Tiny House Washcloth
As charming as a rubber ducky and as spirited as belting out your morning wake-up song, our Tiny House Washcloth adds a splash of joy to the shower routine!
Yes, indeed in the shape of tiny houses, a set of these washcloths makes a winsome little village. Throw in some zingy colors, and that’s a town we’d like to visit!
You knit these cuties flat, from the bottom up to the I-Cord hanging loop. Simple decreases shape the eaves, while a color change at a varying point on the roof makes each house its own.
We knit these up using our fingering weight Buttercup Cotton. Non-mercerized for absorbency and organically grown for feeling good, Buttercup Cotton is also wonderfully soft, machine wash- and dry-able, and comes in lots of great colors for building seaside cabanas, mountain hamlets, and desert oases.
If you’re dreaming of a color-coordinated neighborhood, you’ll be happy to know that just two skeins of Buttercup Cotton are enough to make twelve Tiny House Washcloths. Matchy match or funkytown, cast on to put some bubbles in your suds!
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Jake Canton. Click here to see even more of Jake’s designs!
Share your progress + connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoTinyHouseWashcloth, and #PurlSohoButtercupCotton. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- Color A: 1 skein of Purl Soho’s Buttercup Cotton,100% organically grown cotton. Each skein is approximately 364 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 20 (12, 6) yards required for Layout 1 (2, 3). (NOTE: We no longer offer Buttercup Cotton, but choose from one of our other fingering weight yarns.)
- Color B: 1 skein of Buttercup Cotton, approximately 40 (48, 54) yards required for Layout 1 (2, 3).
- US 2 (2.75mm), straight or 20- or 24-inch circular needles
- If using straight needles: Two US 2 double pointed needles for I-Cord
- Stitch holder or scrap yarn
NOTE: You can make approximately 12 washcloths with 2 skeins of Buttercup Cotton.
Here are the colors we used for our washcloths…
LAYOUT 1
- Color A: Jonquil Yellow; Color B: Heirloom White
- Color A: Purple Aster; Color B: Heirloom White
LAYOUT 2
- Color A: Blue Jay; Color B: Heirloom White
- Color A: Summer Melon; Color B: Lavender Fog
LAYOUT 3
- Color A: Grass Green; Color B: Summer Melon
- Color A: Evening Blue; Color B: Bluebird Egg
- Color A: Cedar Wood; Color B: Vintage Pink
Gauge
28 stitches and 40 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
Size
Finished Dimensions: 6 inches wide x 9½ inches long, at widest and longest points
Note
Slip Stitches
Slip all slipped stitches purlwise.
Pattern
Begin
With Color A, cast on 42 stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On. [LINK]
Set-Up Row 1 (wrong side): Slip 2 with yarn in front (wyif, see Notes), p1, knit to last 3 stitches, p1, slip 2 wyif.
Set-Up Row 2 (right side): K3, purl to last 3 stitches, k3.
Repeat Set-Up Row 1 one more time.
Cut Color A.
Join Color B.
Row 1 (right side): With CC, knit to end of row.
Row 2 (wrong side): Slip 2 wyif, purl to last 2 stitches, slip 2 wyif.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until piece measures 6 inches from cast-on edge.
Layout 1 Only
Cut Color B.
Join Color A.
Layouts 2 + 3 Only
Continuing with Color B.
Decrease
Row 1 (right side): K2, slip slip knit (ssk), knit to last 4 stitches, knit 2 together (k2tog), k2. [2 stitches decreased]
Row 2 (wrong side): Slip 2 wyif, purl to last 2 stitches, slip 2 wyif.
Layout 1 Only
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 sixteen more times. [8 stitches remain]
Layout 2 Only
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 four more times. [32 stitches remain]
Cut Color B.
Join Color A and repeat Row 1 and 2 twelve more times. [8 stitches remain]
Layout 3 Only
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 eight more times. [24 stitches remain]
Cut Color B.
Join Color A and repeat Row 1 and 2 eight more times. [8 stitches remain]
All Three Layouts
Repeat Row 1 one more time. [6 stitches remain]
Slip last 3 stitches onto left needle (or double pointed needle, if using straight needles), and slip first 3 stitches onto stitch holder or scrap yarn. [6 total stitches: 3 at beginning of row on holder and 3 at end of row on needle]
Make I-Cord
Using circular needles or two double pointed needles, work an I-Cord over 3 stitches for 3 inches.
Cut yarn, leaving an 8-inch tail.
Place 3 on-hold stitches onto other end of circular needles or onto double pointed needle. Holding two sets of stitches parallel with wrong sides facing each other, graft them together using Kitchener Stitch and forming a loop.
Finish
Sew in remaining ends and wet block.
Are those like “mitts” or single layer?
If not, would it be too thick to make mitts?
This looks like a great long car rides project!
Hi Diane,
Thanks for reaching out! These are single layer, but I think you could certainly turn them into mitts! They definitely won’t be too thick since Buttercup Cotton is a pretty light, fingering weight yarn. My only concern is that the cotton may not be protective enough against heat, so if you do double them I would suggest sticking with using them as washcloths!
This is also a perfect travel project, they are relatively small and knit up quickly, and you can make approximately 12 washcloths with just 2 skeins of Buttercup Cotton!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
Yes! Thank you!
Can this be made with your regular Pure Cotton yarn? would the directions and measurements be the same? Also can or should this be combined with the Buttercup yarn or should I buy another skein of Pure Cotton for the two color tone. Very cute pattern.
Hi Rebecca,
Thanks for reaching out! We’re so glad you like the new pattern! You could certainly use our Cotton Pure yarn to make these washcloths, but the needle size needed and the finished measurements would be larger than what is listed in the pattern currently. Cotton Pure is a sport weight yarn, which is going to be a bit thicker than the fingering weight Buttercup Cotton that this pattern was designed for.
I wouldn’t recommend using the Cotton Pure and Buttercup Cotton together for this project, as the gauge of the two yarns will be significantly different and will affect the look of your finished project. Instead, I’d recommend that you use either the Buttercup Cotton or the Cotton Pure for the entire pattern. If you want the measurements of your finished product to match what is listed in the pattern’s schematics, then I’d suggest sticking with the Buttercup Cotton; if you’d like a larger washcloth, then you can use the Cotton Pure and I’d suggest a US4 needle.
I hope this helps!
Warmly,
Kelsey
just got back from Bermuda, so mine are going to be pastel with white roofs!
I am knitting my first washcloth and the sides are rolling inward, even the decrease. So, it is ending up a rectangle. Am I knitting the slip stitches too tightly?
Thank you,
Margaret McMinn
Hi Margaret,
Thanks for reaching out! The curling is actually intentional, since this pattern has a 2 stitch selvage edge, when you slip the two stitches it creates a nice little curled tube (as you can see on the edges in the photos!) So to me, it sounds like you are on the right track, however, if you believe it isn’t looking correct please send our customer service team a few photos to customerservice@purlsoho.com and they can verify if everything is looking good!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
When I begin the decrease and ssk is it still wyif when I slip the stitches?
Hi Jane,
Thanks for reaching out. Yes, all stitches are slipped with wyif, regardless of where you are in the pattern! However, you will not need to slip any stitches on the same row that you work the decrease stitches on. The slipped stitches happen on Row 2. Hope this helps clarify things!
All the best,
Lili
Hello!
I’m late to the party on this one. The pattern has been in my queue for two years and now I want to make it and find the yarn is no longer available! Will y’all have the yarn again or will there be an adjustment to the pattern so we can use the Cotton Pure?
Thanks!
Hi Maggie,
Thanks writing in, and we’re so sorry about that! While we loved Buttercup Cotton, not everybody else felt the same way, so we’ve had to make the sad decision to stop producing it. We hope you can understand!
The good news is that you can totally use Cotton Pure instead. All you’ll need to do is adjust the number of stitches you cast on so that the washcloth comes to the same dimensions.
To figure out your cast-on number, you will want to first knit a gauge swatch in pattern. Once you know how many stitches you are getting per inch, you can multiply that number by the width (6 inches) and cast on the nearest even number. Then you can follow the pattern as written!
All the best,
Lili