute since then to finish it so it is not in the pictures.

Here's what I have so far...

These are the square cloths that I have made so far. You have seen the first 4 already, but the one on top is new. I used the solid granny square pattern and a ball of self-striping cotton in these cheerful spring colors. I just kept adding rounds to the square until I could not complete the last round. I ripped out the incomplete last round and instead worked a round of reverse single crochet for the border. I love how it turned out colorwise, and it has such nice texture too.


These are my Tunisian Short Row cloths, most of which you have already seen, but the one on the far left is my newest, stitched in a cotton color called Gum Drop. It really does look like all the colors in a bag of gum drops! For this one, I also added one stitch to my beginning chain to make 16 stitches. This made the cloth a little bit bigger and also used up more of the ball of cotton. I think my next one will begin with 17 chains. I am trying to get to the right number for the beginning chain so that I can use up the whole ball of cotton and make a generously sized cloth. I'll let you know what that magic number is for me, in case you want to try it too.


Notice how the color changes happen in this pattern with the self-striping cotton. It almost looks like I actually changed yarns, but I didn't! I just kept on crocheting around and around. It couldn't get much easier than that!


How's this for cheerful? It's the Gum Drop cloth. Looks good enough to eat, don't you think?

Grab a ball of cotton next time you find yourself at Walmart, Michael's or your favorite craft store. Dig out your size J or K crochet hook, and whip yourself up a few new dishcloths or face cloths. If you are the kind of person who likes instant gratification, this is the project for you!

Happy Stitching!

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