With addi knitting needles – knit a sustainable dishcloth

Knitting is not as difficult as some people might think. As soon as you have mastered the cast on, purl and knit and cast off, you will be able to do many beautiful knitting projects. addi is the experienced partner for the first knitting trials, because addi has been producing knitting needles Made in Germany since 1829. The large addi knitting needle assortment offers the perfect knitting needle for every handicraft project.

What you need as a knitting beginner, such as basics, is explained in this blog post directly on a project in simple and comprehensible steps.

 
Table of Contents:

What do you need for knitting? The basic equipment

The nice thing about the hobby knitting: it does not take much to get started.

Knitting needles:
addi offers a large assortment of circular knitting needles, single pointed needles and sock knitting needles made of different materials – metal, plastic, bamboo, olive wood – as well as in different designs. For knitting beginners a circular knitting needle is best suitable. A circular knitting needle has two needle tips connected with a rope. They are available in different lengths and sizes for different projects. With a circular knitting needle the danger of stitches slipping off the needles is much lower. Here is an overview of all addi circular knitting needles.

Which size of needle is needed depends on the project and the information on the banderole of the wool used.

Wool:
For beginners a medium thick, smooth wool (from needle size 4) is best suitable.

Woolneedle:
This is required for sewing knitted parts together and for sewing the threads. The wool needle is characterized by a blunt point and a large eye.

Scissors:
At the latest, when the knitting project is finished, the thread has to be cut off. The small handicraft scissors Goldmarie are very helpful for this.

Other helpful tools:

Stitch marker:
Some knitting projects require certain stitches to be marked. There are so-called stitch markers for this. As an alternative, a different colored wool thread can be used, for example.

Stitch holder:
The addiToGo stitch holder is put on the knitting needles, so that no stitch slips off the needles when the knitting piece rests or is transported.

Measuring tape:
A measuring tape is important for measuring a stitch test or knitting pieces.

With a stitch test the yarn and the needle is tested on a small test piece. The aim is to find out if the combination of the knitting needle and yarn is the right size according to the knitting instructions. A stitch test is particularly useful for knitting garments.

Row counter:
Rows have to be counted often while knitting. There are mechanical row counter, or you simply keep a tally sheet on a piece of paper.

Dishcloth Knitting Pattern with 2 different finishing Options

With a few loops on the knitting needles and the knit stitch and optionally the purl stitch, a sustainable dishcloth can be created very quickly. How to do this is now explained step by step.

Disclaimer: In this blog post the German/Continental knitting technique will be described.

1. Material

• medium thick yarn e. g. worsted, aran (1x 50 g ball). Note: for a dishcloth, the yarn should be washable at very high temperatures and 100 % cotton or linen.
• the matching addi circular knitting needle
• Scissor
• yarn needle

In the example a cotton yarn (50 g / 90 m) is used with an addiNovel square circular needle 4,5 – 50 cm.

2. 2. How to Cast On

Step 1 – required tail length

The here explained Longtail Cast On is the most commong stitch cast. To do this, a tail for the required number of stitches must be determined, first. For this purpose, the yarn is wrapped around both needles as often as the number of stitches to be casted on.
For the dishcloth in the example, 33 stitches will be casted on. This means the yarn is now wrapped 33 times around both knitting needles. This is the length of the required tail. Just to make sure, add a few more centimeters. The wrapping has to be undone afterwards.

Step 2 – How to hold the yarn while cast on

Now the actual cast on begins. After the unwound tail part (required tail length of step 1), the yarn is picked up with the helpf of the right hand on the left hand as follows. This means, that you do not simply pick up the yarn end, instead right before the part after the previously determined tail. The determined tail incl. the yarn end is situated on the right side, the yarn ball with the working yarn is on the left.
The yarn comes from behind between the pinkie and ring finger. Wrap it once around the pinkie. Then the yarn goes behind the fingers and wrap around the index finger once.

Now the yarn is led further around the thumb at the front and clamped between the fingers above the palm. Make sure that the yarn is taut.

Step 3 – cast on 33 stitches

1. Insert both needles from below in the thumb loop and tilt the hand slightly forward. (1. Picture).
2. Now catch the yarn that is on your index finger with the knitting needles (2. Picture) and pull it through the loop.
3. Release the thumb from the loop (the other fingers remain in the position) and tighten the stitch created on the knitting needle (3. Picture).
4. Bring the thumb back on the yarn so that the thumb loop is formed again. Repeat this procedure until a total of 33 stitches are casted on (4. Picture).

3. How to hold Needles and Yarn

Now one knitting needle is carefully pulled out of the stitches. The stitches are on the left knitting needle, turn the knitting needle so that the start and end yarn are at the needle tip. The working yarn comes from the ball, lies behind the project and is wrapped around the index finger a few times. It should be not too tight and not too loose to the knitting needle. This determines the tension and requires some practice. Make sure that the yarn can slip easily and that the index finger is not tied off. The end yarn simply hangs down. The right needle is empty.

4. The Knit Stitch

For the knit stitch, the working yarn has to come from the back. With the point of the right needle, insert from left to right into the first cast-on stitch on the left needle. Catch the working yarn from behind with the right needle and pull it through the loop. It is possible using the middle finger to steer the yarn a little bit to help. Let the loop slip from the left to the right needle. The first knit stitch is done.

5. The Purl Stitch

• For the purl stitch the working yarn has to be held in front of the project. Insert the point of the right needle from right to left
• Put the working yarn over the needle from the front to the back. The middle or index finger can help by pressing the working yarn slightly down.
• Pull the working yarn through the loop with the needle.

How can you recognize knit and purl stitches?

As a knit stitch faces you, it looks like a V and the purl stitch has a small horizontal bump.

Tip: If you might have problems with the purl stitch, you can also simply knit the dishcloth with knit stitches only.

6. Continue with the Dishcloth Pattern
1st row:

After the 33 stitches have been cast on and the first knit and purl stitches have been knitted, now one knit and one purl stitch are always knitted alternately until the end of the row. The last stitch in the row is a knit stitch.
The pattern that results is called the seed stitch.
For the seed stitch you always have to cast on an odd number of stitches.

For knitting always slide the stitches on both knitting needles.
After completion of the first row, turn the knitting project over so that the knitting needle with the stitches is again on the left side with the working yarn at the tip and the right knitting needle is empty.

2nd row:
In the 2nd row start again with a knit stitch. Then do a purl stitch and always alternately a knit and a purl stitch until the end of the row. End the row again with a knit stitch.

Repeat:
Repeat the 2nd row until the project is a square or until the desired length for the dishcloth is reached.

In the example the dishcloth is approx. 20 x 20 cm.

7. 7. How to Cast Off
When the desired size of the dishcloth is reached, the stitches have to be cast off. This means you knit the stitches from the needle in such a way that the knitted project does not unravel again.

The first two stitches are knitted as usual.

• Insert left knitting needle into the first stitch on the right knitting needle.
• This stitch is now pulled over the 2nd stitch on the right needle and lifted of the needle.
• This stitch is now cast off.

The cast off continues by knitting the next stitch from the left needle to the right and then the process of casting off on the right needle is repeated.
When casting off, make sure that you do not knit and pull too tight.
Continue to cast off until there is one last stitch on the needle.
Then cut the yarn and pull the tail through the last stitch to secure.

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  Cut thread

8. Weave Ends
Now all tail ends have to be weaved in. Weaving ends is preferably done on the back of a knitted project or on the edges. To do this, pull the tail through several stitches with the help of the yarn needle, then repeat it in the opposite direction. Finally, the remaining yarn is cut off close to the knitted piece.

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  Sew thread

Congratulations on the first finished piece of knitting.

Option 2 – Crochet Edge

In the blog post “Learn to crochet with addi crochet hooks” is a description of how to crochet single crochet.

With the same or a different color, but with the same yarn thickness, attach the yarn in one corner with the suitable crochet hook (in the example hook size 4). Crochet 3 single crochet in the corner.

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  Crochet edge

Crochet the edge of the dishcloth further with single crochet and 3 single crochet in each corner. Close the round with one slip stitch. Secure the yarn and weave in ends.

Finished Dishcloth

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  ready dishcloths

Option 1 – only knit stitches without crochet border – right side in the picture
Option 2 – seed pattern with crocheted border – left side in the picture

Helpful Tip
If the yarn ball is empty or a color change is desired, a new ball/color must be added. The beginning of a row is always suitable for this. For this purpose, the yarn should be placed as close as possible to the needle and then the knitting with the new yarn can be continued. The tail ends can later be weaved in at the edge.

Desire to knit more?

The dishcloth is a great start. Perhaps you are now in the mood to tackle further knitting projects? Understandable, because so many beautiful things can be created by knitting.

The most important thing is, when learning how to knit, is that you need patience. It certainly takes some time to get a perfect stitch structure. But, as is well known, practice makes it perfect. Just enjoy the process.
The addi knitting needles are loyal companions for any knitting project.

A current overview of the addi knitting needle program is available here (click).

All addi articles linked here can be purchased in specialist shops.
Have fun learning how to knit!