How to Knit a Dish Cloth

Learning how to knit a dish cloth is the perfect way to reduce your household waste while developing a new skill. Reusable cloths made from natural fibres are a great way to eliminate kitchen sponges, paper towels, makeup wipes, cotton facial rounds, and baby wipes. This pattern is easily adaptable for different fibres, gauges, and sizes to suit your needs.

If you are already a knitter, these are great little projects for when your main WIP has to sit in the basket and think about what it did. These are also wonderful additions to gifts for so many occasions, from housewarming baskets to new baby bundles.

Yarn and Needles

Last year I scored 8 skeins of fingering weight cotton yarn at the thrift store and have continued to crank out cloth after cloth while watching TV or on long car rides ever since. Depending on which fibre and size you choose, this simple pattern can become a dish cloth, a scrubby, or a face cloth. Be sure to choose a natural fibre that is compostable at end of life. Some general suggestions on choosing a fibre:

• Dishes and general cleaning – cotton, hemp, linen
• Scrubbing – jute, hemp, sisal twine
• Facial and other personal care – cotton, bamboo

Choose your needle size in accordance with your yarn weight. In general, US 3-5 for fingering or light weight, and US 7-9 for worsted weight yarns. A larger needle will create a more open fabric. The finished cloths are square and knitted on the diagonal, meaning you can increase to the desired width and then begin decreasing.

Abbreviations and Tutorials

CO – cast on

K – knit

KFB – knit front and back (increase)

K2tog – knit two stitches together (decrease)

BO – bind off

How to Knit a Dish Cloth – Pattern Instructions

CO 3

Row 1: K across

Row 2: K2, KFB

Row 3: K2, KFB, K to end

Repeat Row 3 until the cloth is the width you want.

Begin decreases.

K2, K2tog, K to end

Continue until last 3 stitches and BO

Cut yarn leaving a 4-6″ tail. Weave in ends with a tapestry needle.

Boom! You’re done. Machine wash with the rest of your household linens and hang to dry.

Simple swaps are a great place to start, and learning a new skill is even better. Let the simple things empower you to do the hard things, like talking to your family and friends, contacting your reps, and taking climate action in your local community.