Simple Towel Knitting Pattern - Knitting in the Park

The perfect pattern for a dish or hand towle

One of my favorite patterns is actually one of the first that I learned to make. Since first encountering this simple pattern, I’ve made countless wash cloths, dish towels, and hand towels using it. Originally I published this post back in March of 2019 but I’m sharing it again because these towels are great home decor items, they make great grab bag gifts, house warming gifts – they’re just good all around fun projects.

Cotton yarn is pretty easy to get your paws on, and it comes in so many different colors. You can pick it up at your local big box stores like Joann fabrics, order it online straight from the manufacturer, and more! Previously I posted a pink version because the main bathroom of our ranch is a pepto pink thanks to the 60’s cast iron tub, but I’m in love with the earth tones right now.

This pattern uses the knit stitch, the knit front and back, and knit two together. It’s knit on the bias, which means its knit diagonally rather than in a square or rectangle. If you’re new to this skill, don’t shy away. I’ll outline in simple instructions below.

DIY Dish Towel knitting pattern from Knitting in the Park

The Towel Yarn:

Because people will be drying their hands or dishes with this towel you want a cotton or cotton based yarn.

For the pink towel I used KnitPicks Cotlin Sport Weight Yarn. Unfortunately this is discontinued until further notice but they do have it available in a DK weight and I would highly recommend it. It’s super soft. It also comes in discounted packs which are full of great colors if you like a variety. I had chosen to use three colors, but this towel looks great in one single solid color as well. Truth be told, I had a little bit of this yarn left over from my Clara Scarf and I don’t want it to go to waste.

Dishie or Sugar N’Cream yarn are great options that are easy to find in craft stores. This is the yarn I used for the more earth toned towels and it holds up really well over time. I gifted one to my sister-in-law years ago, and it has held up so well. Even I’m surprised. (It’s time to knit her some new ones)

To make this simple towel:

Cast on 3 stitches. You can use any method here. My go to is the long tail.

Row 1: K1, Knit Front and Back (KFB), Knit to the end of the row.

Repeat row one until the bottom edge of your work is as wide as you’d like your towel to be. Because KnitPicks cotlin is a bit finer, I’ve worked until there are about 74 stitches on my needles. For dishie, I use between 49 and 69 stitches based on gauge. It’s your call based upon our gauge and the size of the towel you’d like.

If you’ve made the simple baby washcloth pattern before this section will be very familiar.

Middle section of the towel:

Row 1: K1, Knit Front and Back (KFB), Knit to the end of the row.
Row 2: K2, Knit Two Together (K2Tog), Knit to end of row.

Repeat these sections, until the longer side of the towel is your desired length. You’ll start to see that you are now creating the second corner at the bottom of the towel. As you knit these two rows, (always increasing on one side and decreasing on the other) you’ll form the body or middle section of the towel.