I have another free pattern for you – the White Wedding Washcloth pattern! I decided to design this because, well, I needed a washcloth to use to clean myself in the shower. Shortly after I learned to knit, I made myself this one called Simple Clean, from the book AwareKnits by Vickie Howell and Adrienne Armstrong. I LOVE this book and pored over it and borrowed it several times from the library because I was a poor student and I hate spending money at the best of times. I made so many things from that book. Maybe I should do a book review on that book – let me know in the comments if you’d like me to!
That old washcloth from that book is the only one I had. I like washcloths more than a bath puff thing because a hand-knitted cotton washcloth is machine washable and lasts a long time, unlike those puffs which you need to replace often. Washcloths also dry well if you wring them out, meaning you’re not washing your body with a bacteria party every time you shower.
So anyway, that washcloth was made back in about 2011, maybe late 2010. After 7+ years of daily use, my washcloth went from looking like this one, to looking like this:
Yeah it’s not good. So I needed another one. Queue the White Wedding Washcloth. I think the White Wedding Washcloth would also make a beautiful yet impractical decorative handkerchief as a bridal accessory.
It is a SUPER simple pattern. It uses the same stitch pattern from my French Rhubarb Fingerless Mittens. I called the pattern the Eyelet Rib Pattern, but it’s not exactly a rib. It’s yarn overs alternating with knit stitches and central double decreases. Very simple, and a good way for beginner knitters to step a tentative foot into the thrilling waters of lace knitting.
Why the Name?
The yarn I used is actually left over from my wedding dress! If you’d like to read about how I knitted my wedding dress, I wrote blog posts about it which you can find here, here, here, and here. I bought way too much of this yarn for my dress. I’ve already used heaps of it to make my daughter’s baptism gown and a matching bonnet, and after this washcloth I still have over a ball left over.
The yarn is called Milford Satin and it’s a 2ply mercerised cotton. I used white. It is a beautiful yarn, shiny but doesn’t boast about itself like a Lurex yarn. They have their place, for sure, but not on my wedding gown, Peanut’s baptism gown, or my washcloth. Milford Satin was perfect for it.
Blooper Photo (aka: what happens when you try to take a blog photo with a toddler around)
My little girl Peanut didn’t sleep as long as I wanted her to today (isn’t it always the way when you’ve got something important to do?), so she was with me while I quickly shot some photos of the washcloth for this post. It’s a bathroom washcloth, I thought, so why not add a prop of a nice jar of cotton balls in the frame? That didn’t work out great. As well as being a useful bathroom product, do you know what a jar of cotton balls looks like to a 14 month old? A great toy. Here is Peanut’s arm snatching the jar. I gave up on the jar after a while 🙂
The Pattern
Here it is! You can download the PDF here: White Wedding Washcloth
Please make sure you make a project for this pattern on Ravelry so I can see your finished product.
Needles: 3mm straight needles
Yarn: Milford Satin in white
Notions: Scissors, tapestry needle
Tension: 21sts x 28 rows in patt = 10cm2, after blocking. Note: Tension is not critical for this project.
Finished measurements: 21cm x 20 cm
Pattern
Using a long tail cast-on, cast on 47 sts.
Work 4 rows in garter stitch.
Next row: k4, [yo, slip 2tog k-wise, k1, psso tog, yo, k1], k3.
Next row: K3, P41, K3
Repeat these two rows 25 times more, or until the piece is almost square in shape.
Work 3 rows in garter stitch. Cast off k-wise. Weave in ends.
Pin out and steam to block.
I hope you enjoy knitting this washcloth, and that it lasts you at least 7 years!
Peace,
Kat
Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I will receive a commission if you click on the affiliate link and purchase the item.
