Well, I’m finally getting around to posting pictures of the dishcloths I made during the Olympic Dishcloth KAL. The purpose was to use up the stash of cotton dishcloth yarn that I had accumulated over the last couple of years. I started out with this pile of yarn.
DeAnzaJig worked up the pattern for the Olympic rings. That was my first dishcloth. I used Sugar ‘n Cream, and the color is Cornflower.
I completed one dishcloth almost every day of the Olympics. The first few dishcloth patterns came from this booklet, which you can purchase at almost any craft store:
For the Bee Stitch Dishcloth, I used Sugar ‘n Cream, and the color is called American Stripes. It’s self-striping yarn. The yarn was very rough and thick. The pattern was easy. The rough texture will be good for cleaning dishes (yes, I do use these…what’s the point in having them?).
The next cloth is called Elfin Lace Dishcloth. I used Sugar ‘n Cream, and the color is Ecru. Again, the yarn is a little rough, but the color is great for knitting lacy patterns.
The next cloth is called Zigzag Eyelet Dishcloth. I used Sugar ‘n Cream, and the color is Tea Rose. This yarn was fabulously soft. I don’t understand how you can use the same brand of yarn but a different color, and one be different from the other. Strange. Oh well. The pattern was extremely easy, and I like the result.
The next cloth is called Climbing Lattice Dishcloth. I used Sugar ‘n Cream, and the color is Lime Stripes…another self-striping yarn. The pattern was easy but seemed to take forever to knit up. I like the end-result though.
The next cloth I knit is called Slanted Squares Dishcloth. I used Sugar ‘n Cream (big surprise, eh?), and the color is Potpurri. I really liked this pattern.
Next, I knit the Shapely Diamond Dishcloth. Sugar ‘n Cream was the yarn of choice, and the color is Ecru…again, a perfect choice for the pattern.
While Michael Phelps was winning his seventh gold medal, I knit the Papillon (Butterfly) Cloth. Very appropriate considering the timing (Phelps’ medal was for the 100m Butterfly). I used a new yarn called I Love this Cotton, which is sold by Hobby Lobby. The color is Buttercup. What fabulous cotton yarn! It is unbelievably soft and not as thick as the Sugar ‘n Cream.
You can find the pattern here, a site with many great, free patterns. The pattern was a bit difficult, for a dishcloth, and I had to learn how to p2tog through the back loop…not an easy feat. The result, in my opinion, was well worth the effort. The picture does not, unfortunately, show the color. It is a soft yellow.
Dishcloth #9 is called Flurries Dishcloth. [COLOR=green][B]Here’s[/B][/COLOR] the link for the free pattern. I used Tahki Cotton Classic.
Dishcloth #10 is the Dayflower Cloth, and it’s a free pattern that you can find [COLOR=seagreen][B]here[/B][/COLOR]. I used Sugar ‘n Cream, and the color is Natural Stripes. The yarn is self-striping and really pretty up close. The pattern was so much fun and literally flew off of my needles. I’m really surprised how quickly it went by.
Next, I knit up 4 Corners Dishcloth, and I used Sugar ‘n Cream. The color is Rose Twists. I loved this yarn, and the pattern was fairly easy, except for the provisional cast on (used the video [B][COLOR=#339966]here[/COLOR][/B] on KH), and the garter stitch graft (instructions found [COLOR=magenta][B]here[/B][/COLOR]). You can find the free pattern [B][COLOR=blue]here[/COLOR][/B].
The next dishcloth begged for me to use my I Love This Cotton, and the color is Buttercup. The pattern is called Christmas Lace Dishcloth. It’s free, and you can find it [COLOR=seagreen][B]here[/B][/COLOR].
This was a FAST knit…took me under two hours. I’m not sure exactly because I started it while in car loop picking up my children and then stopped while I cooked dinner and cleaned the house a bit. I picked it up and finished during the diving events one evening.
This dishcloth (I’ve lost count by now) is called Eyelet and Bead Cloth. The pattern is located [B][COLOR=blue]here[/COLOR][/B]. I used Sugar ‘n Cream, and the color is Ecru.
The next pattern was a bit different for me. I found it on Ravelry, and it was written by Eloomanator. You can find it under her name. The pattern is called Eloomanator’s Diagonal Knit Dishcloth.
What an awesome pattern! I used the rest of the skein of I Love This Cotton (Buttercup). Here’s the finished project:
Dishcloth #15 is called the Squidge Cloth. [B][COLOR=purple]Here[/COLOR][/B] is the link for the free pattern.
The reason why it has this name is because you’re supposed to use a much smaller needle than normal…to tighten up the stitches for a tight gauge, which makes the cloth squishy.
I used Sugar ‘n Cream, and the color is called Tie Dye Stripes. It is a self-striping yarn. I used size 3 needles, cast on 48 stitches (the pattern calls for 40 or a multiple of eight) and completed 60 rows.
The next cloth called the Mason Dixon Washcloth, and you can find it in the Mason Dixon Knitting book. I used Sugar ‘n Cream Twists, and the color is Country Twists.
This was a fun pattern! It was a bit tedious, at first, but once I got through the third or fourth round, I was set.
Dishcloth #17 is called Intertwined Dishcloth. You can find the free pattern [B][COLOR=darkorange]here[/COLOR][/B]. I used Sugar ‘n Cream. The color is Ecru. This one gave me a fit! I think that’s because I was getting pretty burned out by now, but I desperately wanted to use up that yarn! I made it 3/4 of the way through before I discovered I had made a mistake. Unable to fix it properly, I frogged the entire thing and had a tantrum on the floor, determined that I was done with this KAL. About ten minutes later, I picked up my needles and tried again. I guess you could say that the Olympian spirit has infiltrated my person. I dove in again, adamant that a pair of needles and yarn would not get the best of me. The effort was worth it.
Well, my 18th (and final) dishcloth leaves a lot to be desired. I wanted to use up the Cornflower yarn I had, and that’s just what I did. However, it wasn’t enough to finish up the pattern. I debated about buying more of that color but decided I wanted it finished, so I pulled out the remnants of the Tea Rose yarn and knit the last third with it. It’s a bit funny looking, but oh well.
The name of this pattern is called Springing Up Flowers. The pattern is located [COLOR=seagreen][B]here[/B][/COLOR]. I used Sugar ‘n Cream, Cornflower and Tea Rose.
Here’s what all of my cloths look like, stacked on top of one another…
18 Dishcloths Completed - Olympic Dishcloth KAL - 2008
And here are the remnants of yarn leftover…
Perhaps one day I’ll get around to knitting up some “scrap” dishcloths. I know it won’t be for quite a while, though. I’m a little dishclothed-out.