In addition to yard work and other projects around home that
had been left unattended for way too long, I spent some time this past summer
working with someone who wanted to learn how to crochet tops on dish
towels. She had some towels she had
purchased at craft shows and wanted to learn how to do some that were
similar. I’ve played around for a long
time with different ways to do towel toppers, and hadn’t come up with a pattern
that I really liked. After several
trials, I’ve come up with one. It’s a
mixture of different styles that people do and is very similar to many free
patterns out there, so it’s not entirely original. It’s just one way to do towel toppers that I’ve
written out. I make double dish towels
(use the whole towel and fold it in half).
I didn’t give detailed instructions on the first row which involves
attaching your yarn to the towel. There
are several methods you can use, and you can find instructions on the internet
for how to do them. I think the oldest
and most common way to do it is to take a sharp hook or needle and poke holes
through the thickness of the towel and then single crochet through these
holes. I always found that very
difficult to do, and I think that’s why other methods cropped up. I recently found the greatest tool to use to
poke the holes, and now it’s my favorite method. It’s called “The Sharp Crochet Hook” and you
can buy it on anniesattic.com: https://www.anniescatalog.com/list.html?q=crochet+hooks.
The other methods involve using yarn or embroidery thread
and stitching across the fold on the top of the towel with a chain stitch or
blanket stitch. These stitches form the
foundation for your first row of single crochet across the top of the
towel. You can do a google search for
these stitches and find instructions on how to do them.
Crochet Dish Towel Topper
Size G or H hook
Worsted weight or cotton worsted weight yarn
Fold towel in half.
Use whatever method you prefer for the foundation row on the dish
towel—poke holes with a crochet hook and sc across, embroider a line of chain
stitches across the fold and then sc in each stitch across, or use a blanket or
whip stitch across the top and then sc with your yarn in each stitch across. It does not matter how many stitches you have
across the top of the towel.
If you used blanket stitches, whip stitches or chain
stitches, then sc with your yarn in every stitch across. Ch 3, turn.
Then continue with Row 1 below.
If you poked holes and single crocheted across the top, ch 3
(ch 3 does NOT count as 1st dc) and turn.
Then start with Row 1.
1. Dc across.
Ch 1, turn.
2. Sc across,
decreasing evenly to end with 41 sc. Ch
3, turn.
3. Dc in first
stitch and in every other stitch across, dc in last stitch. Ch 1, turn.
4. Sc in every
stitch across. Ch 3, turn.
5. Repeat Row
3. Ch 1, turn.
6. Repeat Row
4. Ch 3, turn.
7. Repeat Row
3. Ch 1, turn.
8. Repeat Row
4. At this point you should have 6
stitches. Ch 3, turn.
9. Dc in every
stitch across. Ch 1, turn.
10. Sc in every
stitch across. Ch 3, turn.
11. Dc in every
stitch across. Ch 1, turn.
12. Sc in every
stitch across. Ch 3, turn.
13. Dc in every
stitch across. Ch 1, turn.
14. Sc in every
stitch across. Ch 3, turn.
15. Dc in every
stitch across. Ch 1, turn.
16. Sc in every
stitch across. Ch 3, turn.
17. Dc in every
stitch across. Ch 1, turn.
18. Sc in every
stitch across. Ch 3, turn.
19. Dc in every
stitch across. Ch 1, turn.
20. Sc in every
stitch across. Ch 3, turn.
21. Dc in every
stitch across. Ch 1, turn.
22. Sc in every
stitch across. Ch 3, turn.
23. Dc in the
next 2 stitches, ch 2, skip the next 2 stitches, dc in the next 2 stitches
(buttonhole made).
24. Sc across (6
sc). Ch 1, turn.
25. Dc across (6
dc).
26. Fasten off.
Weave in ends. Sew on
button.
I hope you find this helpful. I'll post pictures later.
On another note:
craft show season is here! If you’re
in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, check out the Eagan High School Holiday Art & Craft Fair, Saturday, November 8
from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm.
