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Welcome to Hearts and Crafts.

This is my inaugural post here so thanks for checking it out. Please take a moment to visit my other blogs as well; they're listed in the right sidebar under "More...."

I have several friends who have remarked that they like to knit, but can't follow a pattern. This tutorial is intended for people who have knitted multiple scarves for themselves as well as all their friends and family members but who are having difficulty making the transition beyond basic knit and purl. I'm not a knitting expert by any stretch, but I do love to knit and love to share my enthusiasm.

In this tutorial, we'll be knitting a 16-point dishcloth with eyelets.

Materials:

One skein of worsted weight, cotton yarn such as Lily's Sugar 'n Cream. Sadly, Lion Brand's excellent Kitchen Cotton appears to have been replaced with Cotton Ease, a cotton/acrylic blend.

Size 8 knitting needles

Gauge: Not critical

Instructions:

Cast on 20 stitches.

When you cast on your stitches, make sure to leave a long tail; you can use it to gather the center when you're finished.

Row 1: Knit across, 20 stitches.

Row 2: Knit (K) 4; Yarn Over (YO)*; K 13

At this point, 3 stitches remain on your left-hand needle. You're going to turn your work without knitting them. This is what your knitting will look like when you complete Row 2, before you turn your work.

Row 3: K 18

You're knitting all of the stitches on your left-hand needle. When you finish, you'll have 21 stitches on your right-hand needle. Turn your work.

Row 4: K 4; YO; K 11

6 stitches remain on your left-hand needle. Turn your work.

Row 5: K 16

22 stitches on your right-hand needle. Turn your work.

Row 6: K 4; YO; K 9

9 stitches remain on your left-hand needle. Turn your work.

Row 7: K 14

23 stitches on your right-hand needle. Turn your work.

Row 8: K 4; YO; K 7

12 stitches remain on your left-hand needle. Turn your work.

Row 9: K 12

24 stitches on your right-hand needle. Turn your work.

Row 10: Bind Off (BO) 4 stitches. Knit across.

20 stitches on your right-hand needle. Turn your work.

Row 11: K 20

Ta-dah! This is what your work will look like when you complete Row 11.

Repeat from Row 2 until you have 16 points. Bind off. Draw the center together. Sew the cast on edge to the bound off edge. Weave in the ends.

When working rows 2 through 10, you may have trouble seeing how your dishcloth is going to turn out like the one in the photo. No worries, it will if you follow the instructions exactly. As soon as you complete Row 11, all will become clear. I promise. Above all, remember that this is a dishcloth, so minor imperfections won't affect it's use!

Since this is my first knitting tutorial, I'd appreciate your feedback, so please leave a comment on ways I can improve in the future. I'd also like to see photos of your dishcloths (warts and all) for a future post. You can e-mail me at sewconfused at live dot com.

*You need to scroll down all the way to the bottom for the Yarn Over videos. Separate videos for English (yarn held in right hand) and Continental (yarn held in left hand) knitting.