I love the huge range of 100% cotton knitting yarn for dishcloths that are available to use.
I cannot resist buying a ball or two each time I see them in the shops. I always have a dishcloth knitting project on the go. They are so easy to do and don’t require too much attention and concentration. I can do one while watching the TV in the evenings.
I grew up on a farm in Africa where my Dad grew hundreds of acres of cotton. We loved picking the fluffy white bolls of cotton when we were children. Little did I know all these years later that I would once again love knitting with it.
100% Cotton?
Have you heard others say that you must use yarn that is 100 per cent cotton when making dishcloths? It is more expensive than acrylic yarns so you might have wondered why you need to spend a bit more for this natural fibre.
Can you use acrylic yarn to make a dishcloth?
In theory, you could knit a cloth from any yarn like acrylic. But as it’s a man-made fibre it will not absorb the water in the same way that cotton does. It would also not retain its shape well either.
Choose 100% Cotton Knitting Yarn for Dishcloths
As you would expect with dishcloths, and washcloths for the bathroom, they not only get repeatedly wet but also are immersed in hot water. Natural cotton fibres stand up to this treatment much better than manmade fibres. Never use wool as it is easily distorted by too much heat. I once put a beautiful wool knee rug into the tumble drier by mistake – it came out very much smaller than it went in!
Recommended Yarns for Dishcloths
When deciding on yarn for your dishcloth project, you can’t go wrong if you keep the 100% cotton rule in mind. There is a big choice of them so here are some brands I have used and I recommend.
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When shopping online I like to use Lovecrafts as they have a big selection.
Paintbox Yarns Cotton DK
This brand is available in 63 shades of colours so you are bound to find one you like. Click HERE to see all the colours.
If you want to make a thicker dishcloth or washcloth then you could use the Aran version of this yarn.
Debbie Bliss Cotton DK
This range of yarn is slightly thicker and is available in 19 neutral and pastel shades. It would be ideal for a bathroom washcloth project as well as for use in the kitchen. See it for yourself here
King Cole Cotton Soft Crystal
I like this one as it’s self striping, and a really soft yarn with lovely combinations of colours – Citrine, Rose, Blush, Topaz, Pearl, and Amethyst. See them all HERE
Stylecraft Classique Cotton DK
This yarn comes in a good range of 18 shades which are both neutral and bold in colour. Their smaller 50g balls are just ideal for a dishcloth project. I keep a stock of this yarn so I can always have a dishcloth project in progress.
Knitting Patterns for Dishcloths
My favourite place to start looking for patterns is on Pinterest. There are so many designs to choose from and many are free to use. If I find one I like, I save it to my knitting ideas board for dishcloths that way I can find it later.
I have curated some in my dishcloths section on this website HERE
Lovecrafts has a big section with many dishcloths patterns for free HERE
I have also found pattern tutorials like this one here ==>YouTube.com.
I hope this post has given you some understanding of why you need to use pure cotton yarn for knitting your dishcloths, some ideas of which brands to try and some project ideas to get you started.
