How to Crochet a Dishcloth (Cotton, Easy)

For a dishcloth you want cotton yarn. Acrylic feels soft but it doesn't absorb water and it pills after a few washes. A worsted or aran weight cotton holds up to repeated washing and dries fast. Bella Coco uses Paintbox Cotton Aran. Lily Sugar 'N Cream is the classic American equivalent and stocks at any craft store.

You also need a 5mm (H/8) crochet hook. The yarn band on Paintbox suggests 4.5mm but going up to 5mm gives the cloth a little more drape. A darning needle for sewing in your ends and a small pair of embroidery scissors round out the kit.

Start with a slipknot. Leave a long tail - around six inches - because you'll need to weave it in securely at the end so it doesn't unravel in the wash.

Then work a foundation chain of 28 stitches. Yarn over, pull through the loop on your hook, and that's one chain. Repeat 27 more times. Bella Coco says 26 out loud in the video but the on-screen text corrects it to 28. With Paintbox Cotton Aran and a 5mm hook, 28 chains gets you to about 7.5 inches wide - the standard dishcloth size.

Skip the chain on your hook - it doesn't count - and work into the second chain from the hook. Insert your hook, yarn over, pull up a loop. You'll have two loops on your hook. Yarn over and pull through both. That's one stitch.

Quick terminology note: Bella Coco is British and uses UK terms. What she calls a double crochet is what US patterns call a single crochet. The motion is the same either way. If you're learning from US patterns elsewhere on the site, just translate as you go.

Here's the stitch that makes this dishcloth's signature mesh texture: a three-stitch cluster. Go back into the same chain you just worked, yarn over and pull up a loop. Move to the next chain, yarn over and pull up another loop. The next chain after that, yarn over and pull up a third loop. You should have four loops on your hook.

Yarn over once more and pull through all four loops in one motion. That joins the three stitches into a single cluster. Chain one, then start the next cluster in the same stitch you ended the last one in. Repeat all the way across until your final stitch lands in the last chain of your foundation.

Chain one and turn the work. Single crochet into the very first stitch, then start your first cluster of row 2 in that same spot. From here the pattern is identical to row 1 - cluster, chain one, cluster, chain one - working into the gaps and tops of the previous row's stitches.

At the end of each row, finish with a single crochet into the last stitch (not another cluster). That keeps the edge straight.

Now you have the rhythm. Chain one, turn, single crochet, cluster, chain one, cluster, chain one - all the way across. Single crochet into the last stitch. Repeat.

Keep going until you have 17 rows total. With Paintbox Cotton Aran and a 5mm hook that gives you a square roughly 7.5 inches by 7.5 inches. The mesh texture looks almost identical on both sides, which is nice for a dishcloth that gets flipped around all the time.

After your 17th row, chain one. Work a single crochet around the post of the stitch you just finished, then start working down the long side. Place a single crochet into each gap between rows - the cloth has natural spaces along the edge from where you turned each row.

When you reach the corner, work three single crochets into the same corner stitch. That's what makes the border turn cleanly without bunching. Along the bottom edge, alternate between the center of each cluster and the chain-one gap between clusters. Three single crochets again at the next corner. Continue up the second side and across the top the same way.

When you meet the start, slip stitch into the first border stitch to join the round.

Cut your yarn, leaving a six-inch tail. Yarn over and pull the tail all the way through the loop on your hook. Pull tight. You've now fastened off.

Thread that tail onto your darning needle and use the rule-of-three method to weave it in. Pass the needle through about an inch of stitches in one direction, then back through different fibers the opposite way, then once more in the original direction. Three passes locks it in. Snip the tail flush with the cloth. Repeat on the slipknot tail from the start.

Your dishcloth is done. Toss it in the washing machine with the rest of your kitchen laundry whenever it needs a refresh.