Thyme Tea Towel, Free Knitting Pattern
Enjoy a quick and simple knitting project when you make Thyme Tea Towel! This easy, beginner friendly free kitchen towel knitting pattern uses only the basic knitting stitches - knits and purls, to create a botanical texture! This rustic hand towel will be the perfect addition to a farmhouse style kitchen, or a thoughtful gift - either a hostess gift or a stocking stuffer!
With the spring in full swing and really little time to spend on my beloved crafts, as our family grew recently :), I appreciate simple and quick projects even more! They allow me to enjoy the relaxing craft in the little pockets of time, without the need to focus too much due to use of simple techniques. I hope you'll enjoy this little towel as much as I do!
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The Thyme Tea Towel is worked sideways, instead of traditionally from the bottom up, to create a texture of leafy branches. This simple trick along with the pattern created by knits and purls, brings together a lovely botanical texture that’s created with very little effort!
GET THE THYME TEA TOWEL:
Thyme 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 2024. 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 34 cm (14”), length 43 cm (17”)
supplies
yarn
For this tea towel I used Drops Paris in colorway off-white (17). I truly like this versatile yarn for home decor, becuase it's quite affordable, sturdy, easy to care for and comes in a variety of colors. I always have a few skeins in my stash!
If you'd like to knit the towel in a different yarn - you can choose any similar worsted weight (category 4 - medium) cotton yarn. A few options that should work fine for a tea towel:
Yardage: approx. 170 m (186 yds).
needles
5 mm (US 8) straight or circular needles, or to fit gauge
other notions
Tapestry needle and scissors. Row counter recommended, but not required.
gauge
17 stitches x 21 rows in 10x10 cm (4x4”) in leaf stitch, blocked
Leaf stitch - worked over multiple of 8 sts.
Row 1 (WS): *k4, p4* until end of row.
Row 2 (RS): *k3, p4, k1* until end of row.
Row 3 (WS): *p2, k4, p2* until end of row.
Row 4 (RS): *k1, p4, k3* until end of row.
Row 5 (WS): *p4, k4* until end of row.
Row 6 (RS): *p3, k4, p1* until end of row.
Row 7 (WS): *p1, k4, p3* until end of row.
Row 8 (RS): *k4, p4* until end of row.
Row 9 (WS): *k3, p4, k1* until end of row.
Row 10 (RS): *p2, k4, p2* until end of row.
Row 11 (WS): *k1, p4, k3* until end of row.
Row 12 (RS): *p4, k4* until end of row.
pattern notes
Video tutorials for specific techniques are linked and showing as yellow.
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.
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.
instructions
Cast on 74 sts using Long Tail Cast On, or another cast on technique of your choice.
Work Rows 1-12 six times (72 rows worked in total).
When slipping the stitches (sl1wyif) for the edge, pay attention not to make an accidental yarnover when moving the yarn front/back.
Row 1 (WS): sl1wyif, *k4, p4* until 1 st left, k1.
Row 2 (RS): sl1wyif, *k3, p4, k1* until 1 st left, k1.
Row 3 (WS): sl1wyif, *p2, k4, p2* until 1 st left, k1.
Row 4 (RS): sl1wyif, *k1, p4, k3* until 1 st left, k1.
Row 5 (WS): sl1wyif, *p4, k4* until 1 st left, k1.
Row 6 (RS): sl1wyif, *p3, k4, p1* until 1 st left, k1.
Row 7 (WS): sl1wyif, *p1, k4, p3* until 1 st left, k1.
Row 8 (RS): sl1wyif, *k4, p4* until 1 st left, k1.
Row 9 (WS): sl1wyif, *k3, p4, k1* until 1 st left, k1.
Row 10 (RS): sl1wyif, *p2, k4, p2* until 1 st left, k1.
Row 11 (WS): sl1wyif, *k1, p4, k3* until 1 st left, k1.
Row 12 (RS): sl1wyif, *p4, k4* until 1 st left, k1.
Finishing
Bind off all sts using a 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!
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