Years ago I made these pretty, little cotton chenille washcloths for all my girlfriends for Valentine’s Day. One of my friends told me they were the best facecloths she had ever used, super soft and they laundered beautifully.
Last year, Susi sent me a huge package of cotton chenille and I thought I would share this simple pattern with all of you. I used Crystal Palace cotton chenille, because I love the muted colors which I think make these look a little like old fashioned valentines. You can keep them very simple or add some crochet or embroidery trim to dress them up a bit.
A note on cotton chenille: it is a little tricky to work with as it doesn’t slide easily on itself which can make getting really even stitches a hard. Don’t worry the fuzziness of the yarn hides a little variation. Also make sure not to tug the yarn too tightly, it will break much easier than other yarns.
Heart Washcloth
Click here to download a pdf of the Knit Heart Washcloth Pattern
Supplies:
- cotton chenille (One ball of Crystal Palace cotton chenille will make 3 to 4 washclothes)
- size 5 needles
- tapestry needle
- size F5 crochet hook (optional)
- stitch holder
Gauge:
5 stitches per inche (gauge is not very important for this project)
Abbreviations:
- k = knit
- kfb = knit into the same stitch from the front and then the back, increasing one stitch
- ssk = slip two stitches as if to knit, return them to the left needle and knit them together, decreasing one stitch
- k2tog = knit two stitches together, decreasing one stitch
Cast on one stitch
Row 1: kfb (2 stitches)
Row 2 (and every even row until row 48): k
Row 3: kfb, kfb (4 stitches)
Row 5: kfb, k2, kfb (6 stitches)
Row 7: kfb, k4, kfb (8 stitches)
Row 9: kfb, k6, kfb (10 stitches)
Row 11: kfb, k8, kfb (12 stitches)
Row 13: kfb, k10, kfb (14 stitches)
Row 15: kfb, k12, kfb (16 stitches)
Row 17: kfb, k14, kfb (18 stitches)
Row 19: kfb, k16, kfb (20 stitches)
Row 21: kfb, k18, kfb (22 stitches)
Row 23: kfb, k20, kfb (24 stitches)
Row 25: kfb, k22, kfb (26 stitches)
Row 27: kfb, k24, kfb (28 stitches)
Row 29: kfb, k26, kfb (30 stitches)
Row 31: kfb, k28, kfb (32 stitches)
Row 33: k15, kfb, k16 (33 stitches)
Row 34 – 47: k
Row 48: k18, slip the second stitch from the right needle over the first binding one off, k15
Row: 49: k16, put the remaining stitches on a stitch holder
Row 50: ssk, k12, k2tog
Row 51: ssk, k10, k2tog
Row 52: ssk, k8. K2tog
Row 53: ssk, k6, k2tog
Row 54: ssk, k4, k2tog
Row 55: ssk, k2, k2tog
Row 56: ssk, k2tog, bind off
Put the stitches on the stitch holder back on the needles. Join the yarn in the middle of the heart and knit 1 row. Then follow directions for rows 50 – 56.
Use the tapestry needle to weave in the ends. At this point you will have a plain heart washcloth.
You can dress them up a little more with some basic crochet or embroidery and contrasting chenille.
This heart is edged in crab stitch (single crochet going left to right). A blanket stitch would work as a pretty edging too.
Even simpler is a simple straight stitch.
If you find any mistakes in this pattern please let me know, so I can fix them.
Copyright 2012 Kathy Lewinski
www.justcraftyenough.com
Do no sell or duplicate this pattern. Do not sell items made with this pattern. Do not teach this pattern without my permission. Thank you.
Cute. Just a note, there are a couple of places you refer to a stitch marker, but I’m pretty sure you meant a stitch holder. Happy crafting!
Oh my gosh, how embarrassing! Ok, fixed.
i LOVE these!!!
I am off to try mine. A good project for a dreary winter day. Thanks for the pattern.
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Thank you,,,I love the look of them but I can’t read patterns,,but I am going to try..I do knit dishcloths. Where I have a time with is increasing and decreasing.
Karen
Karen, if you practice each stitch listed in Abbreviations, you’ll do just fine. YouTube is a great source of information to WATCH.
I like this idea. As for not reading patterns: do one line at a time. Learn what the abbreviations mean. You’ll love knitting even more1
YouTube is a great source of learning by watching. If one teacher doesn’t work for me, try another.
Have fun!
I really like these washcloths. Will do a few for next year!
Hi! Can you tell me about how big the finished cloths are? Thanks!
The gauge I used was 5 stitches per inch and the longest row is 33 stitches, so about 6.5 inches wide. If you knit them at a different gauge they will be a different size.
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