An Ode to Dishcloth Cotton Blankets

Having made several of these for myself as well as for gifts, I can tell you they’re always appreciated!  

The two blankets at the top of this post I made for myself – they’re the first ones my mother reaches for when she comes to visit.  This is a recent picture – these blankets are around ten years old now – and they still look great.

Below is one I gifted to a cousin in Florida when her son was born – years later, it’s the only blanket he still insists on having close.  I recently gifted one to my nephew in England, knowing it would keep him warm and cozy in the damp cold English weather.

I prefer to stick with a garter stitch pattern for these blankets.  I like the way the finished product turns out, and these are frequently my mindless knitting so I can just work away at row upon row of garter stitch without worrying about following a stitch pattern.  

Garter stitch is also roughly  square – meaning two rows of garter stitch (or one ridge) are about the same height as a single stitch is wide.  This means you can easily knit in multiple directions – just cast off one section and pick up stitches at 90° to where you were working without warping your project.  

I love to experiment with different designs, playing with color combinations and many ways to put them together. I’m inspired by fabric quilts, most of my patterns are plays on log cabin or strip quilting. Sometimes I knit them all in one piece, sometimes I knit pieces and seam them, and sometimes I knit in pieces and then join them by picking up stitches and adding sections through a three needle bind-off.  My current project is here if you want to see a blanket in progress as well as get a recipe for how to make one of your own!