Knit + Purl Washcloth
Go on a cheerful exploration of color with our beginner-friendly Knit + Purl Washcloth pattern… You’ll mix and match 25-gram balls of our winsome Cotton Chirp DK Minis yarn for tons of colorful fun!
Machine wash- and dry-able Cotton Chirp DK yarn is made with exceptionally soft, durable, water-absorbing Peruvian Pima cotton. This round, lustrous yarn knits up quickly and looks amazing in nubbly seed stitch! It comes in 4-color bundles, and we made 4 sets of 4 washcloths, combining 2 bundles to create each set.
From top to bottom above, you can see what happens when you mix the reds of the Wild Poppy bundle with the greens of Inchworm, pink and purple Meadow Phlox with rosy Apple Blossom, fresh Mint Citrus and neutral Weathervane, and the cool blues of Ebb Tide with the deeper blues of Blue Jay.
One bundle of Minis is enough to make four washcloths, using each yarn once as the main color and once as the contrast, or go a little wild like we did by combining bundles!
Everyone will enjoy the feeling of these Cotton Chirp DK Minis and their amazing colors, but beginner knitters may also get a kick out of the fact that alternating 1 knit stitch with 1 purl stitch creates both the ribbed border and the main seed stitch part of the washcloth. What?! Even expert knitters can marvel at that!
A contrast color bind off makes a neat edge, and you’ll finish up with an I-cord loop. We’ll walk you through the I-cord step by step, if you haven’t worked one before!
Whether you’re a beginner looking for a super simple pattern or an experienced knitter looking for something fun to knit and enjoyable to use, the Knit + Purl Washcloths will bring you so much colorful joy!
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: KITS NOW AVAILABLE
APRIL 2025
Our Knit + Purl Washcloth Kits include everything you need to knit this easy free pattern, making it a simple way to cast on for a set of washcloths and a perfect gift for knitters in your life, including brand-new beginners! Each kit includes eight 25-gram balls of Cotton Chirp DK Minis in fun, coordinating colors, a circular knitting needle, a tapestry needle, and a printout of this pattern.
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Keith Foster. See even more of Keith’s work on his website!
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Want to print this pattern? On desktop, find the “print” icon in the right margin, and on mobile, scroll to the end of the pattern for it. Use the on-screen instructions to remove anything you don’t want to print!
Materials
To make a set of eight Knit + Purl Washcloths…
- 2 of Purl Soho’s Cotton Chirp Bundles, 100% Peruvian Pima cotton yarn. Each bundle includes four 58 yard/ 25-gram balls of light worsted/DK-weight yarn; approximately 55 total yards required per washcloth: approximately 40 yards for the Main Color and 15 yards for the Contrast Color.
- US 6 (4mm), straight knitting needles or 16- or 24-inch circular needles
- If using straight needles: Two US 6 double pointed needles for I-cord
NOTE: If you only want to make four washcloths, 1 Cotton Chirp Bundle contains all the yarn you’ll need!
Here are the bundles we used (we used each color once but could have swapped MC and CC to make 4 more washcloths)…
Wild Poppy + Inchworm
- MC: Green Pomelo, CC: Firecracker Red
- MC: Fresh Guava, CC: Dill Pickle
- MC: Campfire Orange, CC: Lawn Green
- MC: Glacial Lake, CC: Warm Maple
Mint Citrus + Weathervane
- MC: Heirloom White, CC: Yellow Parakeet
- MC: Golden Honey, CC: Warm Pewter
- MC: Chartreuse Yellow , CC: Winter Sky
- MC: Pale Celadon, CC: Black Licorice
Meadow Phlox + Apple Blossom
- MC: Wild Boysenberry, CC: Mineral Rose
- MC: Pink Ice, CC: Purple Crocus
- MC: Hibiscus Pink, CC: Prairie Aster
- MC: Pink Lily, CC: Peach Bisque
Ebb Tide + Blue Jay
- MC: Deep Verdigris, CC: Nickle Blue
- MC: Azure Sea, CC: Soft Blue
- MC: Clear Turquoise, CC: Ultramarine Blue
- MC: Seven Seas Blue, CC: Deep Sea Blue
GAUGE
20 stitches and 35 rows = 4 inches in seed stitch
SIZE
Finished Dimensions: Approximately 6½ x 6½ inches
PATTERN
RIBBING
With Contrast Color (CC), cast on 33 stitches. We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.
Set-Up Row (wrong side): *P1, k1, repeat from * to last stitch, p1.
Row 1 (right side): *K1, p1, repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Row 2 (wrong side): *P1, k1, repeat from * to last stitch, p1.
Continue in 1×1 rib, repeating Rows 1 and 2, until piece measures 1 inch from cast-on edge, ending with Row 2.
Cut CC.
BODY
Join Main Color (MC), ready to work a right-side row.
Row 1 (right side): *K1, p1, repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Continue in seed stitch, repeating Row 1 for every row, until piece measures approximately 6½ inches from cast-on edge, ending with a wrong-side row.
Cut MC.
Bind-Off Row (right side): Rejoining CC, bind off knitwise to last stitch, k1, leaving 2 stitches on right needle.
MAKE I-CORD
With remaining 2 stitches and still using CC, work an I-cord for 2 inches, working last row as follows…
Bind-Off Row: K2, pass first stitch over second stitch and off right needle.
Cut yarn, leaving an 8-inch tail, and pull through remaining stitch.
Thread tail onto a tapestry needle. Make a loop with I-cord and weave tail into fabric at base of I-cord, then weave it through the looped I-cord, and back into fabric.
Weave in remaining ends and block as desired.
Learn About Cotton Chirp + All Our Beautiful Yarns
Cotton Chirp 25-gram mini balls are the perfect cotton yarn for your most cheerful knitting! Think playful colorwork, like stripes or log cabin projects, and also piles of small knits, like baby booties and washcloths. In bundles of 4 coordinating colors, this light worsted/DK-weight yarn is made from 100% Peruvian Pima cotton, which has a lustrous finish and an incredibly soft and supple hand. Choose from 8 chirpy palettes, or pick up all of them with the 32-color bundle!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our growing collection of free Cotton Chirp knitting patterns and cast on!
More Light Worsted/ DK Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of light worsted/DK-weight yarns (What does DK-weight yarn mean, really? Our guide to DK yarn will answer your questions and demystify.)
- 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 (What helps cotton keep its cool? Learn all about this soft, natural fiber in our guide to 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!
The link from Ravelry for this pattern leads to “page not found” error at Purl Soho.
Hi Jan,
I’m sorry the link was giving you trouble! It seems our team has fixed the issue now though so please let us know if you have any questions!
All the best,
Gavriella
tried to print pattern but purl sho inf printed over top aftercason instructions
Hi Eileen,
If you’re on a desktop version of the site, you will find a “print” icon in the right column just below the “Save To Favorites” button. If you’re on a mobile version of the site, you will find a “print” icon below the pattern and above the comments.
You can follow the easy on-screen instructions to delete whichever parts of the pattern you don’t want to print or save. For example, you may decide to shorten the pattern by omitting certain images or the list of materials. To remove images, click the drop down next to the image icon and change from 100% to 0%. You can also hover your mouse over any portions of the pattern you wish to delete, and click the trash can icon that appears. Then, you can click “Print” or “PDF” along the top left of the pattern preview box to print or save the pattern!
I hope this helps but please let us know if you have any other questions!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
Thank you. Love the bright colors!
I just received my order of Cotton Chirp yesterday-Yippee!
I will be making the knit + purl washcloths. The skiens are center pull. Should I use them as is or wind into cakes? Just wondering. Love the yarn and bright colors.
Hi Sara,
Thanks for writing in! You can knit with Cotton Chirp directly from the ball–no need for winding!
All the best,
Lili
Can I purchase Cotton Chirp 100g colors? I would like to knit the towels with only 2 colors (instead of 4 (5) with the bundle offer)? Thanks, Esther
Hi Esther,
I’m afraid we don’t currently offer Cotton Chirp in 100g skeins outside of the Heirloom White at this time. You can definitely make 2 towels out of a single bundle though!
All the best,
Gavriella
Any tips on weaving in ends for the cotton chirp? I’m loving my washcloths but the little ends keep escaping. Thanks!
Hi Johanna,
With slippery yarns we tend to leave about an inch of a yarn tail on the wrong side after weaving in the end. The ends will be totally secure since they’re woven in already, but leaving the extra length on the wrong side ensures that the ends won’t pop out onto the right side! You could also weave the last bits of the end in between your threads on the wrong side for added security. I hope this helps!
Happy making,
Gavriella
Do you have stocklists of your lovely yarns here in Australia?
Hi Ana,
Thanks for reaching out! We don’t have any stockists overseas, but we do ship internationally. We ship to Australia fairly often, in case you were curious about that too. I recommend going through our shipping page for more details on pricing and average delivery times.
Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any other questions or concerns, as we are always happy to help our global community of makers!
All the best,
Lili
I love your patterns! I have a quick question about the I cord. In the last section of the pattern it says to work the I-cord with the last 2 stitches but when I follow your instructions for making the I-cord it says to use 3. How should I do it?
Hi Marie,
Thanks for writing in! You can make an i-cord with any small number of stitches. You can still follow the tutorial, but just use 2 stitches instead of 3!
All the best,
Lili
I would like to make the washcloth squares into a patchwork blanket. Would that work? How would you join them? Or, can you recommend a pattern whereby squares can be knit continuously (for example using that intarsia joining method of color switching you show in a video with pink/white yarn)?
Thanks!
Isabel
Hi Isabel,
That’s such a fun idea, and you could definitely do that! I would recommend joining the washcloths using mattress stitch and/or whipstitch. We also have a number of patterns that feature join-as-you-go motifs! Here are links to a few of them I think you might enjoy:
Prism Blanket
Color Brick Road Blanket
Fenestra Blankets
True Stripes Blanket
Alternatively, you could certainly use intarsia to knit many squares of different colors together! We haven’t designed a pattern quite like that yet, but I’m happy to give you guidance along the way if you decide to try it out yourself.
All the best,
Lili