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Stitch Exploration Series - Spin It Dishcloth

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Vinyl records - are you a fan? I was born in 1981, the year MTV launched. MuchMusic here in Canada was born a few short years later. I remember my parents spinning records when I was very young, but soon tapes took over the music scene, then CDs, then mp3s. I always loved listening to old records at my Gramma’s house, but of course she had mostly “old” music. Around 2010, I decided to start buying records again. It had become sort of hipster-ish at that point, but I truly loved the nostalgic sound and feel of music played on vinyl.

A few years after I started collecting, I met my husband, who had grown up similarly, with a Dad who was a serious audiophile. I was super impressed by his vinyl stash, and over the years we’ve been together, we’ve learned a lot about music from each other and added to our (mostly still his, haha) collection.

The Spin It Dishcloth recreates that classic look of jet black vinyl with a colourful sticker in the centre. I drew the inspiration by matching the perfect shade of Dishie yarn to one of my all-time favourite albums - Mezzanine by Massive Attack.

If you’re not familiar with my Stitch Exploration Series, here are the details: Each month, I post a new FREE dishcloth pattern that uses an interesting technique, skill or stitch. This is the eighth pattern in the series - check out the others HERE.

This series is all about testing out new skills without the pressure of having to create a large project like a garment. When I’m designing, I find that I tend to choose familiar stitches, which can limit my creativity. I’ve chosen dishcloths because they’re small enough to finish up quickly, but large enough to get a general idea of the fabric the stitch pattern will create!

For this series, I’ve chosen a beautiful, durable cotton yarn, Dishie from WeCrochet. It comes in lots of fun colours (30 solids in total, plus there are also Dishie Twist and Dishie Multi!), and it is really nice to work with. It’s also really durable, making it great for dishcloths! In my experience so far, this yarn really holds up well during tough scrubbing.

Check out some of the previous patterns in the series - the Keyhole Dishcloth (cream) is June’s pattern, and the Coffee Bean Dishcloth is from last month!


Materials

Hook - US G/4mm, or size needed to meet gauge.

Yarn - WeCrochet Dishie, worsted (4) weight 100% cotton, 190 yds (174m)/100g (3.5oz) per skein.

  • Colour A: Fox (orange), approx. 10 yds/9m.

  • Colour B: Black, approx. 55 yds/50m.

Notions - scissors, tape measure, yarn needle, stitch marker (1, optional).

Terminology/Abbreviations

This pattern uses standard US terms as detailed by the Craft Yarn Council:

Blo - working into the back loop only

Sc - single crochet

Sl st - slip stitch

St(s) - stitch(es)

* - repeat instructions as directed

Sizing

Gauge - 8.5 rounds = 2” / 5cm radius (measured from the middle of the circle) in scblo in the round

Finished measurements - approx. 8.75” /22.5cm in diameter (measured across the full width of the dishcloth

Notes

This pattern is worked in continuous rounds without joining or turning. It can be helpful to mark the first stitch of the round and move the marker up as you go.

Gauge is not critical for this project, however, if yardage is a concern, you should aim to meet it as closely as possible. No one will judge an extra half inch on your dishcloth!

Generally, I do not block cotton washcloths, because they’re just going to get wet anyway. If you’re making for gifting, or just want to straighten things out, feel free to block as you see fit.


Pattern Instructions

Round 1.  Using colour A, make a Magic Ring. Working into the ring, sc 10. < 10 sts >

Round 2.  2 sc into each st. < 20 sts >

Round 3. Sc in each st around. < 20 sts >

Round 4. *2sc in next st, sc in next st. Repeat from * around. < 30 sts >

Round 5. Sc in each st around. < 30 sts >

Round 6. *2sc in next st, sc in next 2 sts. Repeat from * around. < 40 sts >

Round 7. Sc in each st around. On the last st of the round, switch colours by completing the last yarn over and pull through with colour B. < 40 sts >

Round 8. *2scblo in next st, scblo in next 3 sts. Repeat from * around. < 50 sts >

Round 9. Scblo in each st around. < 50 sts >

Round 10. *2scblo in next st, scblo in next 4 sts. Repeat from * around. < 60 sts >

Round 11. Scblo in each st around. < 60 sts >

Round 12. *2scblo in next st, scblo in next 5 sts. Repeat from * around. < 70 sts >

Round 13. Scblo in each st around. < 70 sts >

Round 14. *2scblo in next st, scblo in next 6 sts. Repeat from * around. < 80 sts >

Round 15. Scblo in each st around. < 80 sts >

Round 16. *2scblo in next st, scblo in next 7 sts. Repeat from * around. < 90 sts >

Round 17. *2scblo in next st, scblo in next 8 sts. Repeat from * around. < 100 sts >

Round 18. Scblo in each st around. < 100 sts >

To finish, sl st into the next 2 sts to even out the spiral. Fasten off and weave in the ends to the wrong side of your work.

Variations

To make your dishcloth smaller (like a coaster size), simply stop your increase rounds sooner and finish with the 2 sl sts. To make it bigger, continue the increase rounds, working one more regular scblo between the increases for each additional round. For example, Round 19 would scblo in 9 sts between increases, and so on. Remember to work one even round (no increases) between the increase rounds - this will help keep it from curling up (you can also work two increase rounds together at the end, as I’ve done here, to prevent curling the other way).

Keep in mind that any alterations to the stitch or row counts will adjust the yardage required.


Save this pattern to your Ravelry queue, or add a project to the pattern page!


Congratulations on finishing your Spin It Dishcloth! Doesn’t the texture totally remind you of the tracks on a record? I still can’t get over how perfectly this colour (Fox) matches this label - I’m going to have lots of fun trying to find perfect matches for my other favourite albums!

I’m having a lot of fun exploring these new-to-me techniques, and I hope you are too! I’d love to see your dishcloths (in finished or WIP form!), or how you’re using the things you’re learning here in your own designs. Share your dishcloth on Instagram using the hashtags #SpinItDishcloth and #StitchExplorationSeries, and tag me, @capital.crochet!

You may sell finished items made from this pattern, but please credit me as the designer by linking back to this blog post.

Thank you so much for your support! If you’d like to be the first to know about new patterns in this series and other blog posts, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter below.

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