Shanty Dish Towel

Shanty Dish Towel by Cluck Cluck Boots

Project Overview

The Shanty Dish Towel is a beginner-friendly knitted dishcloth designed by independent designer Cluck Cluck Boots. This downloadable PDF pattern provides complete instructions for creating a practical kitchen textile measuring 14.5 inches wide by 18 inches long. The finished towel combines functional design with decorative stitch patterns, making it suitable for everyday kitchen use or as a handmade gift.

What Is Being Made

This project produces a rectangular dish towel—a versatile kitchen textile used for drying dishes, wiping counters, or general kitchen tasks. The towel is worked flat using knitting techniques and finished with a decorative faux leather or leather cord accent, adding a stylish detail to this practical item.

Knitting Techniques Used

The Shanty Dish Towel employs several fundamental knitting techniques suitable for beginners:

• Long-tail cast on method: Used to establish the initial 65 stitches on the needles, providing a sturdy and elastic foundation edge
• Flat knitting: The towel is worked back and forth in rows rather than in the round, creating a rectangular shape
• Slip stitch edge technique: Each row begins with a slip stitch worked purl wise with yarn in back, creating a neat, finished selvage edge
• Ribbed and garter stitch combinations: The pattern alternates between knit and purl stitches to create textured stitch patterns across the towel body

Stitches Used

The pattern utilizes basic knitting stitches that are ideal for beginner crafters:

• Knit stitch (K): The fundamental stitch used throughout the pattern
• Purl stitch (P): Creates texture and forms the basis of the ribbed pattern sections
• Slip stitch (sl 1 wyib): Slip one stitch purl wise with yarn in back, worked at the beginning of rows to create a professional edge finish

The pattern uses repeat instructions (marked with asterisks *) to establish rhythmic stitch sequences across rows, simplifying the knitting process and creating consistent textured sections throughout the towel.

Materials and Specifications

Yarn: The pattern calls for worsted weight yarn, specifically Knit Picks Dishie. A total of 245 yards is required, which equals approximately 4 balls of Knit Picks Dishie yarn (each ball contains 190 yards and weighs 100 grams). The yarn color used is Swan, though crafters may substitute other worsted weight yarns of similar yardage and weight.

Needles: Size 5.0mm / US 8 knitting needles are required. The pattern accommodates two needle options: a 24-inch circular needle worked back and forth in rows, or straight needles for traditional flat knitting.

Additional Materials: Faux leather or leather cord is needed for finishing details, and a yarn needle is required for weaving in ends and assembling the finished piece.

Gauge and Finished Dimensions

The pattern specifies a gauge of 18 stitches by 26 rows over a 4-inch by 4-inch square when worked in the pattern stitch. The finished towel measures 14.5 inches in width and 18 inches in length, creating a practical size suitable for standard kitchen use.

Skill Level

Rated as an Easy skill level project, the Shanty Dish Towel is designed for beginners and those new to knitting. The pattern uses only fundamental stitches and straightforward row-by-row instructions, making it an excellent introduction to knitted textile creation.