I have made countless knitted and crochet dishcloths over the years and none of them ever lived up to expectation.

I love the idea of handmade dishcloths because there is something so tactile about them. But.. (there is always a but), they never did a great job; they were stretchy and floppy, and or just never held up.

Bright crisp clean white linens are one of my happy things. I am notorious for running all my linens through a sanitize cycle with bleach every single go around. It gives me brilliant white clean linens but at a cost. That hot water and bleach eventually eats through the towels, the sheets, and anything else in the house that is unfortunate enough to be white.

A cotton crochet dishcloth pattern that will make you want to wash the dishes (I know I laughed too)

In this household dishcloths are the ones that go first, especially handmade ones. Acrylic knit dishcloths stretch and distort in the wash (especially with the sanitize cycle), and anything made with cotton fiber pretty much falls apart on me in the sink.

I am HARD on dishcloths.

But I finally found a perfect solution and I wanted to share it with you guys.

AND if you are a beginner, I wrote this blog post for YOU. No complicated patterns, just simple single crochet, anyone can do, even if you never picked up a crochet hook in your entire life.

I will walk you through all the steps so you will be able to make your own. If you are a seasoned crocheter, I’d say use your favorite pattern, but check out this product. It’s quite interesting and tough. Great for anything you want to hold up against aggressive use.

A Few Notes about We Are Knitters

I recently did a sponsored post for We Are Knitters and I liked their product so much I went back to test a few of their more unique products. For this project, I used ” The Tape” cotton fiber and I was not disappointed. I love this product.

This is not a sponsored post. I purchased this product out of my pocket and this post isn’t being paid for by anyone except me. And although this is not a sponsored post, I do have to give a shout out to We Are Knitters. They have amazing kits, great prices, and fantastic sales.

I’m in Canada, so usually shipping up here is just stupid expensive but my orders ship free (I always order at least the minimum for free shipping), and I find the prices very competitive, especially for their wool products. The best part: they ship super fast. I have no idea how they get my orders to me faster than Canadian own businesses do, but they do. I live in the middle of nowhere and my parcels always show up in 5 days. It’s magical (for me it’s magical, if you live in the city you probably think that’s slow, but trust me, for me, that’s like teleporting).

A few notes about “The Tape”

We Are Knitters has this really interesting product called The Tape. It looks like flat long shoelaces. It’s a bit stiffer than wool or yarn, and it is strong. It holds up very well. If you are looking to make something indestructible with your crochet or knitting needles, take a look at this product. It is not as stiff as shoelaces, the fiber weave is a bit looser, making it the perfect fiber (I think) for dishcloths.

The best part, this product is made from recycled T-shirts.

The dishcloths crocheted with The Tape are not soft and floppy. They are hardy! Not too thick, not thin, perfect for scrubbing a pan or a dish that sat out overnight. The bumps in the crochet pattern help to remove gunk. The fibers do not give and pull, they stay fairly rigid, even with aggressive scrubbing.

I’d like to say that this dishcloth is flipping perfect! These dishcloths are also super absorbent and are thick enough to double as potholders. <- win-win! Now if only I could teach them to do the dishes on their own.

They also wash very well and hold up to hot water cleanings.

If you are going to spend the time making your own dishcloths, I cannot recommend this product enough. It will make the time you put into making them completely worthwhile.

Materials & Tools to make 5 crochet dishcloths

1 Roll of “The Tape” (each roll makes 5 dishcloths)
8mm crochet hook
Pair of scissors
Tapestry needle
Sewing needle and matching thread

See: Crochet Hook Size Comparison

Step 1

Make a slip knot

Step 2

Loop the yarn over the hook and pull it through the slip knot. This is one chain.

Create 16 Chains.

Step 3

For those of you learning crochet, I added photos to walk you through the steps of your first single crochet. I also demonstrate it in the video. Learning even simple single crochet can open up all kinds of patterns and home decor items you can make for yourself and your home. I am the queen of the single crochet (meaning that’s all I use!). I promise, it does not take long to learn and once you get the hang of it, you’re all set.

Chain one extra and turn your work.
Slide the crochet hook into the second chain on the row.
You will have two loops on your crochet hook as shown in the photo below. Loop the cotton strand around the top of the crochet hook and pull through.
You will have one loop on your crochet hook. Slide the hook into the next available chain and single crochet to the end of the row.

Repeat all steps until you have single crocheted 16 rows, or until your dishcloth is square.

Step 4 Adding A Loop Hook to The Corner (Optional)

This step is optional. If you do not want to have a hook loop on the end of your crochet dishcloth, you can skip this step and move on to step 5.

When you reach the end of your last row, chain 10.
Slip the crochet hook into the last stick on your last row.
Loop the cotton strand around the crochet hook and pull through. This will link the loop to the end of the dishcloth.
Pull the end of the loose strand up and through the last loop.
Pull the end of the cotton strand to tighten the loop to the dishcloth.

Step 5

Use a tapestry needle and weave the loose ends into the dishcloth. To be extra sure that my dishcloth held up, I added a few sewing stitches to fasten the loose end into the dishcloth. Optional but if you use these to scrub and wash up frequently, it’s just good insurance to make sure your dishcloth does not unravel.

Crochet Dishcloths Make a Great Gift.

These indestructible dishcloths make great gifts for the holidays. Pack up 5 dishcloths and a pretty bottle of dish soap and you have yourself a great little homemade gift. A few of these dishcloths in a pretty gift bag would make a welcome hostess gift too.

Here is another freebie for you if you want to make a few for the holidays as gifts- download these super cute handmade gift tags. No emails required, no money exchanging hand, you can nab these for free without a catch. Enjoy!

You can grab that free download HERE. holiday-labels-4 They add a really cute personal touch to your handmade goodies.

Want More Simple Crochet Ideas?

Free Crochet Coaster Pattern (Single Crochet Stitch)

A Cozy Crochet Wreath to make for Fall, or Winter, or Whenever!

Easy Crochet Camera Lens Protectors that are Padded and Dust Free.

A Rustic Wreath You Can Make in Under 30 minutes - No Really!

The Perfect Crochet Dishcloth - Indestructible and Long Lasting.

Yield: 5

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Estimated Cost: $15

An almost indestructible crochet dishcloth. These thick and hardy dishcloths will scrub without tearing, wash without ripping, and will last a long time. The pattern is simple single crochet making it a perfect project for a beginner. These crochet dishcloths make great gifts.

Materials

1 roll "The Tape" cotton fabric from We Are Knitters

Tools

8 mm crochet hook
Scissors
Tapestry (or yarn) needle
Sewing needle and matching thread

Instructions

Step 1

Make a slip knot

Step 2

Loop the yarn over the hook and pull it through the slip knot. This is one chain.
Create 16 Chains.

Step 3

Chain one extra and turn your work.
Slide the crochet hook into the second chain on the row.
You will have two loops on your crochet hook. Loop the cotton strand around the top of the crochet hook and pull through.
You will have one loop on your crochet hook. Slide the hook into the next available chain and single crochet to the end of the row.
Repeat all steps until you have single crocheted 16 rows, or until your dishcloth is square.

Step 4 Adding A Loop Hook to The Corner (Optional)

This step is optional. If you do not want to have a hook loop on the end of your crochet dishcloth, you can skip this step and move on to step 5.
When you reach the end of your last row, chain 10.
Slip the crochet hook into the last stick on your last row.
Loop the cotton strand around the crochet hook and pull through. This will link the loop to the end of the dishcloth.
Pull the end of the loose strand up and through the last loop.
Pull the end of the cotton strand to tighten the loop to the dishcloth.

Step 5

Use a tapestry needle and weave the loose ends into the dishcloth.

Notes

"The Tape" product I used here is unique to We Are Knitters. I have not found it anywhere else. It is hefty and durable, and perfect to make anything you want to last. It would be great for baskets, bags, or in this case a durable scrubbable dishcloth.

The Tape is flat, like a shoelace, and sometimes gets caught up on the crochet hook. Keep the fiber strand taught and it will make it easier to grab with the crochet hook.

If you want to knit these instead of crochet my recommendation is to use a seed stitch. It will keep the dishcloth from stretching and give it a bit more stability for scrubbing.