Vanilla Tea Towel, Free Knitting Pattern
This classic tea towel is a treat to knit - it's such an easy knitting pattern that it will be suitable for beginners, but also enjoyable for more advanced knitters as a relaxing, simple project to work on. I truly love it as it's easy to work in any yarn, you can truly relax as the stitches are the most basic ones and it's so minimal that it will match any kitchen style!
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GET THE VANILLA TEA TOWEL:
Vanilla 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 35 cm (14”), length 43 cm (17”)
supplies
yarn
For this tea towel I used Drops Paris in colorway off-white (17), which is one of my favorite cotton yarns for home decor pieces!
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: approx. 165 m (180 yds).
needles
5 mm (US 8) straight or circular needles, or to fit gauge
other notions
Tapestry needle and scissors.
gauge
18 stitches x 28 rows in 10x10 cm (4x4”) in garter stitch, blocked
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.
You can knit this towel easily in different yarn weight than listed in the pattern - in this case please be aware that the yardage will be different than listed. Choose your preferred yarn (cotton or linen yarn is recommended) and matching knitting needles, then follow the directions in the pattern that refer to dimensions rather than stitch count. You can also knit the towel to your preferred dimensions in similar way.
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).
Stitch changes and row totals are noted in italic.
abbreviations
dec / inc - decreased / increased
k - knit
k1tbl - knit 1 st through the back loop
k2tog - knit 2 sts together
RS / WS - right side / wrong side
sl1wyif - slip 1 st purlwise with yarn in front
ssk - slip 1 st knitwise, slip 1 st knitwise, knit the slipped sts together through the back loop
st(s) - stitch(es)
yo - yarn over
** - work instruction between asterisks given number of times or until given moment
instructions
SECTION 1 - INCREASES
Cast on 3 sts using Long Tail Cast On, or another cast on technique of your choice. Work Rows 1-2
once. 5 sts.
Row 1 (RS): k1, *yo, k1* twice. 2 sts inc.
Row 2 (WS): sl1wyif, *k1tbl, k1* twice.
Next, work Rows 3-4 a total of 34 times. 68 rows in total, 73 sts.
If you're working with a different yarn, work Rows 3-4 until the edge of the work measures 35 cm
(14”), or desired width.
Row 3 (RS): sl1wyif, k1, yo, k until 2 sts left, yo, k2. 2 sts inc.
Row 4 (WS): sl1wyif, k1, k1tbl, k until 3 sts left, k1tbl, k2.
section 2 - adding length
Work Rows 1-2 a total of 10 times. 20 rows total.
If you're working with a different yarn, work Rows 1-2 until the work measures 43 cm (17”), or desired length along the edge from the cast on.
Row 1 (RS): sl1wyif, k1, yo, k until 4 sts left, k2tog, k2.
Row 2 (WS): sl1wyif, k until 3 sts left, k1tbl, k2.
section 3 - decreases
Work Rows 1-2 a total of 33 times (66 rows). 7 sts. If you're working with a different yarn, work Rows
1-2 until 7 sts remain.
Row 1 (RS): sl1wyif, k1, ssk, k until 4 sts left, k2tog, k2. 2 sts dec.
Row 2 (WS): sl1wyif, k until end of row.
Next, work Rows 3-5 once. 3 sts.
Row 3 (RS): sl1wyif, k1, ssk, k2tog, k1. 2 sts dec.
Row 4 (WS): sl1wyif, k until end of row.
Row 5 (RS): sl1wyif, ssk, k2tog. 2 sts dec.
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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