I love all the easy knitted dishcloth patterns for beginners that you can find on Pinterest and other websites. If you are just learning to knit and looking for something you can make, consider trying one as they’re perfect for anyone new to knitting.
When I started with this hobby as a child my first project was a knitted monkey. It was far too complex and as a result, it was a struggle. Even now many years later I remember that unpleasant experience. I had to learn a lot of new things all at once.
Practice Each New Knitting Skill as you go
So, if you are new to knitting don’t make the mistake I made. Start with something simple that will allow you to practise one skill at a time. As you learn to do a new stitch find a project that will let you do it over and over again reinforcing it until you get it into your muscle memory.
Dishcloths are Useful Items to Make that People Love
I just love knitting these useful cloths!
They are quick and easy projects you can do in front of the television or while chatting to your family and friends. For beginners just starting out they are ideal as you can get practice with knitting garter and purl stitches while making such a useful item.
Knitted Christmas / Birthday / Anytime Gifts
Make many of them and give them away for Christmas, birthdays or anytime gifts too!
AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links for products recommended. This means that if you click a link and buy something I may receive some compensation, but this is at no cost to you the reader. Thank you for visiting this website.
100% Cotton Yarn 50g ball makes 2 cloths
You don’t need lots of yarn to make one. They do need to be made in a natural fibre like 100% cotton. This is because dishcloths or washcloths need to be absorbent and hard-wearing – which cotton is. As I make so many of them I invested in a colour pack of 100% yarn and keep it in a reserve stash for the times I feel like making one.
What I like about these packs is that each ball is 50g which is enough for two cloths with 40 cast-on stitches. You get 10 different colours in a pack which not only makes life interesting but it means you can choose a colour to suit a kitchen or bathroom colour scheme too. It’s no fun having to wait for a yarn order to come in the post when you are keen to get knitting – so get a variety of colours in one order.
Knitting Needle Size for Dishcloths
The cotton yarn that I use is DK or Aran so I normally use a 4 or 5-mm needle to make these cloths.
Dishcloth Knitting Patterns to Try
There is a large variety of dishcloth knitting patterns but here I have chosen some of my favourites that are ideal for new knitters.
Garter Stitch Dishcloth Knitting Pattern
The very easiest cloth you can make would be one that was done entirely in garter stitch. This one would be ideal as your very first project as it will allow you to practice casting on, doing the knit stitch as evenly as you can and then to practise casting off. That is all it entails!
To make this design cast on the desired number of stitches. I normally aim for around 39 stitches or so which will give you a smaller cloth but which is perfectly sufficient in size.
Knit every row until you have a cloth the size you want. To make the edges neater, slip the first stitch purlwise, and purl the last stitch of each row.
For More Variety Use More Colours of Yarn
Once you have made this one you could vary it up by adding in another colour of yarn and doing a band in the second colour. Another variation might be to do a cloth with strips of alternating colours. This would give you practice in changing yarns and getting that knit stitch perfected.
Stockinette Dishcloth with Garter Stitch Border
Another simple washcloth or dishcloth design that’s suited to beginners is one with a border of garter stitch all the way around and stockinette stitch in the middle. I like the garter stitch as a border as it helps to keep the shape better. Stockinette stitch on its own tends to curl up at the edges. The bumps formed from the garter stitch also add a bit of texture which increases the cleaning ability of your cloth.
This cloth will give you practice in working the purl and knit stitches.
Pattern for Stockinette Dishcloth with Garter Stitch Border
- I Cast on enough stitches for the size I want. This is usually 40 stitches or so. Then I knit a few rows (4 rows is a good number) in garter stitch ( that is knitting every row) to form the bottom lower border.
- Row 1 of pattern:
- Then for the next row and all the following odd rows knit all the stitches. (The first 4 stitches will become the right-hand side border edge and the last 4 stitches become the left-hand side border edge )
- Row 2 of pattern:
- All even rows – Knit the first 4 stitches, then purl up to the last 4 stitches – knit those last 4
- So you can see that for every row you knit the first and last 4 stitches ( to make the garter border edge) and then in between the border stitches – for odd rows you knit and for even rows you purl the stitches.
- Continue with these 2 rows until your dishcloth is almost the size you want it to be.
- To finish it off, knit 4 rows in garter stitch. This will create the top border.
- Cast off your stitches. Sew in the loose ends by weaving them in and out of the stitches.
Beginners Basketweave Cloth
This design is another good one for new knitters as it only uses the knit and purl stitches. It gives more practice in perfecting these stitches which are the foundations that you will need to build on.
Basket Weave Knitted Pattern
- Cast on 38 stitches, and knit 2 rows in garter stitch to form the bottom border of the cloth.
- First Section of Basketweave
- Row 3 Knit across the row (becomes right side of work)
- Row 4 Knit 4 stitches (place a stitch marker to mark the border edge) then (knit 6, purl 6) twice then knit 6 then place a marker and knit the last 4 stitches to make the opposite border edge.
- Row 5 and 6, Rows 7 and 8, Rows 9 and 10 – Repeat these 2 rows three times more
- You should see at this stage that you now have one section of the basket weave.
- Second Section of Basket Weave
- Now instead of having the k6 first, we are going to reverse that and have the purl 6 section first so it gives the impression of the weave.
- Row 11 of pattern Knit across all stitches
- Row 12 Knit 4 then (purl 6, knit 6 ) twice then purl 6 and knit 4
- Repeat rows 11 and 12 three times – rows 13, 14 and 15,16, and 17, 18
- This now completes the two sections of the weave so all you have to do next is repeat these two sections as many times as you want to reach the size cloth you like.
- Finish off the cloth with three rows of garter stitch to form the top most border edge. Cast off all stitches and sew in the ends.
KweenBee’s Bars & Stripes Dishcloth Design
You can find the instructions for this design HERE
This design is suitable for new knitters as it only uses the knit and purl stitches. It provides practice in the knit and purl stitches and following a pattern to get the repeated bars and stripes.
So there you have 4 simple dishcloth designs that are perfect for beginner knitters. I think these dishcloths work better at cleaning than the bought varieties as the bumps help to remove dirt and grime. They are easily washed and seem to last forever! Friends have asked me to make them for use as pot holders and smaller ones as coasters that protect furniture from hot and cold drinks.
See more Dishcloth Knitting Patterns HERE
