Enough with this Monday stuff (now with dishcloth pattern!)

Last Monday I mentioned that I would soon post the pattern for the dishcloth I was knitting. I think I’m running out of time on “soon,” so here goes. My pattern for this is more of a rough guide for you to use as a starting point. When I knit garter stitch bibs, I use a US6 needle. I knit these cloths on a US7. I’ll try a US8 next time – this is a tight pattern and it is much easier to knit if you use needles that help the knitting stay loose. Also, if cotton bugs your wrists, you’re going to need to do this in small doses – or skip straightaway to knitting a wool scarf using the stitch pattern.

The stitch pattern is from my beloved Mon Tricot Knitting Dictionary, procured from the thrift store for $0.69 a few years ago. If you ever come across a copy of this, snatch it up immediately. You won’t regret it.

The stitch pattern is the woven basket stitch, featured on page 54:

I first discovered this stitch while trying to knit Bamboozelle a while back. Something was very awry with the pattern (at least as I was interpreting it) and I dug through many stitch guides before I found the equivalent in good ol’ Mon Tricot.

You need to cast on an even number of stitches using the long-tailed cast on. I cast on 46 for this cloth, and it turned out a bit small – I would probably try 56 or 60 stitches next time. (My lovely assistant Chaos indicates the cloth of which I speak. The other one was knitted when I was trying to sort out the Bamboozelle confusion.)

“Hmph. This cloth is clean. It has no intriguing smells. What’s the point of this if I can’t have a snack?!” -Chaos

Row 1 (wrong side): P1, *purl the second stitch on the needle, purl the first stitch on the needle, slide both stitches off the needle*, P1

Row 2 (right side): *pass the right-hand needle behind the first stitch to knit the second stitch on the needle, knit the first stitch “in the usual way,” slip both stitches off the needle* (On Row 2, make sure you get both stitches off the needle! I had trouble with that if I wasn’t paying close attention.)

Knit until you like the size, then bind off. I’m still experimenting with bind offs. Whatever you do, don’t bind off in pattern! You’ll end up with a very wide bind off row. Trust me on that one.

As written, your cloth is going to curl a little bit. I couldn’t figure out an edge treatment that really went with this stitch pattern, so I decided to live with the curling. Hey, no dishcloth curls when it’s being used, right?

Please let me know if you have questions about this or if you come up with a really spiffy edging or bind off!

81 thoughts on “Enough with this Monday stuff (now with dishcloth pattern!)”

  1. I love the pattern. I tried doing it, but I got snarled on row2. Question: do you place the right needle ‘behind’ the left needle, or just behind the first stitch? Can you re-word the instructions for row2? Thanks

  2. I am going to give this one a try, looks good and easy to make……to prevent the curling, I have always slipped the first stitch on every row, however I have counted it as a stitch. It seems to prevent the dreaded curl.

  3. I still don’t understand the above pattern yet but maybe with practice…. anyways i was wondering if the I-Cord can be used for binding off….. m a beginner so i am not too sure… can you help? 🙂

  4. Just did this pattern and love it. I did k1,p1,k1 at the beginning and end of each row and it doesn’t look to bad. Didn’t read #9 post till I was done but she is right about the k2tog before binding off. Will do that on the next one. If you bind off with the worng side facing you it doesn’t curl as bad.

  5. How did you figure out in the book that Row 1 was actually Row 2 and vice versa?? I never would have…so glad to find your post so I don’t have to totally give up on trying this stitch!

  6. 5/9/12
    Hello Chris! I know I am a little late to the party here but found your pattern and had to try it. I, too, had trouble with curling but figured out that it was because when making the stitches, they kind of “shrink” (for lack of a better word) together or maybe take up less space is a better way to describe what I was seeing. I wanted to make a dishcloth that would be 8″ square so with my trusty kitchen cotton and size 9 needles, I cast on 26 sts. The beginning stitch of each row is slipped, knitwise, and the last stitch of each row is purled…makes a woven look up the sides of the cloth. Back to my cast on. I knit the first row, turned and slipped the first stitch of the second row, knitwise. Then is K1, M1 across to the last stitch, which I then purled. I pulled up the horizontal loop between the stitches and knit into the back of the stitches for my M1’s…worked pretty slick…now there are 50 stitches. My row 3 is the beginning of your pattern, as written – except for those first and last stitches. I knit until I had 8″ and stopped knitting in pattern after the your row 2. The next row I slipped 1 (knitwise), K2tog across to the last stitch and the final stitch was a P1 (back to 26 stitches). My final row, I bound off, knitwise, again slipping that first stitch and the final stitch was a purl before slipping that final loop over. No curling 🙂 I hope this isn’t confusing…wish there was a way to post a photo for you to see. Thanks for the pattern – I love learning new stitches/techniques!!

  7. Hi! My name is Claudia. I live in Argentina. Would you have the pattern of the Woven Basket Stitch Dishcloth in Spanish? Thank you!

  8. Chaos is a lovely assistant. I love the name. When I was little my family had two twin boy black cats named Satan and Lucifer. They were the sweetest things.

  9. You are right–I havr that Mon Tricot dictionary–actually the original version and one that was a reprint with changes but both are earlier versions than your. I love them!!

  10. I have that book from my Mom’s collection. She bought it new. I’m more of a crochet girl, but there are some amazing knitting stitches in it also.

  11. Thank you for this post! I bought baby a sweater i love so much but now i can’t buy the next size (fickle fashion!), but i could maybe knit it – all cables and baubles, and this stitch that o one could tell me what it was! So glad i found your blog!

  12. I inherited that same book from my great grandmothers crochet collection after she passed, I’ve learned so much from it!!!

  13. My husband was talking to an acquaintence who has started a business making wraps and shawls in this pattern. She kept repeating that “no one knows” this stitch, and when my husband said that there was a good chance that I knew it, she became very defensive. (I was familiar with the stitch, but hadn’t used it in so many years that I couldn’t quite remember how to execute it.) So I was thrilled when I found your blog post, which proves – at least to me and my husband – that this crazy woman was quite in error about “her” stitch.

    Also, I was wondering if you’ve worked out a binding for this. I love making face cloths and wash clothes, so I would love to make some with this stitch. Thanks!

  14. I love this book too! I stumbled across mine years ago at a Goodwill in their FREE box!!! The cover and some page corners worn but hey – free? THAT’S for me!
    The pattern is a bit unnerving because to make it work you must do your st repeat multiple of 2 stitches directly over each order to make the pattern work as pictured.

    Omit the p1 at the beginning and end of row 1.
    As one other poster here did (“bunny” in post #55)- k1, p1, k1 at the beginning and end of EACH row. No curling plus sets the pattern st a right to look like the basket weave it should.

    Hope this helps!
    .

  15. (A visual tutorial on the Basketweave stitch from Mon Tricot described)
    http://youtu.be/5yBkIxbHd9c

    Okay – revisions to above post…sorry guys!
    *Do not omit the p1 on the wrong side row.
    *the real conundrum of this pattern is on the knit row.
    more specifically on the “pass right needle behind first st, knit next st, knit first st “in the usual way””
    -This assumes a lot!

    So to give this part a visual and send you on your way to the “a-ha!” moment of having your project look like the basket weave pic above – use the link at the beginning of this post and happy knitting! I use size 8 US/5MM needles.

  16. I used the crochet hook/knitting needle cast on and Jenny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off and had no problem with curling. Also, for those who prefer, youtube has a “show n tell” video by Jenni Lithgow of how the 2 different stitches are accomplished. It was the only way I was able to understand the second row.
    I’ve been trying to figure it out ever since I first saw your posting. Thanks for showing the wonderful stitch to us.

  17. YES! Bettie Newbern, above you I posted the direct link over to the very tutorial you refer to in your post 🙂

    It is extremely helpful.

  18. Can this be converted to be worked in the round? I’ve tried many different methods of turning the wrong side into the right side but all my attempts have ended without a satisfying stitch.

  19. Hi, I’m switching your woven stitch wash cloth….
    On the bind off, try knitting 2 sts. tog, K 2 tog, bind those 2, K 2 tog, bind again. Continue across.
    Do you think a simple single crochet around will work for the edging?

  20. I have this issue but yours looks a lot better than mine. My mother bought this for me at Krogers when I was 10 and I carried it around learning how to knit and crochet the different patterns. I still have it and treasure it to this day!

  21. I knit a baby blanket 40 years ago with this pattern and then lost the pattern itself. A friend just came today and looked at my blanket and figured out the pattern is the plait woven basket stitch (not the weave one). I want to make a baby blanket with it but have looked all over the Internet and can’t find one. If you know where I can get one can you email it to me? You would end a 49 year search to try to make another one. Thank you!

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