Crochet A Dishcloth

I think I might be having a minor OCD episode.  I can't seem to stop crocheting!  I've had this hobby since I was a young child making lopsided blankets for my dollies, scarves for my teddy, and pillows for myself.  I sure wish wearing doilies as sweaters was fashionable, because I'd be SET.  I made about 100 of them in college.

(Mom, Dad, close your eyes and skip to the next paragraph please)  When I was working on an afghan for my grandma, I used to actually skip classes to work on it!  If it wasn't for the crocheting and that hot guy in Mechanics of Materials?  I'm sure I could have gotten an A instead of a B.  But then my grandma wouldn't have that afghan.  And I wouldn't be married to that hot guy.  

I KNOW - I was such a wild college girl.  I wonder if I'd have any takers if I could figure out a way to crochet a "Girls Gone Wild Over Crocheting" sweater?  Yeah.  Probably not.

Good grief.  How old am I anyway?  102?

So, as you can see, I've been sewing my crazy fingers to the bone recently.  I'm determined to clear out my craft room.  I have so many supplies for various projects, they literally fill an entire room in my house.  It seems the OCD flares up every time I walk into a craft store too.

I found the most excellent pattern for making dishcloths, and I thought I'd share.   This makes a cloth that's about 9 1/2 inches square, it washes up beautifully, and even keeps it's shape after washing and drying.  If you're new to dishcloths, you'll need to pick up some 100% cotton yarn.  One popular brand is "Peaches -n- Cream" or something like that.  

Who knows - if the economy keeps going like this, maybe I'll be bartering my crochet work.  What do you think I'll be able to get for a hand-made teddy bear?  A sack of potatoes, maybe?

Anyhoo - here's the pattern:

Chain 34 loosely

Row 1: Dc in fourth ch from hook and in each ch across.

Row 2:  Ch 1, turn; sc in first dc, ch 2, skip next dc, sc in sp before next dc, ch 2, ** skip next 2 dc, sc in sp before next dc, ch 2; repeat from ** across to last 2 st, sc in top of beginning ch.

Row 3:  Ch 3, turn; dc in first ch-2 sp, 2 dc in each ch-2 sp across to last ch-2 sp, dc in last ch-2 sp, dc in last sc.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until piece is approximately square.

You can leave it as is, or you can sew a border for a more finished look.  I do a simple dc border all the way around the edges, taking care to evenly space the stitches to avoid ruffling or puckering.  Sew 3 stitches in each corner to make the turn.  If the piece "cups" after making the turn, rip back to the corner and add a corner stitch.  I frequently have to do 4 stitches in the corner.

Happy sewing!