Slip Stitch Dishtowels in Cotton Pure
We love slip stitches because they make easy things look difficult, and we love handmade dishtowels because they make unpleasant tasks seem kind of fun. Our Slip Stitch Dishtowels in Cotton Pure check both boxes!
As complicated as these Dishtowels may look to make, there’s actually nothing fancy going on here. You knit every row with just one color, so as long as you can knit and purl, you can make them. And as long as you have dishes to dry and tables to wipe, you can use them, too!
We followed the pattern from our original Slip Stitch Dishtowels to knit this new set in Purl Soho’s Cotton Pure. A little heftier and a little softer, these are just as absorbent and beautiful!
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!
UPDATE: NEW YARN
JULY 16, 2021
Perfect for home and hitch, our Slip Stitch Dishtowels are as strong as an ox, machine washable, and absorbent, too! For this iteration, we used our new Blackbird Linen. Like the wing of a blackbird catching the early morning light, our newest yarn shines with an understated elegance that belies its hard-working character. Click here to read more!
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Whitney Van Nes.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoSlipStitchDishtowels, and #PurlSohoCottonPure. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 4 skeins of Purl Soho’s Cotton Pure, 100% organically grown cotton yarn. Each skein of this sport weight yarn is 279 yards/ 100 grams. We used…
- Color A: Egret White (two skeins); approximately 390 yards required.
- Color B: Freshwater Pearl; approximately 225 yards required.
- Color C: Birch Bark; approximately 240 yards required.
- Note: These are enough materials to make a set of three Slip Stitch Dishtowels, one of each pattern.
- US 3 (3.25mm) straight or circular needles
- If using straight needles: Two US 3 double pointed needles for I-Cord
Gauge
23 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
Size
Finished Dimensions: 11 1/4 x 17 1/4 inches
Patterns
For the free patterns for all three Dishtowels, please visit our original Slip Stitch Dishtowels story!
Three-and-One Tweed Pattern
Basket Stitch
Triple L Tweed
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!
These look beautiful 🙂
I love the yarns and patterns, but I’d buy a bundle for a cowl or shawl, or gloves, but not for dishtowels.
Hi Sally,
Thanks for writing in! We do have a cowl pattern for this lovely yarn. You can use our Cotton Pure to make the Two Color Cotton Cowl!
I hope that this helps and we will keep your request for the future!
Cassy
Thanks
How many dishtowels does the bundle make? All 3 as shown? or more?
Hi Aubrey,
Thanks for writing in! The bundle makes 1 of each of the 3 towels shown!
Happy knitting!
Cassy
Do you have samples knitted up/photos in the blue & red colorways?
Hi Bev,
Thanks for writing in! At present, we only have these lovely dishtowels knit up in the Beach Stone color way. We will certainly keep your request in mind!
Best,
Cassy
Are there photos of the dishtowels in other colors? Just asking since Cassy asked 6 weeks ago. Thanks!
Hi Victoria,
Thanks for the request! We only have these lovely beach towels knit up in the Beach Stone colorway. It does look like there may be a finished project soon on Ravelry in a different colorway. I’d give that a check!
Best,
Cassy
Why do you recommend pulling plant fiber yarns from the outside of the ball?
Hi Chris,
Great question! Pulling from the outside of the ball on plant fibers can help prevent tangles from occurring as well as prevents the twist of the fiber from changing. Plant fibers tend to be more prone to this that animal fibers. Additionally, as plant fibers do not tend to grab on to each other, center pull balls of plant fibers tend to collapse on themselves when there is a void in the middle. For these reasons, we find it to be most helpful to pull from the outside with these yarns,.
Best,
Cassy
Such a great tip! On the Purl Soho baby dress I just made with cotton pure, I didn’t realize that I should pull from the outside on the first ball and it was mess. It was so much easier on the second ball, and because cotton doesn’t stick like wool it wound off pretty easily. Pulling from the outside with wool is such a drag 🙂
These are beautiful and practical! Thank you for the free pattern. I will be making a bunch of these for a wedding gift.
Why do you say free pattern but then you say go to another site
Hi Brenda,
Thanks for writing in! This certainly is a free pattern! It is a rework of one of our older patterns using our lovely Cotton Pure. If you click on the link, it will take you to the original page on our site with the pattern. For your convenience, I will also include it here: https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2013/06/16/whits-knits-slip-stitch-dishtowels/
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Love the 3 color palettes you have chosen, but could you add photos of the completed towels in the other colors?
Hi Becky,
Thanks for writing in! At present, we only have these lovely dishtowels knit up in the Beach Stone color way. We will certainly keep your request in mind!
Best,
Cassy
The pattern above, did you do this awhile ago in linen?? I bet the cotton absorbs more? which do you prefer?
Thanks for your time!
Hi Dorothy,
You are correct! We originally knit this using Louet Euroflax! We are loving this update to the pattern using our Cotton Pure. We think that the cotton makes a lovely and versatile dishcloth!
Best,
Cassy
Could be great for placemat!
Hello Diane,
I love this idea – thanks for writing in!
-Marilla
Can you advise if the number of cast on stitches for each pattern is the same for cotton pure as it was for the original linen pattern? Thanks!
Hello Samantha,
Yes, the number of cast on stitches for each pattern is the same as it was for the cotton pure.
Enjoy,
Melissa
Do you have a crochet version?
Hi Brandy,
Thanks for writing in! We do not have a crocheted version of these lovely dishtowels at present but I will certainly pass your request on to our designers!
Best,
Cassy
do you have directions for crocheting these lovely dish towels?
thank you
Hi Penny,
Thanks for writing in! We do not have a crocheted version of these lovely dishtowels at present but I will certainly pass your request on to our designers!
Best,
Cassy
Have you tried weaving these with the Cotton Pure??
Hello Elena,
Thanks for writing in- what a lovely idea! We have not, but I’m sure it would come our beautifully. I will pass along the suggestion.
Warmly,
Marilla
If I used one bundle to make a tote rather than 3 dishtowels, how large a tote would it make, if I knit short handles, or handles of another material?
Hi Lisa,
I think that a bundle of the cotton pure would be enough to make a tote bag but the dimensions would depend on your gauge.
Best,
Carly
Just wondering if this cotton has any flex to it. i can’t use a rigid cotton as I have arthritis and it causes pain.
Hi Patricia,
Thanks for writing in! In general, cotton lacks the elasticity that wool has. This does make knitting it a bit rougher on your hands than using wool. I have knit a few garments and washcloths with the Cotton Pure and found that it wasn’t particularly hard on my wrists, certainly easier than knitting with linen. That said, your mileage may vary when it comes to any particular yarn. Our Cotton Pure is quite soft and might be worth a try for you!
Best,
Cassy
Hi. Was reading the various posts and am curious….what do you mean “pulling the plant fiber yarn from the outside of the ball ” ? Do you mean to make a ball of yarn and work from the outside of the ball ? Wouldn’t the tension be the same as if you wrapped the yarn into a ball, with the tail that you’re going to use as the working yarn, in the center of the ball? When I wrap my yarn into a ball with the working tail inside the ball, I pull enough yarn out to work with so that my tension stays the same. Am confused. Please help.
Hello Lin,
Thank you for reaching out! This only applies to yarn that has been wound into a cake with a winder and swift. If you are winding your yarn by hand into a ball you don’t need to worry about this, because you can only pull from the outside of the ball.
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla
Hi, I’m just wondering how much yarn i’ll have left over, if any, after making the three dishtowels. I’m looking at making several things with the cotton pure and want to do some planning before I purchase my yarn. Thanks!
Hi Teri,
Thanks for writing in! For the set of three dishtowels, we used most of color B and C and had roughly a third of a skein left of color A.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
That is really helpful – thank you! It’s so great that you guys test everything out and can speak from experience. I’m in NYC this wknd, can’t wait to visit the store 🙂
Hi, Where is the pattern for the slip stitch dishtowels? I want to buy a bundle and will buy the pattern too. Thank you!
Hi Elizabeth,
Thanks for writing in!
Here’s the link:
Slip Stitch Dishtowels
Happy Knitting!
Carly
When will you have the Beach Stone Palate cotton yarn in stock? I can’t wait to make these beautiful dish towels!!
Hi Becky,
Thanks for the kind words! While we do not have an ETA, you can sign up to be notified when we get it back in! To do so, you will go to the Slip Stitch Dishtowels Bundle product page, select the Beach Stone color and enter your email address! We will then email you as soon as we get it back in stock!
Best,
Julianna
Please send me a crochet version of dish towels.
Thank you.
Hi Myra,
Thanks for writing in! Although we don’t have any crochet patterns with colorwork similar to these dishtowels, you may be interested in our Tunisian Crochet Dishtowels! Although we do still carry the original yarns, our Cotton Pure would also work wonderfully for this pattern.
Best of luck and happy crocheting!
Julianna
I love these towles is there a crocheting pattern for them? I do not knit but would love to make these if I could.
Hello Nicki,
Thank you for reaching out and your interest in this pattern! We do not have a Crocheted version of theses, but we do have these lovely crocheted Washcloths that you could make a tad longer to create a dishcloth.
I hope this helps and happy crafting!
-Marilla
Would I be able to use the same pattern for the lantern dish towels but use the cotton pure? It seems softer and would have more “give” when knitting — plus I “need” the cotton pure color.
Thx for your help! cb
Hi Christie,
Thanks for reaching out! You can certainly use Cotton Pure for the Color Black Hand Towels! Due to the difference in gauge, you will need to go down in needle size to a US 6 or 7. You will then want to knit up a gauge swatch in pattern to help you determine your cast on! This pattern works over any even number of stitches so once you know your stitches per inch in pattern, you can multiply this by 18 inches and cast on the nearest even number!
I hope that this helps and happy knitting!
Cassy
Hi Purl Soho – these cloths look beautiful, my knitting is spasmodic and definitely not expert, but I was thinking of making these for friends, and apologies if this is a obvious question, but in the gauge comment, you have number of stitches required for the swatch, however the number of rows aren’t mentioned. As my gauge is often not correct, and as the ‘density’ of the cloths may be key to getting it right, I thought I would ask. Apologies if this is an obvious question to more advanced knitters.
I so enjoy your pages – always so stylish, beautiful and inspire the creative thoughts and ideas to come to the fore. More than comforting in quiet times.
thank you
Hi Jill,
Thank you so much for the kind words and for reaching out! In the case of these dish towels, the stitch gauge is much more important than the row gauge. Since you cast on a set number of stitches, the stitch gauge will effect how wide the towels are; however, once you have cast on, you will knit the towels until they measure 17 inches from the cast on, regardless of how many rows that takes, so the row gauge doesn’t matter too much.
I hope that clears things up, and happy knitting!
Julianna
I would like to knit these dishtowels in the three colors shown above (Egret White, Freshwater Pearl, and Birch Bark) but they are no longer available. Could you suggest colors from your current Cotton Purl selections which would give the same effect?
Thanks!
Hello Virginia,
Thank you for reaching out! The closest you will get to the original combination would be Heirloom White, Warm Rock, and Gray Birch. This will still give you the beautifully subtle, natural look of the original.
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla
Love, love, love this yarn! Maybe I missed it, but would you consider this yarn to be fingering weight or something else? Just wondering:)
Hi Claire,
Thanks for reaching out! Cotton Pure is a sport weight yarn, for more information, you can visit the Product Details section under the Cotton Pure page!
Happy knitting!
Gianna
Can these and other dish towels also be made with Pure Cotton Cones?
Hi Anne!
Thank you for your question. Yes, these dishtowels (and other dishtowels) can be made with Cotton Pure on a Cone, since it is the same yarn, just more of it wrapped around a cone!
I hope this helps, and happy knitting!
All the best,
Margaret