MOD HUMMINGBIRD KITCHEN TOWEL; Knit

I started this towel yesterday – and finished this morning, along with a matching dishcloth.

I'm pleased with how my kitchen towel design turned out.

I chose a hummingbird grid – drew it freehand … and chose my towel colors based on a pink fuchsia flower 😊

Now, with the tempestuous weather happening outside, is the perfect time to drink coffee and be creative 😉

Freehand Grid; patterns found on Pinterest.

Fuchsia plant.

Normally, I work my patterns in jacquard knit (knitting a pattern directly into the fabric of knit work), but cotton yarn is a lot stiffer than acrylic worsted and jacquard tends to look messy with cotton yarn; so when I use cotton yarn I usually opt to use the duplicate stitch embroidery for design purposes because it stays put when the damp cotton yarn “grows”. Cotton yarn is good for dishtowels because it wicks moisture off hands and dishes (if you handwash/hand dry dishes); but it tends to lose shape when it gets very damp with constant use. Even so – I prefer my handmade cotton towels over the recycled plastic fiber kitchen towels sold in stores that are basically worthless other than the cute designs stamped on them.

I’m not a fan of the duplicate stitch stich … but it seems the best technique to do a broad-span design on cotton yarn projects: it “sets” the pattern to keep it in place.

This pattern combines knit, crochet, and embroidery stitches.

Here’s the pattern –

MOD HUMMINGBIRD KITCHEN TOWEL

1 skein Cotton yarn in Pink, Green & White; small amount of contrasting color throwaway yarn; Worsted yarns in Green and White.

# 9 knitting needles

#I/9 crochet hook

1 resin button for towel topper

1 tapestry needle

1 set of plastic cone-shaped needle point protectors/stoppers

Terms used:

CO = cast on sts

St = stitches

st. st. = stockinette stitch

tog = together

sc = single crochet

dc = double crochet

EO = end off yarn

 

With pink, CO 70 sts & K 1 row.

Work 62 rows in stockinette stitch (knit 1 row = front side of work; purl 1 row = back side of work).

Keep sts on needle, and slip a point stopper on the tip end when row 62 is finished (this will be the purl side of work).

Lower end of kitchen towel finished.

With a small amount of throw away yarn, mark off the center 20 sts needed for the hummingbird embroidery design.

My pattern grid was marked like this: count 20 rows from the bottom – and 25 sts on each end of the center 20 design sts; there should be 23 top-end rows.

Once you have your st counts set up, start the Duplicate St embroidery using the tapestry needle and contrasting yarn colors: this online page describes it (https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/how-to-duplicate-stitch-2116380).

It’s pretty simple to do.

Using Duplicate St ...

Hummingbird finished.

When your design is finished, weave in the loose ends; and start on the towel topper.

Towel Topper – Row 63: With crochet hook, attach green yarn and sc across row as follows – *sc 2, sc 2 tog*, end sc 2. Ch 1, turn.

Repeat row 63 once more.

Next row and every row afterwards: Decrease one st EA end, until there are only six sts remaining to be worked.

Dc for 8 rows.

Button keyhole: Sl st next 3 sts; ch 6 and sl st in same sp; sl at to end. Turn.

Dc x12 in chain loop; EO.

Add a decorative loop edging of your choice (or leave plain).

With tapestry needle, sew button in place and weave in loose ends.

Trim your towel with a pretty edging, if that is something you want to do: I did, because I designed my towel after a frilly flower and a flighty bird. LOL

My towel looks stiff, but both yarns will soften with the first washing.

Knit kitchen towel with crochet topper & trim.

==KNIT DISHCLOTH

I’ve had this dishcloth pattern since the early 1980’s when it had been printed in the local newspaper; it’s easy to work up, and looks good either plain or 2-toned, as I am prone to do 😉

Knit Garter St Dishcloth pattern.

MOD Hummingbird Dishtowel Set completed.

Enjoy!

MOD BRIGHT STRIPED DISHTOWEL – Wide

With my husband home all the time now since retirement I have come to realize that the kitchen needs to be outfitted with dishtowels and dishrags that will fit his big hands since he is helping with the breakfast (I have never been a breakfast person, so he and the kids are pretty much on their own in this regard) and the occasional lunch cleanup when I am otherwise occupied.

So since he is such a good sport, I have decided to repay the favor by designing and making up dishtowels and dishcloths that fit him; they are really too large for my little hands, but I’ve had it my way in the kitchen for 43 years … this is a small price to pay for the help he now lovingly offers.

I made this first towel/rag set out of leftover balls of cotton yarns I had on hand. I figure each ball used for the dishtowel was a third of the 4-oz. super-size Sugar ‘n Cream yarns. Any colors will work, these are the ones I had in my yarn bag. For the dishrag, I started with a new skein of yarn for the main color and 2 small balls of leftovers for the contrast edging. I used a pair of #10 American needles for both the towel and rag.

The dishtowel took a few days to complete – the dishrag 1 night. This towel will look ridiculously large when completed, but in actuality it is the same length as a regular store bought dishtowel … and about an 1-1/2 wider on both sides.

Stitches Used:

Rice Stitch – Row 1: *K1, p1* across. Row 2: As row 1.

St. st: Row 1: K across. Row 2: P across.

MOD BRIGHT STRIPED DISHTOWEL – Wide

With blue, CO 76 sts and work 7 rows of Rice st. DO NOT CHANGE COLOR. Work an additional 10 rows in st.st.

Change to green and work 5 rows st. st.

Change to pink and work in st. st.

This pattern established, follow it in such manner: 5 g – 10 b – 5 g – 10 p – 5 g – 10 b – 5 g – 10 p – 5 g – 10 b – 7 b Rice st. and BO last row.

Though the dishcloth pattern I used is at least 35 years old clipped from the local newspaper when they did such things back in the ‘good ‘ole days’ (hahaha), my head is about to explode with sinus pressure so instead of spending more time than necessary with my head bent over the keyboard and pressure making my eyes throb even more, I will just refer you to an internet site featuring the same pattern – the only difference being that I have used 2 contrast colors along the edges; just add them to the increase row that will give you 5 sts and keep tracking the CC up the sides as you work the dishcloth: very simple to do. Dishcloth Pattern can be found at this link: https://www.allfreeknitting.com/Dish/Traditional-Garter-Stitch-Dishcloth