Easy to make, and the "bumpiness" of the rope stitch makes them very effective when wiping down counters. Make one for yourself and make several to give away as gifts.
Materials:
1 skein Lily “Sugar ‘n Cream" 100% cotton yarn (4 ply – 2 oz.)
Knitting needles US 7 (4.50 mm)
Yarn needle
Directions:
Rope Stitch (RS): sk (skip) stitch, k next st, leave on left needle, k the sk (skip) st. Drop both sts from left needle.
Cast on 44 stitches.
Bottom border:
Rows 1 – 6: k row.
Pattern:
Row 1: (right side) k4, RS 18 times (36 stitches), k 4.
Row 2: k4, p 36, k4.
Repeat pattern rows 1 and 2 until dishtowel measures 8" from bottom. End with a Row 1. (Measurement should include 6 bottom border rows.)
Bottom border:
Begin on wrong side.
Rows 1 – 6: k row.
Cast off.
Using yarn needle, weave in loose ends.
I love the look of this pattern however I am stumped – what exactly does the direction “sk stitch” mean in the direction for the rope stitch? Slip as if to knit? Skip the stitch? I have tried googling the rope stitch but come up empty for knitting stitches (only getting sewing results)
I’m sure I am overlooking something incredibly simple here so I really appreciate your help!
"sk" is the abbreviation for "skip".
To do a rope stitch you will using 2 stitches. sk (skip) the first stitch. Go to the 2nd stitch and knit it. Because it is behind the sk (skipped) stitch, you cannot slide it off the left needle. Now, with part of that 2nd stitch still on your right needle, go back to that first sk (skipped) stitch. Knit that stitch. When you are done knitting the first stitch, you will be able to slide the rest of the second stitch off the left needle. Basically, you twisted the 2 stitches so the 1st stitch is now 2nd, and the 2nd stitch is now first. Hope that makes sense. If you have anymore questions, feel free to email me at weefolkart@yahoo.com. Good luck!
Thank you for posting such an excellent pretty pattern for what is, lets face it, a very mundane item of household cleaning products. I haven’t knitted dishcloths since I was a child in the 70’s – happy memories of being taught the stitches by my Great Aunt Edith (a very sweet spinster aunt) who I think enjoyed spending time passing on her old wartime knitting skills to the next generation. I am never going to buy boring thin dishcloths again!
This is so much prettier than the name of the stitch suggests! I suppose it makes a kind of mini-cable, in that you cross each pair of two stitches. The first row I found it very fiddly and almost gave up – I’m so glad I didn’t! It is so attractive. Thanks for the pattern.
What is RS?
RS stands for rope stitch which is explained at the top of the pattern as…
Rope Stitch (RS): sk (skip) stitch, k next st, leave on left needle, k the sk (skip) st. Drop both sts from left needle.
HTH 🙂