So on my last trip to Hochanda, I did a show featuring some fabulous cotton yarns I sourced in Turkey. I did a kit with two skeins of cotton yarn, available in three colorways (a spring color plus a white skein) and it came with a crochet market bag pattern.
NEW: Kits with yarn and pattern are now available in the US via Etsy!
Well I needed something for the knitters too! So while it’s not quite finished yet, here’s a pattern for a deeply textured two-colored hand towel, making use of the Beehive Stitch, which incorporates a k1b or Knit 1 Below.
The yarn in the kit is a little lighter than a US dishcloth cotton, and it has a little more plying. While of course I recommend you get this exact yarn from Hochanda, you could use almost any cotton yarn you have to hand. Use a smaller than expected knitting needle size for a good, solid fabric – cotton grows when it gets wet!
The pattern is below- the video tutorial is available on YouTube-
Materials:
Two skeins Maccaroni Yarns Macrame, one each color of your choice (A), and white (B)
Knitting needles size 6/4.00mm or size needed for a firm fabric
Finished size: 12”/30cm x 24”/60cm
Gauge/Tension: 14 sts x 28 Rows = 4”/10cm in pattern stitch
Special Stitch: k1b – Knit 1 below, knit next st into stitch under the next stitch on the left-hand needle, push both loops off left hand needle when stitch is complete.
Note: It makes a neater back if you use a bobbin or separate ball of yarn for the 3 border stitches on the left-hand side of the towel. Always do those three stitches off the bobbin, even if the whole row is in A, to keep the floats short.
Bobbin is not added until Row 3.
Towel:
Wind off 12 – 15 yds/m of A for use on a bobbin or second small ball of yarn
With (main skein) A, cast on 41 sts.
Knit 4 rows.
Row 1: K4, k1b, *k1, k1b. Rep from * until 4 sts remain, k4.
Row 2:Knit.
Row 3: With A (main skein), k3, with B, k1b, *k1, k1b. Rep from * across until 3 sts remain, with A (bobbin), k 3.
Row 4: With A (bobbin) k3, with B, 35, with A (main skein) k3.
Row 5: With A (main skein) K4, *k1b, k1. Rep from * across until 3 sts remain, k 3 (bobbin).
Row 6: With A (bobbin) k3, with A (main skein) knit across.
Rep Rows 3 – 6 for pattern until work measures 23”/58cm or 1”/2.5cm less than desired finished length, ending with a wrong side row in A.
Knit 4 more rows in A, using main skein and ending off bobbin.
Bind off/cast off.
Weave in all ends.