Baby Bath Set
Babies are wonderful recipients of hand knit gifts. They never complain about the color or fit, and they always drool in appreciation. And when you give them this Baby Bath Set, they may even smile!
Knit up in our unmercerized Cotton Pure, this towel and washcloth duo is absorbent and very soft. It’s also perfectly gentle on babies’ skin and machine washable (now parents are smiling, too!).
We used a simple slip stitch pattern for our Set. This classic Linen Stitch is smooth and woven-looking on one side and nubbly and seed-stitch-looking on the other. It has a wonderful complexity that belies how fun and easy it is to actually knit.
Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!
Start your Baby Bath Set with the Towel and add the colorful border once you know if the world’s newest member is a boy or girl. Or if no babies are on the horizon, think of the Set as hand towel and washcloth and make some adults very happy! -Joelle
Designed by Purl Soho founder and co-owner, Joelle Hoverson.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoBabyBathSet, and #PurlSohoCottonPure. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- Color A: 3 skeins of Purl Soho’s Cotton Pure, 100% organically grown cotton yarn. Each skein of this sport weight yarn is 279 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 837 yards required. We used Birch Bark for both sets.
- Color B: 1 skein of Cotton Pure; approximately 210 yards required. We used Teacake Pink (left) for one set and Sea Pink (right) for the other set.
- US 7 (4.5 mm), 24- or 32-inch circular needles
These are enough materials to make one Towel and at least one Washcloth (you can probably squeak out an additional Washcloth in Color A).
Gauge
28 stitches = 4 inches in stitch pattern
Size
Finished Dimensions of Towel: 22 inches wide x 38 inches long
Finished Dimensions of Washcloth: 7 inches square
Note
This stitch pattern can be worked over any odd number of stitches.
Patterns
Towel
With Color A, cast on 155 stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
Row 1 (right side): K1, *slip 1 with yarn in front (wyif), k1, repeat from * to end of row.
Row 2 (wrong side): Slip 1 wyif, p1, *slip 1 with yarn in back, p1, repeat from * to last stitch, slip 1 wyif.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until work measures 29 inches from cast-on edge, ending with Row 2.
Cut Color A and join Color B.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 for nine more inches, ending with Row 2.
To bind off, work Row 1 while binding off. Here’s how…
Bind Off Row (right side): K1, *slip 1 wyif, pass stitch over, k1, pass stitch over, repeat from * to end of row.
Cut yarn and pull through the remaining stitch.
Weave in ends and block or steam.
Washcloth
With Color B, cast on 49 stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 of the Towel pattern until work measures 7 inches from cast-on edge, ending with Row 2.
Bind off and finish as for Towel.
Update: New Coordinating Hand Towels!
June 2018
Knit in a slightly bigger gauge than our Baby Bath Set, we made our Colorblock Hand Towels with our cotton-linen blend Lantern yarn. With 25 colors to choose from, have some real fun putting together your favorite pairings!
Learn About Cotton Pure + All Our Beautiful Yarns
As special as it is popular, our Cotton Pure brings true natural beauty to this project. 100% organically grown cotton, this sport-weight yarn feels exceptionally soft and supple in your hands, and it comes in tons of gently heathered colors you won’t find anywhere else! Making something big, like a blanket or sweater? Shop our 1,000-gram Cotton Pure On A Cone collection, too!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our vast collection of (mostly free!) Cotton Pure knitting patterns and cast on!
More Sport-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of sport-weight yarns
- If you want to use a different yarn, be sure to take the time to get the correct gauge. Need help? Check our All About Gauge Tutorial!
More Yarns With Similar Fiber
- Shop cotton yarn
- Shop plant-based yarn
- Shop machine-washable yarn
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
I would like to make the blanket in a larger size for my elderly mother. I would rather not use the cotton but would prefer a wool blend. What weight of yarn would be favorable for this project? Thank you. PS. Love the website and the store.
Hi Liz,
Thanks for the question. I suggest any DK weight for this blanket. Best of luck!
-Adam
I see that this towel and wash cloth can be machine washed. Does it need to be air dried? I’m just not sure new parents would take the time to dry it on a rack, so thought I’d check. Thanks.
Hi Molly,
Thanks for the question. You can actually machine dry this yarn. We have tested it before and there is little to no shrinkage. If you plan on machine washing and drying the project, I suggest you knot the ends before weaving them. This way your project won’t unravel. Thanks again!
-Adam
Thanks for the advice. Ordering the yarn right now!
Pattern says Size 7 needle. The Cotton Pure yarn label says size 4-6. I used a size 4 to get gauge for a baby blanket I knit and size 5 for the Clean + Simple Baby Dress. Is a size 7 needle really what I should use to make this towel and washcloth set? Thanks in advance for clarifying needle size for me. P.S. I love Cotton Pure yarn!
Hi Kristine,
Thanks for the lovely compliment! I do suggest a US 7 for this project because the linen stitch is quite dense. In order for the cloth and towel to have drape they need to be knit on a larger needle. Hope this answers your question!
-Adam
….or, forget 1950s-era gender norms and knit them up in any colors, regardless of the baby’s sex? : )
Hi Laurie,
Thanks for the comment. I also think that any color works for either gender but a lot of our customers like to pick colors based on the baby’s sex. We try to include them too. If you like the pattern, I invite you to pick any color combo from the Cotton Pure. It is wonderfully soft, absorbent and washable!
-Adam
I’m with Laurie on this one — you could have chosen a few different colors, including something pinkish and something blue-ish and maybe purple heath. For me, it wasn’t the colors so much as the extraneous comment about ‘when you find out the sex’ — ! (My sense was that was in part because linen stitch takes so long that perhaps you were suggesting a person start knitting at the first sign of expecting, so it might be ready when the kiddo arrives. 🙂
Thank you for another classic! I love Cotton Pure and linen stitch so I know this will be knit often.
Julie
Could this be made on a knitting machine?
Hi Candice,
Thank you for writing in. This stitch cannot be made on a knitting machine because you cannot do a miss stitch with the yarn in back. You can, however, take this as inspiration and create something similar on the machine that won’t curl. Best of luck and happy knitting!
-Adam
Is there a way to add a little hood cap to the corner of the towel? Is the towel big enough? I bought 10 skeins and would use the coordinating color for the hood.
When I was telling my mom of the project she said those towels were great, especially as I got bigger. I’m not even close to being a parent so I’m not even sure if it was just the ’80s that made them great or it’s really true. 🙂
Thanks!
Hi Katrina,
Thanks for writing us! You can certainly add a hood to the towel. I’d refer to the Petite Popover for an idea about hood construction. Good luck and happy knitting!
-Adam
For some reason, I’m not able to master the linen stitch ~ The woven side looks ok, but the reverse side doesn’t resemble your photo in the least. Would I get a similar look if I substituted the double seed stitch? Would that stitch provide a similar density?
Thanks!
Hi Margaret,
Thanks for writing in! Linen stitch will very much resemble seed stitch on one side and have a much flatter appearance on the opposite side. If you would like to substitute seed stitch here, you certainly can. You will use the same cast on numbers and each row will be knit as follows: *K1, p1, repeat from * to last stitch, k1. You will repeat this row over and over again to get the seed stitch texture.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
I’m swatching this now and my edges are coming out all wonky! Any advice for making the edges uniform?
Hi Erin,
Thanks for the question. We don’t really slip the edge stitches when knitting with cotton because it can come out stringy. The edges on our sample are a little bit nubby but blocking really helps! I would block the swatch and see if you have any improvement.
Best of luck and happy knitting!
Adam
You say you don’t slip when using cotton yet the pattern calls for slipping a last stich in row 2 – I’m confused.
Hi Jenny,
Thanks for writing in! I think that I see the confusion here. For this pattern, on wrong side rows, the first and last stitch are slipped. Here, this is part of the stitch pattern. I believe what Adam is referring to is the process by which some knitters like to slip the first stitch on every row in order to neaten up errant edges. Here we would not suggest doing that but you will still slip on the edges on row two to ensure the stitch pattern.
I hope that this clears things up!
Cassy
Hello! I have a quick question about this pattern! Are all slipped stitches (rows 1 & 2) slipped knit wise or purl wise?
Thank you,
Alicia
Hi Alicia,
For the slipped stitches (rows 1 & 2) you want to slip them purl wise.
Best,
Melissa
I see a slip knit wise in the pattern for row 2 – am I incorrect?
Hi Jenny,
Thanks for writing in! All of the stitches in this pattern will be slipped purlwise. In row 2, you will slip with both the yarn in the front and in the back depending on where you are in the row but in both cases, you will slip purlwise.
I hope that this clears things up!
Cassy
Oh thank you so much – I have ripped this out 4 times because everything started to get weird – I bet I know why now – thank you!
Hello!
I have purchased this yarn hoping to make two small hand towels for guest bathroom (his and hers) and would like finished towels to measure approximately 20in.x24in.
Any suggestions with how many stitches to cast on? And at how many inches should I add next color? They will be a gift, so I want to make sure I do it correctly.
Thanks!
Hi Kristy,
What a lovely gift! Given that this pattern works over an odd number of stitches and that the gauge is 28 stitches in pattern = 4 inches, I would suggest casting on 141 stitches to yield a towel that is 20 inches wide. Additionally, we changed colors about 3/4s of the way through the towel. With a 24 inch long towel, you would switch colors at roughly 18 inches.
Happy knitting!
Cassy
What kind of weave ends technique would you suggest? I’ve seen two different spider web methods and a weave a little then tight knot after dividing the yarn in two. This is my first time finishing a non-wool yarn. Thanks.
Hi Katrina,
Thanks for writing in! Weaving in ends using cotton can be a bit tricky! One of the things that I find to be helpful with non-wool yarns, is to weave in longer than I would with wool. For instance, if I usually weave in 2 inches with wool, I would weave in 3-4 inches with cotton. For the ends along the cast on and bind off edges, I would suggest weaving them in along those edges and then slightly up into the work. For the ends on the sides of the work, I would weave in along the wrong side much like you would for garter stitch (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/weaving-in-your-ends/).
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
I am a beginner knitter and wonder if this pattern is for someone like me!
Hello Deborah,
Thank you for writing us! This stitch can be a bit complex, but you will have lots of practice throughout the project! I would knit a little swatch to see if you enjoy the stitch and go from there.
Happy knitting!
-Marilla
Hi,
I’m trying out this towel in sliver fern and pale almond in washcloth size. I’m really new to knitting and it’s my first time working with cotton pure. So far it knits beautifully! I wonder if I’d make a regular size bath towel (about 30 by 56 inch), how many stitches do you recommend to cast on, and how many skeins in total does 1 towel require (or how many skeins of color A and B requires)?
Also, is there any suggestion on joining the color B after a Row 2? The last stitch is a slip stitch so I don’t know how to join yarn as neat as possible.
Thank you!
Hi Hazel,
Thanks for the kind words, I think a full size towel out of Cotton Pure sounds amazing! If you are knitting at the same gauge as the Baby Bath Set, you would need to cast on 211 stitches for a 30 inch wide towel, and I would recommend getting 7 skeins divided however you like between colors A and B. You may have one skein left over, but as long as it is unwound you can return it for store credit – or whip up a few matching hand towels!
Since you are beginning with a knit stitch on row 1, you can just start knitting with the new color. The first stitch may feel a bit loose, but you should be able to snug it up and secure it when weaving in your ends.
Best of luck and happy knitting!
Julianna
Hi, I am in the U.K. and wondered whether there is an equivalent yarn that I could buy here to make this project.
Hello Ana,
Thank you for your interest in this pattern! While I’m not well informed about what is available in the U.K., as long as the yarn you choose is 100% Cotton and a sport weight (4ply) it should be a good substitute.
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla
Hello. I am also new to knitting and was wondering why you use odd number of cast on stitches instead of even. I was watching videos on the linen stitch to try to understand the new stitch and they use even number. I love your blog and and have enjoyed reading your past post. Thanks for all your help in this matter.
Hello Connie,
Thank you for reaching out! The way we use Linen Stitch in the pattern requires an odd number of stitches. What determines this is the way the stitches line up row to row. Linen stitch is used in different ways depending on how it fits into the pattern you are knitting.
I hope this gives you a bit of clarity and let us know if you have any other questions!
Warmly,
Marilla
Thank you Marilla.
Just found out about a colleague’s first baby coming in February and want to do this towel and washcloth for her. But sportweight and fingering yarns give me fits – am currently practicing the stitch on some Ultra Pima that I have around. Started with the washcloth and I must be a tight knitter as the expected 7″ washcloth is only 6″ wide. What do you think of bumping it up to Worsted Cotton? To end up with the same width and length how much would I need and at what needle size? Do you think this yarn would show the stitch well? Thanks in advance for your help with this. And yes, I want to do 2 colors, as the pattern names.
Hi Bonnie,
Thanks for reaching out! Whether or not you decide to change yarns, I would recommend checking your gauge and considering changing needle sizes first. Since you have already started the washcloth, you should be able to measure how many stitches per inch you are getting – our pattern calls for 28 stitches per inch. If your gauge is smaller (or more stitches per inch), you might try moving up a needle size first to obtain the correct gauge and finished size.
I do think this pattern would look quite nice in Blue Sky Cotton, but since it is quite a big jump from sport to worsted weight, I would still recommend knitting a gauge swatch on a US 10 to see if you are happy with the fabric and to measure your stitches per inch. You can then multiply your stitches per inch by 7 for the washcloth or multiply by 22 for the the towel, and round to the nearest odd number to figure out your cast on number. It is much more difficult to estimate yardage when making this change, but I think 2 skeins of your contrast color and 5 of your main color would be a safe bet.
I hope that helps!
Julianna
Has anyone made this bath blanket using a chunkier yarn, I need a quicker knit to have it made in time!
Thank you
deb
Hi Deb,
Thanks for asking! While we used our Cotton Pure yarn, which knits up at 7 stitches to the inch in linen stitch, it could certainly be adjusted to use a thicker yarn! I would do a gauge swatch and multiply the number of stitches per inch in your gauge swatch to find a similar size to 22 x 38 for the towel or 7 x 7 for the washcloth. You could also consider doubling Cotton Pure for a faster knit!
Happy Knitting!
Cassandra