apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

My grandmother has crocheted dishcloths for all of her "girls" for many many years. They are the best! The weave gives you a little more scrubbing power than a regular dishcloth and they are nice and thick.

Are you kidding me? Crocheted Dishcloths? Next you'll be telling me that red & white gingham is the new mod cloth choice. And wicker baskets....and beanie babies.

A little country is cool. A lot is not.

If you decide you really do want to learn to crochet, dishcloths are about the easiest things to make. And it doesn't matter terribly if your stitches aren't great at first, because you're going to get them grubby anyway.

Crochet dishcloths?? That's like washing your dishes with a sweater. ew.

What's wrong with the green and yellow scrub pads?

"Our dishcloths also double as weeknight dinner napkins" ... now THAT's disgusting!

Crocheted dishcloths are great. My grandma gave me some for Christmas last year (one of her friends makes them to sell) and they really work well for scrubbing.

I don't know that white would be my first choice though, they're going to look nasty after about two days. Mine are deep yellow with red borders.

Mom still swears by them...
Agree with miss amanda on the scrubbing power...

I got a few from an elderly neighbor whose since passed away as a wedding gift...one of the most heartfelt gifts we received...I haven't actually used it yet...have it with the note she wrote in the top drawer of my dresser...

don't understand the eww factor, and the ones I have are very simple, not overly 'country'...

I think the purpose of this post was to highlight ways to bring affordable luxury into every day tasks. I find it strange that people immediately see crochet and think 'old-fashioned' or 'country'.

You use dish cloths every day, so why not have something that is pretty, hand-made and reusable?

I think these are lovely for washing dishes (though not in white and not for napkins). To the person who said it's like washing dishes with a sweater, well the idea is that they aren't crocheted out of wool. My grandma used strips of cotton rags and also made ones from thick string. It reminds me that we can re-use and make do in very simple ways.

lovely - if using them for dishes does not appeal to you...I think they would work great for a wash cloth in the shower.

Re: grubbiness... white/natural is actually best because then you can bleach them.

And while using them as napkins just seems awkward to me (they're kind of thick and small)... put them through with your other whites on a very hot wash, and no matter what you've scrubbed with them they should get perfectly clean! So I don't think calling it disgusting is fair.

My grand-mother knits dishcloths like these and hands them out by the huge pile. I don't know how her other recipients feel about them, but I LOVE them. They are the best dishcloths I've ever used! The cotton is super absorbent, scrubs well, dries well, and washes easily. I've made it abundantly clear to her that as long as she feels like churning these out she'll be able to provide me with a much appreciated gift. :)

Jane — I meant that our *clean* kitchen towels, which are usually used to dry dishes and very occasionally for light counter-wiping tasks, also double as dinner napkins.

I got some as a gift. Not my idea of what want to use to wash dishes. ew for sure!

I bought some on Etsy over a year ago and they are still going strong...these are great colors:

http://tinyurl.com/d7hq2z

Crochet/knit dishcloths or washcloths are the best. They're very sturdy and excellent for scrubbing. Any that I've seen are made of cotton, so they wash and dry really easily--not sure what people think the ick factor is.

Huh, I thought one of the most common projects to knit or crochet is a dishcloth. I've crocheted a bunch of them, but none to use as dishcloths, I've found they come in useful as coasters and other things as well.

I learned to knit a couple years ago, and I made tons of them, using 100% cotton yarn. It's a good way to practice new stitches. They have a nice feel when you're using them and they make nice baby washcloths, too, depending on the color you use. I think they'd be too thick for napkins, though.

I love crocheted dish cloths. I make them a lot....it's a great way to try different crochet stitches.

And crocheted potholders are the best. They fit great in the hand.

I don't understand what all the "ick" is about.

these are highly practical and effective as dishcloths (to wash dishes w/). however, i've never yet met a crochet-able yarn practical enough to use as makings of a dinner napkin. huh??? highly curious which brand(s)?.. do tell.. these are not they.