Buttermilk Tea Towel, Dishcloth Knitting Pattern
I’ve been in a mood for quick and simple knits recently - something that is fast to knit up, relaxing and practical. Enter - a tea towel! It’s a small and practical knitting project for your home - or as a housewarming gift!
Buttermilk Tea Towel is a quick knit full of texture, great for knitting beginners to practice stitches and color changes and seasoned knitters looking for an easy, relaxing project. The tea towel will make lovely kitchen decor for you, or as a housewarming gift for a close one! Buttermilk is worked all in simple broken rib stitch in three color sections - two striped borders, and a single color inner area. It has slip-stitch edges on the sides for a neat finish.
This post contains affiliate links that support the content on this blog.
PIN IT NOW & MAKE IT LATER!
GET THE BUTTERMILK TEA TOWEL:
Buttermilk Tea Towel Free Knitting Pattern
If you haven’t knit from a knitting pattern yet - I highly recommend you check out my post on reading knitting patterns here - it will help you follow the instructions smoothly!
© Whileberry 2023. Please keep in mind that this pattern is for personal use only, and both the pattern and photos can’t be copied or reproduced on another website.
sizes
One size - width 35 cm (14”), length 42 cm (16.5”)
supplies
yarn
For this tea towel I used Lion Brand 24/7 cotton in colors Ecru as the main color and Amber as the contrast color. It's really nice to work with and splitting is truly minimal. It's got a slight bit of sheen to it which makes the tea towel look even more special!
If you'd like to knit the towel in a different yarn - you can choose any similar worsted weight (category 4 - medium) cotton yarn, in colors that contrast well. A few options that should work fine for a tea towel:
Yardage: main color: 160 m (175 yds), contrast color: 25 m (27 yds).
needles
5 mm (US 8) straight or circular needles, or to fit gauge
other notions
Tapestry needle and scissors
gauge
20 stitches x 27 rows in 10x10 cm (4x4”) in broken rib stitch, blocked
Broken rib stitch for the gauge: cast on an even number of stitches.
Row 1 (RS): k all sts.
Row 2 (WS): * k1, p1 * until end of row.
pattern notes
As the tea towel is not a wearable item, gauge is not critical in this project - however if you can’t match the gauge listed, the tea towel will differ in dimensions and it may affect the yardage needed.
To make sure you don’t run out of yarn before completing all 3 sections of the tea towel, use a kitchen scale. Weigh your yarns separately before starting the project, then after completing Border 1 section. Note how much yarn you’ve used for the border section (both Border 1 and 2 require same yardage), and work the Inner Area as long as you have enough yarn left to complete the Border 2.
You don't need to break yarn during color changes - rather carry it vertically along the edge.
hanging loop
If you'd like to add a hanging loop to your tea towel, you can modify the pattern in finishing section as follows: bind off sts until there are only 2 left on the needles (1 on left needle and 1 on right needle), k1, slip both sts to the left needle. The loop cord will be worked over these last 2 sts. Work Row 1 until the cord measures approx. 10 cm (4”) or desired length.
Row 1 (RS): k2, slip the sts back to the left needle.
Bind off both sts and sew the end of the cord to the back of the tea towel corner to create the hanging loop.
Note that adding the loop will increase the yardage by approx. 5 m (5 yds).
Row totals are noted in italic.
abbreviations
k - knit
p - purl
RS / WS - right side / wrong side
sl1wyif - slip 1 st purlwise with yarn in front
st(s) - stitch(es)
** - work instruction between asterisks given number of times or until given moment
instructions
Border 1
Using main color, cast on 69 sts with long tail cast on, or another cast on technique of your choice (choose a slightly stretchy technique, for example Long Tail Cast or Old Norwegian Cast On).
Work Rows 1-2 in main color five times (10 rows in total).
Row 1 (WS): sl1wyif, *k1, p1* until 2 sts left, k2.
Row 2 (RS): sl1wyif, k until end of row.
Change to contrast color and work Rows 1-2 once.
Change to main color and work Rows 1-2 once.
Change to contrast color and work Rows 1-2 once.
Change to main color and work Rows 1-2 once.
Change to contrast color and work Rows 1-2 once.
20 rows worked in total in this section.
Inner area
Break contrast color. Change to main color and work Rows 1-2 a total of 37 times.
Row 1 (WS): sl1wyif, *k1, p1* until 2 sts left, k2.
Row 2 (RS): sl1wyif, k until end of row.
74 rows worked in total in this section.
Border 2
Join contrast color and work Rows 1-2 once with contrast color.
Row 1 (WS): sl1wyif, *k1, p1* until 2 sts left, k2.
Row 2 (RS): sl1wyif, k until end of row.
Change to main color and work Rows 1-2 once.
Change to contrast color and work Rows 1-2 once.
Change to main color and work Rows 1-2 once.
Change to contrast color and work Rows 1-2 once.
Break contrast color.
Change to main color and work Rows 1-2 five times.
20 rows worked in total in this section.
Finishing
Bind off all sts (loosely with standard bind off), cut yarn and weave in ends. Block to dimensions.
I hope you enjoyed knitting your project! If you share your project on Instagram, please tag me with @whileberry.creative and #knitwithwhileberry so I can see your lovely knit!
MORE PATTERNS YOU MAY ENJOY: